Film Studies
Film
Studies courses
Film Studies program home page
Director of undergraduate studies: Aaron Gerow, Room 316, 53 Wall St., 432-7082, aaron.gerow@yale.edu
FACULTY ASSOCIATED WITH THE PROGRAM OF FILM STUDIES
Professors
*Dudley Andrew (Co-chair) (Comparative Literature, Film Studies), Ora Avni (French), Scott Bukatman (Film Studies, History of Art), Hazel Carby (African American Studies, American Studies), *Katerina Clark (Comparative Literature, Slavic Languages & Literatures), Michael Denning (American Studies, English), Thomas Elsaesser (Film Studies) (Visiting), *John Mack Faragher (History), Benjamin Harshav (Comparative Literature), *David Joselit (History of Art), Stathis Kalyvas (Political Science), *Thomas Kavanagh (French), John MacKay (Film Studies, Slavic Languages & Literatures), *Millicent Marcus (Italian), Donald Margulies (Adjunct) (English, Theater Studies), Giuseppe Mazzotta (Italian), Christopher L. Miller (African American Studies, French), *Charles Musser (Co-chair) (American Studies, Film Studies), Alexander Nemerov (History of Art), *Brigitte Peucker (German, Film Studies), Joseph Roach (English, Theater Studies), *Michael Roemer (Adjunct) (Art, American Studies), John Szwed (Anthropology, African American Studies, American Studies), Alan Trachtenberg (Emeritus) (English, American Studies), *Katie Trumpener (Comparative Literature, English), Laura Wexler (American Studies, Women's, Gender, & Sexuality Studies)
Associate Professors
*Murray Biggs (Adjunct) (English, Theater Studies), *Noa Steimatsky (Film Studies, History of Art)
Assistant Professors
*Seth Fein (American Studies, History), *Terri Francis (African American Studies,Film Studies), *Aaron Gerow (East Asian Languages & Literatures, Film Studies), Karen Nakamura (Anthropology)
Senior Lecturers
Ron Gregg (Film Studies), *Richard Maxwell (Comparative Literature, English)
Lecturers
James Charney (School of Medicine), Jinhee Choi (East Asian Studies), *John Crowley (English), *Chris Hegedus (Film Studies), *Michael Kerbel (American Studies), Denise Khor (Ethnicity, Race, & Migration, Film Studies, American Studies), *Marc Lapadula (Film Studies), *D. A. Pennebaker (Film Studies)
Critics
*Jonathan Andrews (Art, Film Studies), *Sandra Luckow (Art), *Carol Scully (Art)
Senior Lector II
Risa Sodi (Italian)
Senior Lector
Karen von Kunes (Slavic Languages & Literatures)
*Member of the Film Studies Committee.
Film Studies is an interdisciplinary major that focuses on the history, theory, and criticism of film. Courses examine cinema's role as a unique modern art form and the contributions of moving image media as cultural practices of enduring social significance. Film Studies offers students latitude in defining their course of study within the framework established by the Film Studies Committee. With this freedom comes the responsibility of carefully planning a coherent and well-focused program. Because of the special demands of Film Studies and the diversity of its offerings, potential majors are encouraged to consult with the director of undergraduate studies early in their academic careers.
The major in Film Studies consists of fourteen term courses, including the prerequisite. For the Class of 2009 and subsequent classes, a maximum of one course taken on a Credit/D/Fail basis may be counted toward the requirements of the major with permission of the director of undergraduate studies.
Prerequisite. Students normally take FILM 150a, Introduction to Film Studies, in their freshman or sophomore year. It is a prerequisite for many other courses in the major.
Required courses. Students are required to take FILM 320a or b, Close Analysis of Film, preferably during their sophomore year. They must also take either FILM 330b, Film Theory and Aesthetics, or FILM 340b, Issues in Contemporary Film Theory, preferably by the end of their junior year. Students are encouraged to take both. In addition, students must devote two term courses, preferably upper-level courses, to the study of representative films from at least two different nations or cultures (for example, German expressionist cinema, Italian cinema, American comedy).
Students must take one term course on the creative process in film. Appropriate courses are listed under "Production Seminars" in the printed YCPS, but other courses in art, theater studies, or creative writing may be substituted with the permission of the director of undergraduate studies.
Area of concentration. With the help of the director of undergraduate studies in Film Studies, each student defines an area of concentration comprising six courses. The six courses should form a coherent program in which the study of film is integrated with a particular discipline (history of art, literature, philosophy, the social sciences) or area of investigation (film theory, production, race and gender, photography, national or regional cultures and their cinemas). The focus of the concentration might also be a given historical or theoretical problem drawn from two areas, such as German expressionism in film and in art or narrative theory in film and in the novel. Students choosing a production-related concentration must take at least seven critical studies courses in the major. FILM 150a, 320a or b, 330b, 340b, and the two required courses on national cinemas may be counted among the seven. Critical studies courses are defined as those not listed under "Production Seminars" in the printed YCPS.
Senior requirement. During the senior year, each student takes one or two senior-level seminars or the equivalent and submits a senior essay or senior project, which should represent a culmination of work in the major and in Yale College. For the student writing a senior essay, several options are possible. First, the student may enroll in two terms of relevant senior-level seminars (usually courses numbered in the 400s) and write a substantial term paper of twenty-five pages, double-spaced, for one of these courses. Second, the student may do independent research on a yearlong senior essay (FILM 491a, 492b). This option is intended for students with clearly defined topics that do not relate closely to a senior-level seminar. During the first two weeks of the first term of senior year, a petition for permission to do independent research should be submitted to the director of undergraduate studies in the form of a brief prospectus, approved by the proposed faculty adviser to the essay. Such research receives two terms of credit; the product of a two-term research essay is a work of at least fifty pages. Third, the senior requirement may be completed by combining one single-term senior-level seminar with one term of an independent research project (FILM 491a or 492b), resulting in a paper of thirty-five pages. Whichever option is chosen, the essay should be written on a topic informed by the student's area of concentration. In researching and writing the essay, the student should consult regularly with the seminar instructor, supplying preliminary drafts as appropriate, and may consult with other faculty members as well.
Students who wish to complete a senior project as an alternative to an essay petition the Film Studies Committee for approval of their project at the end of the junior year. Alternative projects might include writing a screenplay in Advanced Screenwriting (FILM 487) or producing a videotape. Students electing such an alternative should note that the project must be undertaken and accomplished over two terms. A limited number of students making films or videotapes are admitted to either the Fiction Film Workshop (FILM 483) or the Documentary Film Workshop (FILM 455), and receive three credits for their projects (two credits for FILM 483 or 455, and one for FILM 493a or 494b). Such a choice effectively commits students to one extra course in addition to the fourteen courses required for the major, because FILM 493a or 494b does not count toward the fourteen required courses when taken in conjunction with FILM 483 or 455. Students may undertake a production project outside the workshops if (1) the Film Studies Committee approves their petition, (2) they have found a primary adviser qualified and willing to provide the necessary supervision, and (3) they have identified the equipment necessary to execute the project. Such students may count FILM 493a and 494b toward the fourteen courses required for the major.
Majors graduating in December must submit their senior seminar essays or senior projects to the director of undergraduate studies by November 30; those graduating in May, by April 21. A second reader assigned by the director of undergraduate studies will participate in evaluating the essay or project. In order to graduate from Yale College, a student majoring in Film Studies must achieve a passing grade on the senior seminar essay or senior project.
Admission to senior-level seminars is at the instructor's discretion, but the Film Studies program will ensure that every senior major gains admission to the required number of seminars.
The intensive major. Students of substantial accomplishment and commitment to film studies may wish to pursue the intensive major. Students in the intensive major complete a senior project in production and also write a senior essay on an unrelated topic. The intensive major in Film Studies is intended for students who are not pursuing two majors. Students must request approval from the Film Studies Committee at the end of their junior year by submitting a proposal that outlines their objectives and general area of study.
All majors. Study of relevant foreign languages is urged for all Film Studies majors. Students considering graduate work should become proficient in French or another modern language. Those choosing to study film in relation to a foreign culture must have good listening and reading abilities in that language.
Film Studies draws on the resources of many other departments and programs in the University. Students are encouraged to examine the offerings of other departments in both the humanities and the social sciences, as well as residential college seminars, for additional relevant courses. The stated area of concentration for each student normally determines the relevance and acceptability of other courses.
REQUIREMENTS OF THE MAJOR
Prerequisite: FILM 150a
Number of courses: 14 term courses, incl prereq and senior req
Distribution of courses: 6 courses in area of concentration; 2 courses in different national cinemas; 1 production course; if concentration is production-related, at least 7 critical studies courses
Specific courses required: FILM 320a or b, and either 330b or 340b
Senior requirement: 2 terms of senior-level sems, or 2 terms of senior essay (FILM 491a, 492b), or 1 term of each; or 2 terms of senior project (FILM 455 or 483 or 487)
Intensive major: Both senior essay and senior project
