FMS 131 – Introduction to Media Studies – G. Niu
This course provides a broad overview and introduction to media. We will cover histories of different types of media (internet, radio, audio recordings, television, cable, film, journalism, magazines, advertising, public relations, etc.) as well as various theories and approaches to studying media. No prior knowledge is necessary, but a real interest and willingness to explore a variety of media will come in handy. Occasional outside screenings will be required (but if you cannot attend the scheduled screenings, you may watch the films on your own time through the Multimedia Center reserves.) Students will be evaluated based on assigned writing, classroom discussion leading, participation, short quizzes, midterm exam and final exam.
MWF 11:00 – 11:50
Georgen 101
4 Credits
Cross-listed: AH 102, ENG 118
CRN# 49484
FMS 161 – Introductory Video & Sound – J. Middleton
This course introduces the basic aesthetic and technical elements of video production with an emphasis on experimental (non-narrative) aesthetic. The course will include technical workshops, screenings, readings, and presentations. Students will learn video production and nonlinear editing, techniques in lighting and sound recording, as well as more experimental film and video production processes.
Enrollment is limited to 10 students. Film and Media Studies supplies fee: $50
TR 14:00 – 16:40
Sage
4 Credits
Cross-listed: ENG 161, SA 161
CRN# 49496
FMS 203 – Broadcasting in the Digital Age – S. Rogers
A descriptive and critical analysis of the nature of electronic mass media, broadcast practices and impact. Historical development of mass media institutions and role of media in society, including evaluation of news, government regulation, economics, emerging technologies, and audience dynamics, as well as decision-making and organizational aspects of the broadcast industry. Designed to provide a broad, rigorous orientation for understanding basic elements of media production as well as skills training in reporting, writing, editing, delivery and production of broadcast media. Enrollment limited to 20.
T 16:50 – 19:30
Todd 202F
4 Credits
Cross-listed: MUR 161
CRN# 49500
FMS 205 – Introductory Digital Art– S. Ashenfelder
For the purpose of this course, the computer and software will be a medium of artistic production. Students will use writings, and readings on contemporary art practice and theory to create work within the framework of contemporary digital art. Software, namely Adobe PhotoShop and Macromedia Dreamweaver, will be the medium for materializing conceptual ideas. Prior experience with the software used in this course is not required.
Studio Art supplies fee: $50. Enrollment limited to 10.
TR 14:00 – 16:40
RRL G108
4 Credits
Cross-listed: SA 151
CRN# 49598
FMS 226 – Documentary, Mock Documentary, Reality TV – J. Middleton
This course combines a survey of major historical movements and styles in documentary film with an examination of more recent trends and challenges to the tradition. So, in addition to studying the expository political documentary, ethnographic film, and the direct cinema and cinéma vérité movements, we will explore forms including reality TV, mock documentary, and autobiographical film and video.
MW 14:00 – 15:15
Dewey 2-110E
4 Credits
Cross-listed: ENG 265/465
CRN# 49557
FMS 238 – Popular Film Genres: Gangster Films – G. Grella
We will screen and study approximately 12 gangster and crime films from the rich genre of such movies. We will also read some related fiction and some critical studies of the form. We will look at films spanning the history of cinema from Little Caesar to The Godfather, examining the devices of the form, those elements that seem to define it, the relation of the subject to the culture, the meaning of the film, and so forth. The course will include lectures and discussion.
T 18:15 – 22:00
Latt 201
4 Credits
Cross-listed: ENG 259/459
CRN# 49566
FMS 242 – All is Fair in Love and War – D. Bleich
This course contests its title. There is language and literature/film that records how language has failed as a means of (human) species adaptation toward conflict resolution in domestic and international contexts. This course, following the observations of Virginia Woolf in Three Guineas (1939), tries to document the language/literary connections between domestic violence and war making. In domestic situations, violence is protected by traditions of privacy and male governance of households; in public situations, there has been an inertia throughout recorded history in enacting the ideal announced in Isaiah: "[nations] shall not learn war any more." In our own society, genres of popular and elite culture teach the necessity and glory of war through literature, film, toys, sports, and ideals of heroic behavior. Our normal ways of speaking still presuppose violence and war as a "last resort" in solving domestic and international antagonisms.
We will examine a variety of texts in different genres to show how our taken-for-granted means of speaking and story-telling may be teaching war and domestic violence instead of promoting peaceful households and halting future generations' learning of war.
TR 12:30 – 13:45
Morey 402
4 Credits
Cross-listed: ENG 265/465
CRN# 49533
FMS 247 – Film History: Early Cinema – P. Carli
An introduction to the history, technology, and cultural significance of motion pictures of the "pre-sound" era, with screenings of 35mm prints accompanied by live music in the Dryden Theatre. Special attention will be paid to the major pioneers, Dickson, Porter, Lumière, Méliès, and Griffith, but the course will include a variety of internationally produced films selected from the world-famous archival film collection of the George Eastman House. Discussion sessions will cover the origins and development of the motion picture industry and its leading genres up to the general introduction of movies with pre-recorded music, sound and dialog, beginning in 1927. Broad issues relating to the transformation of American and world popular entertainment forms and traditions, in relation to the established performing arts of the period, will also be covered. Relevant connections to preserving the world's film heritage will be highlighted and the film restoration facilities of the Motion Picture Department will be visited in the course of the semester. Students will be expected to take a mid-term exam and write one paper. Enrollment limited to 20.
T18:15 – 20:55
GEH
4 Credits
Cross-listed: ENG 255/455
CRN# 93635
FMS 257 – Advanced Video and Sound – S. Ashenfelder
In this advanced production course, video and sound will be considered as independent art forms as well as part of video installations. Students will produce experimental videos and sound pieces. They will also explore the use of these mediums when combined with two- and three- dimensional materials in real time. This course will cover both analogue and digital formats.
Studio Arts fee: $50.
MW 14:00 – 16:40
Sage
4 Credits
Cross-listed: SA 262A/B/C
CRN# 49604
FMS 260 – Screenwriting – S. Schottenfeld
An introduction to the three-act film structure. Students will read and view numerous screenplays and films, and develop their own film treatment into a full-length script.
W 14:00 – 16:40
Gavet 312
4 Credits
Cross-listed: ENG 277/477
CRN# 92056
FMS 278 – Mexican Film – R. Rodriquez-Hernandez
Visitors to Mexico already have Hollywood versions of the country in their heads, but the 'real' Mexico is a much more complex place. Archetypes of tough hombres, renegade outlaws, dark and sultry women, or beach bums lolling under the hot sun fall by the wayside when Mexican cinema introduces the grittier and much more varied realities of the contemporary nation. This course explores both historical antecedents and contemporary visions. It includes films by directors such as Spanish exile Luis Buñuel, Alejandro González Iñárritu, Jaime Humberto Hermosillo, Alfonso Cuarón, Carlos Reygadas, Raúl Ruiz, María Novaro, and other box office favorites. From Robert Rodríquez's Bedhead, to Desperado, Once Upon a Time in Mexico and, of course, Y tu mamá también, Entre Pancho Villa y una mujer desnuda, and La ley de Herodes we explore images of Mexican culture. Course taught in English but work may be written in Spanish for Spanish Credit.
TR 15:25 – 16:40
Morey 502
4 Credits
Cross-listed: CLT 216A/416A SP 287A/487A
Screenings: M 19:20 - 22:20
CRN# 91278
FMS 285 – Italian Cinema: A Reflection of and a Reflection on Italian Culture - E. Fabbrini
This course provides a compendium of Italian cinema from the post-war period to the 1960s through the work of a few directors who have made Italian cinematography famous all over the world and have often been a source of inspiration for important foreign directors. By looking at these artists as primary contributors to the narrative and interpretation of the years following Mussolini's dictatorship and the tragedy of World War II, the course aims at an understanding of the historical and social development of Italian society of the time and its quest for a definition of national identity. Themes addressed include: 1. From the Resistance to the new neorealist cinema. Definition of Neorealism; 2. Reconstruction and the restoration of the cinema system in the 1950s. Auteur cinema; 3. The modernity of the 1960's. New cinema and commedia all'italiana. Filmmakers include: De Sica, Rossellini, Visconti, Fellini, Germi and others.
TR 14:00 - 15:15
Harkness 210
4 Credits
Cross-listed: IT 124/224
CRN# 94715
FMS 288 – Cinema & Revolution: The West German Avant-garde – J. Creech
This course explores the relationship between film and revolution in West German film from 1965 to the present. We will consider cinema’s
potential as a revolutionary medium, while also focusing on how
revolution is thematized and constructed in both fiction and documentary films. The course will engage with issues such as coming to terms with the fascist past, recreating the cinema as a revolutionary artistic form, feminism as a revolutionary perspective, the domestic sphere as a revolutionary space, and the co-optation of the cinema’s revolutionary potential through mass consumption.
TR 12:30 – 13:35
Morey 205
4 Credits
Cross-listed: CLT 212I/412I GER 283/483
CRN# 49525
FMS 298 – Contemporary Japanese Cinema – J. Bernardi
Japanese cinema has changed radically since the 1980s: independent productions are now a commercial standard; a new home entertainment market irrevocably transformed patterns of consumption; an increasingly global market for Japanese (and, more broadly, Asian) film has generated "brand name" recognition at a new level of popularity worldwide. Concurrent demographic, socio-political, and economic changes have ruptured conventional conceptions of national identity; Japan has in particular been forced to reconsider its 20th century identity crisis as part of Asia. This course explores how recent films reflect such developments (e.g., reworking and reinterpreting once familiar genres) and the significance of contemporary works within the broader context of a global market (e.g., the singular popularity of specific genres like Horror, as well as the broad diversity such phenomena can conceal).
TR 15:25 – 16:40
Dewey 2-110E
4 Credits
Cross-listed: JPN 291/491, CLT 214M/414M, FMS 498
CRN# 49649
FMS 303 – Postcolonialism and Globalization Theory– G. Niu
This class will provide an overview of postcolonial studies and investigate recent theories. It includes some study of short literary works and films. No prerequisites. Work includes discussion leading, research essays, and short writing assignments.
MW 14:00 – 15:15
Morey 524
4 Credits
Cross-listed: ENG 380
FMS 356 – Classical Film Theory – S. Willis
This course examines the philosophical, aesthetic, and social issues that are central to classical film theory. It traces the historical development of film theory from 1900 to the 1950s. We will begin with thinkers in the period of early cinema, including Germaine Dulac, Jean and Marie Epstein, and then we will examine the development of film theory in the work of later theorists, such as Jean Mitry, Sergei Eisenstein, Dziga Vertov, Siegfried Kracauer, Walter Benjamin, Andre Bazin, and Christian Metz. Weekly screenings of historically contemporary films will allow us to examine the ongoing dialogue between the evolving medium and the developing theoretical discussion.
MW 15:25 – 16:40
RRL 428
4 Credits
Cross-listed: FMS 556, AH 361/561, CLT 211F/411F, ENG 261/461, FR 285
FMS 390 – Supervised Teaching
FMS 391 – Independent Study
FMS 393 – Senior Project
FMS 394 – Internship
FMS 498 – Contemporary Japanese Cinema – J. Bernardi
See FMS 298 for description.
FMS 556 – Classical Film Theory – S. Willis
See FMS 356 for description.