Film Studies, BA

Kirsten Thompson, PhD, Director

Objectives

Cinema is the most important and popular new art form developed in the 20th century and it has had a profound effect on modern culture. The bachelor of arts in film studies gives students a disciplinary knowledge of this art form - its history, aesthetics, craft, technologies and theories - and it situates film in its international and transnational contexts with studies of national cinemas and international coproductions and crosscurrents. Students especially inter­ested in filmmaking can study screenwriting and film production, and complete off-campus film projects and internships in the regional film community and through study abroad.

Sharing a commitment to critical thinking and writing skills development, the film studies program works interdepartmentally with other humanities and social science disciplines and programs that ap­proach film as historical, cultural and theoretical texts. Students can experience film study as an interdisciplinary activity with an interdisciplinary faculty, and, if they choose, coordinate a major or minor in Film Studies with a second major or minor in another discipline. Film studies also addresses transdisciplinary questions re­specting visual literacy, our image-saturated culture, the history of race, gender and sexuality in film, and the medium’s role in promoting social justice and global citizenship. Finally, in the larger learning environment of a Film Art Series, film workshops and exhibitions, film festivals, and a vibrant regional film community, students will discover additional resources that will help prepare them for graduate film study and careers in a diverse and challenging industry.