FAMS 101: Introduction to Film & Media Studies
This is a foundational course that introduces students to basic concepts, theories and methods that are central to film and media studies. We will study the histories and genres of cinema and formal techniques such as lighting, editing and sound to develop a critical understanding of film as a dominant mode of representation. We will also study other forms of electronic media to gain a better understanding of the perspectives and practices of emerging technologies and forms of distribution. Through required weekly screenings, readings, writing and regular discussion, we will analyze these various kinds of screen medias as they influence our world. Nandini Sikand. TR 11:00-12:15 class & M 7:00-10:00 PM lab
FAMS/ART 105: New Media—Sculpture Against the Digital Horizon
Through a series of reading/viewing/discussion sessions, this course will first examine issues and ideas that involve the use of new media methods and technologies in the contemporary practice of art. Second, through studio projects ranging from video art to social practice art to Internet art, this course will serve as a laboratory from which experiments will be performed that investigate these ideas through students’ own cultural production. Nestor Gil. TR 9:30-12:20
FAMS 201: Making Media I
This hands-on course introduces students to the creative and technical aspects of media production, and models foundational practices in productive collaboration and ethical media making. The course provides a basic understanding of framing, composition, and storytelling through the use of sound and images. Students work with lighting, audio recording, digital video cameras, and non-linear editing through a series of hands-on assignments, readings, screenings, discussion of assigned exercises, and workshops with digital equipment. Prerequisite: FAMS 101 or permission of instructor. Andy Smith. TR 2:45-4:00
FAMS 202: Making Media 2
This hands-on production course is the second course in the media production sequence begun in FAMS 201 and builds on the fundamentals of lighting, sound, camera, and editing. Students will further develop their digital filmmaking techniques through increasingly complex projects. They will work on individual and collaborative media assignments that will culminate in a public screening at the end of the semester. Prerequisite: FAMS 201 or permission of instructor. Adam MacHose. TR 1:15-2:30
FAMS 220: Critical Film Theory—The Poetics and Politics of Film
What makes film a distinct art form? Often described as the “seventh art”, cinema is unique and interdisciplinary in nature. The study of film theory gives us deeper insight into film as a language and social practice, allowing one to explore cinema’s relationship to historical, aesthetic, social, political and technological influences. We will study some of the debates in classical film theory, auteurism, psychoanalysis, feminist film theory, queer theory, postmodernism and post colonialism as they apply to issues of perception, the spectator, representation, adaptation and realism. (W) Prerequisite: FAMS 101 or by instructor’s permission. Nandini Sikand. MF 11:00-12:15 class & W 11:00-12:50 lab
FAMS 235: FAMS History—Masculinities in Media
Gender is constructed through multiple social avenues and structures, including the production and consumption of mainstream media. This non-production course will examine how four different media systems: film, television, print, and the Internet, assist in the construction of what we consider maleness in contemporary American society. Special attention will be paid to the intersectionality between race and masculinities and sexuality and masculinities. Topics will include male body image, aggression, violence, sports culture, and sexual conformity and pressures. Prerequisite: FAMS 101, WGS 101, or permission of the instructor. Gene Kelly. W 7:00-10:00 PM
FAMS 270: World Cinemas—Film, Media, and Popular Culture in Africa
From its colonial origins to the postcolonial present, cinema has played a key role in African cultural production, connecting the continent to global media circuits. The class analyzes film as a sociocultural medium, drawing on ethnographic perspectives. Indeed, by linking the study of film with interdisciplinary approaches to popular culture, the class foregrounds the diverse roles that media play in sociocultural life. In readings and discussions we will examine how diverse African social worlds have actively shaped and been altered by the creation, circulation, and reception of moving images, focusing on documentary, video films, hip-hop, film festivals, and other domains of popular cultural expression. Prerequisite: A&S 102, FAMS 101, or permission of instructor. William Bissell. MW 2:45-4:00 & T 7:00-8:30 PM
FAMS 340: Documentary Film/Topics In Film
This course combines critical study with hands-on documentary filmmaking practice. We will examine the form, history, style and impact of documentary film, beginning with 19th-century roots of the documentary and up through the recent democratization of digital documentary filmmaking. Among the topics covered will be early actualités, travelogues, propaganda, newsreels, cinéma-vérité, avant-garde, mockumentary, educational, experimental and political documentaries. Readings will aid students in the development of a practical understanding of how doc films work, and present a range of critical and theoretical approaches to film study. Working in a collaborative team-environment, we will use DSLRs cameras and software, as we produce original short documentary films. The last activity of the semester will be a student film festival. (W) Prerequisite: FAMS 201 or permission of the instructor. Andy Smith. TR 11:00-12:50 (class) & T 7:00-10:00 PM (lab)
ADDITIONAL FAMS-RELATED ELECTIVE AND RECOMMENDED COURSES FOR SPRING 2015
ART 155: Digital Photography (G. Brubaker) – MW 7:00-9:50 PM
ART 255: Digital Photography (G. Brubaker) – TR 1:10-4:00 PM
ENG 231: Journalistic Writing (K. Parrish) – MWF 2:10-3:00 PM
REL 260: Global Muslim Literature and Film – F 1:10-4:00 PM
REL 308: Visual Culture and Religious Identity (Carr) – TR 1:15-2:30 PM
THTR 279: Acting for Digital Media (Goodman) – F 11:00-11:5- & 1:10-4:00 PM
THTR 371: Advanced Topics: Self Production (Munisteri) – TR 11:00-12:15 PM
THTR 376: Making Theater-Frankenstein 2029 (Kerns/Westfall) – MW 10:00-11:50 AM