2008-09 Cinema Studies Courses

Fall 2008 Cinema Studies Courses

First-Year Seminars
First-year seminars do not count toward the Cinema Studies major, but are recommended as an introduction to deeper-level skills in reading, viewing, analysis, writing and discussion. The successful completion of a first-year seminar will serve as one of the ways to satisfy the prerequisite for Cinematic Traditions courses.

FYSP 128 (8002) Media and Memory, 4 hours/ 4HU, Wri
TuTh 9:35-10:50, J. Pence
Beyond offering different sorts of content and engagement for their audiences, various artistic forms and techniques can be understood to provide alternative models for individuals and groups to filter and process experience in general. This course will look at multiple artistic forms (e.g., painting, photography, film, literature), in light of their own technical developments and contrasts with each other across time, in order to develop a greater sense of the many ways medium matters. Enrollment limit: 14 first-year students only.

FYSP 157 (8011) The Sense of Time and Place, 4 hours/ 4HU, Wri
MWF 10:00-10:50 + Sun 1:00-4:00 pm, W. P. Day
We often treat time and place as background, focusing on characters and actions rather than their context. In this course we will read and view works that put time and place in the foreground to explore the relationship between our sense of self to time and place. We will also explore how artists characterize the relation between time and place. A second concern in this course is the nature of reading and viewing. Enrollment limit: 14 first-year students only.

Cinema Studies Introductory Core Course
Cinema Studies majors are required to take Cinema Studies 101 (Form, Style, and Meaning in Cinema), which is the foundation for future study in the discipline.

Prerequisites: Cinema Studies 101 has no prerequisites. Some spaces are reserved for first- and second-year students.

101. (4729) Form, Style, and Meaning in Cinema, 4 hours / 4HU
MWF 11:00-11:50 + Tu 7-10 pm + Sun 1-4, B. Doan
This course considers the cinema as a particular media form and explores issues and methods in cinema studies. The class focuses on questions of film form and style (narrative, editing, sound, framing, mise-en-scène) and introduces students to concepts in film history and theory (industry, auteurism, spectatorship, the star system, ideology, genre). Students develop a basic critical vocabulary for examining the cinema as an art form, an industry, and a system of culturally meaningful representation. Enrollment Limit: 45.

Introductory Cinema Studies Production Course
This is the preferred gateway to advanced production courses, which are listed in Advanced Cinema Studies courses below.

Prerequisites: Cinema Studies 101.

CINE 201. Sound and Image Workshop, 3 hours / 3HU
-01 (7696): MW 10:30-12:00 + Th 7:00-10:00 pm, R. Brown-Orso (Mudd 443)
-02 (7812): MW 1:30-2:55 + W 7:00-10:00 pm, G. Pingree (Mudd 443)
This workshop follows the idea that we may understand film by making as well as analyzing it. We will explore basic issues in cinema through hands-on experience, marrying critical study (How are movies structured and why? How do they affect audiences?) to production work (exercises and projects in cinematography, mise-en-scène, sound, and editing). In short, we will probe the broad question of how films generate meaning by composing with sounds and images. Serves as prerequisite for advanced production courses. Consent by instructor required. Prerequisite: CINE 101. Enrollment Limit: 12.

Cinematic Traditions Courses
Cinema Studies majors are required to take at least one Cinematic Traditions course taught by the Cinema Studies faculty or cross-referenced as such by the Cinema Studies Program. The Cinematic Traditions requirement must be met by a full semester course or the equivalent (two one-module courses).

Prerequisites: Cinema Studies 101 is strongly recommended as preparation for Cinematic Traditions Courses. Unless otherwise noted, Cinematic Traditions courses are open to students who have completed any Writing Intensive (WRi) course, or have gained Writing Certification (WR) in any course in the Humanities. They are also open to those who have achieved a 5 on the AP exam in English Language/Composition or English Literature/Composition, or a score of 710 or better on the SAT II writing test. Other students may be admitted by consent of the instructor, with the understanding that students should be able to demonstrate the ability to handle writing, discussion, and analysis in ways typically taught in Writing Intensive classes.

260 (8044). The Musical and American Film Culture 4 hours / 4HU, WR
MWF 1:30-2:20 + Sun 4:00-7:00 pm, B. Doan
This course will offer an overview of the major historical periods, figures, and films of the musical genre, while also framing them within the broader historical, aesthetic and cultural moments out of which they arose. It will also explore how the musical’s unique blending of spectacle and narrative influenced other genres. We will concentrate primarily on American film musicals, although films from France and England, as well as stage productions, will also be included. Enrollment Limit: 30.

Advanced Cinema Studies Courses
Unless otherwise indicated, these 300- and 400-level courses taught by Cinema Studies faculty require as prerequisites CINE 101 and a Cinematic Traditions course or Cinema Studies 299; or CINE 101 and consent of the instructor.

301 (7816). Sound and Image Workshop II, 3 hours / 3HU
TuTh 10:00-11:30, R. Brown-Orso (Mudd 443)
This is a studio production course in multimedia performance This workshop will incorporate video, sound, music, movement and installation. We will examine closely themes of myth and ritual through the art-making practice. We will look closely at the work of Meredith Monk, Bill Viola, John Cage, Maya Deren and others. We will be engaging in a variety of high- and low-tech media; both analog and digital will be employed in the development of series of projects and performances. Public presentations of the various stages of development will take place throughout the semester including the premiere of a final public presentation at the end of the semester. Consent of instructor required. Enrollment Limit: 12.

320 (7539). Documentary Production, 4 hours / 4HU, WR
MTu 7:00-10:00 pm, G. Pingree (Mudd 443)
This course explores documentary form in both critical and creative ways. The class introduces students to various ways to think about and understand documentaries (in terms of structure, purpose, audience, etc.) and then gives them the opportunity to practice basic documentary production (camera, lighting, sound, non-linear editing). After engaging in various individual and small group exercises, students spend the balance of the semester working together to produce a short documentary video. Completed application (download here) and consent by instructor required. Enrollment limit: 12.

324 (7811). Production Workshop -- The Short, 4 hours / 4HU
MW 3:00-4:30 + Th 7:00-10:00 pm, G. Pingree (Mudd 443)
The short film is a distinct form, with its own limits and possibilities. Put another way, short films, whether fiction, non-fiction, or experimental, are not simply reduced versions of feature-length films. In this advanced production workshop, students will consider the Short in its historical, formal, and industrial contexts, but mostly they will practice the art of conceiving, producing, and exhibiting short films. Prerequisite: CINE 201 or an equivalent introductory production course and consent of instructor. Consent by instructor required. Enrollment limit: 12.

350 (7813). Framing French Non-Fiction Film, 3-4 hours / 3-4HU, CD, WR
MWF 10:00-10:50 + M 7:00-10:00 pm, E.G. An
This course addresses documentary and ethnographic cinema from France, from the invention of the Lumière cinématographe in 1896 to digital filmmaking at the beginning of the 21st century. As we study nature documentaries, early city symphonies, films made in the name of ethnology and anthropology, war documentaries, and biographical and autobiographical films, we will investigate the structures, techniques, and ideologies that identify these practices as non-fictional, and, when applicable, uncover their poeticity and artifice, particularly in narrative films that play with these representational strategies and test the limits of claims to truth and/or objectivity. Identical to FREN 350 (7814). Conducted in English. Prerequisites: FREN/CINE 250 or CINE 101. Enrollment limit: 25.

368 (8045). Movies & Melodrama, 4 hours / 4HU, WR
MWF 3:30-4:20 + Sun 7:00-10:00 pm, B. Doan
This course explores the history, cultural contexts, and critical challenges of melodramatic narrative cinema. We'll study the genre's origins, the rise and fall of its prestige, its identification as a "feminine" form, its adaptation to different historical and cultural contexts, and its contemporary challenges to cultural analysis. Enrollment limit: 25.

~~399 (7815). Cinema Studies Practicum, 1-3 hours / 1-3~~ HU This course is cancelled.
TuTh 11:40-1:10, R. Brown-Orso (Mudd 443)
This course allows qualified students to pursue independent projects in documentary work and other types of production within the collaborative context of a practicum. Students must demonstrate previous production training and experience, submit specific and feasible proposals, and receive permission from the instructor. Students will develop projects in consultation with the instructor and work in small groups to provide each other critical and technical support. Completed application (download here) and consent by instructor required. Enrollment limit: 15.

Senior Tutorials, Seminars, and Honors Projects
Senior Tutorials and Senior Seminars are designed primarily for Cinema Studies majors, and fulfill the 400-level requirement for the Cinema Studies major. Rising senior Cinema Studies majors should apply for tutorials and seminars through a common application available at the Program office, not through individual instructors. Some places in seminars may be available for other qualified students after all Cinema Studies majors have been accommodated, by application to the Program.

Honors in Cinema Studies also fulfills the 400-level requirement for the Cinema Studies major; it is only open to invited students who have been admitted through the application process.

Prerequisite: Admission based on a completed application form. (Explanatory letter and application form can be downloaded here; they are also available in the Program office, Rice 130. Email the completed form to Director or drop it off in Rice 130.)

498. Senior Tutorial 1-4 hours / 1-4HU,WR
-01 (4736) J. Pence / -02 (6374) E.G. An / -03 (6375) R. Brown-Orso / -04 (6534) W.P. Day / -05 (8085) B. Doan / -06 (8086) G. Pingree
Students should consult with the Director of the Program about arranging a Senior Tutorial. Prerequisite: Admission based on a completed application form (available at Program office). Consent of instructor required. Enrollment limit: 9.

499. (5783) Honors Project 1-4 hours / 1-4HU, WR
TBA, J. Pence
Honors in Cinema Studies is only open to invited students who have been admitted through the application process. Prerequisite: Admission based on a completed application form (available at Program office). Consent of instructor required.

995. Private Reading 0.5-3 hours / 0.5-3HU
-01 (4737) W.P. Day / -02 (4738) E. Hamilton / -03 (5776) J. Pence / -04 (7745) B. Doan / -05 (6377) E.G. An / -06 (6702) G. Pingree / -07 (8046) R. Brown-Orso, TBA
Consent of instructor required.

*Cross-Referenced Courses
These courses count towards the Cinema Studies major. Students should register for these courses using the number in the department or program of origin. For course description, please see the relevant department or program in this catalog.

Electives
These courses count as electives towards the Cinema Studies major.

THEA 326. (7961) Acting for the Camera, 3 hours / 3HU (M443)
TuTh 2:50-4:30, P. Moser
In weekly on-camera assignments, students will explore the particular challenges and opportunities entailed in making vivid acting choices in front of a camera. Work will include improvisation, monologues, and scene-work. Consent of instructor required. Enrollment limit: 12.

Cinematic Traditions
These courses count as Cinematic Traditions courses towards the Cinema Studies major. The Cinematic Traditions requirement must be met by a full semester course or the equivalent (two one-module courses).

AAST 361 (7774). African American Film II 4 hours / 4HU, CD, WR
Th 11:00-12:15 + W 7:00-10:00 pm, Caroline Jackson-Smith
This course will continue the inquiry in AAST 261, but will intensively focus on more recent films with Black subjectivity in both dominant and independent cinema. We will consider the legacy of both "Blaxplolitation" and the radical film movement of the early 1970's on artists of the 1980's and 90's. We will look at the ways in which popular music trends affect film techniques and consider new critical approaches to cinema studies. Though most attention will be given to narrative films, there will be some consideration of documentary and other experimental forms. The emphasis will be on the US cinema industry with some reference to other diasporan filmmakers. Short papers will be required every week with lengthier assignments at mid-term and finals. Students must be able to attend all morning classes and evening screenings. Enrollment Limit: 25.

EAST 109 (7842). Topics in Chinese Film 3 hours / 3HU, CD, WR
MWF 1:30-2:20, H-C. Deppman
A study of the booming contemporary cinema scenes in China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. We will develop a contextualized critical vocabulary for film analysis, examine the history of popular Chinese cinema, and study the relationship between style and politics. Directors may include Zhang Yimou, Chen Kaige, Wong Kar-wai, Stanley Kwan, Ang Lee, Hou Hsiao-hsien, and Tsai Ming-liang. Enrollment Limit: 35.