FILM 105     Introduction to World Cinema  (4)

With the benefit of guest presentations, this course offers an introduction to essential techniques of analyzing film along with an introduction to a number of national cinemas represented in the film studies program, such as Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Russian, and Spanish film.

FILM 108     History of Film I  (4)

A chronological survey of the most significant and influential developments in international cinema from the invention of moving pictures to mid-century. Emphasis is on pioneering directors and major films. This course also introduces the student to film theory along with the major aesthetic and technological developments of the medium.

FILM 109     History of Film II  (4)

This course traces the major developments in world cinema from the mid-twentieth century to the present day. Organized chronologically, it covers the international, aesthetic, and technological benchmarks of film history, with an introduction to the critical vocabulary necessary for film analysis.

FILM 305     Hollywood in the 1970s  (4)

This course examines a creative high point in American filmmaking at the same time that defeat in the Vietnam War, the legacy of the Watergate scandal, and an energy crisis sparked disillusionment in American institutions. The demise of old Hollywood allowed filmmakers in the 1970s to take risks and to experiment with ambitious story-telling techniques and new visual styles. American film directors incorporated influences from across the globe. Women and African-American filmmakers emerged to make films with new perspectives alongside well-known figures like George Lucas and Francis Ford Coppola. This course also considers how film dialogue, frank sexuality, and violence intersected with changing cultural expectations during the decade.

FILM 325     The Films of Alfred Hitchcock  (4)

This course examines Alfred Hitchcock’s persistent interest in climactic chases, claustrophobic locations, sexual voyeurism, ironic humor, and a sense of the inevitability of fate. Analysis of Hitchcock films from the late twenties to the mid-sixties will emphasize the director’s treatment of editing, framing, sound, and mis en scene. Students will become familiar with a variety of critical approaches and with cultural and historical influences on Hitchcock's work.