Film Studies (FST)

FST 127. Environmental/Justice Films. (3)

This course is designed to introduce Social Justice and Sustainability Prodesse Scholars to a variety of environmental and social justice issues through cinema. The emphasis will be fictional feature films, not documentaries, but the feature films may be based on reality. Students will meet to watch films together and reflect on the messages they carry about environmental and social justice issues and how those messages are disseminated to the viewers. Students will explore the relationship between art and message.
Cross-listed with IES 127 and SOC 127.

FST 135. Film as Ethnography. (1)

Explores anthropological approaches to the study of human diversity and variation through the lens of ethnographic and documentary films. Exposes students to basic concepts in anthropology including cultural and linguistic relativity, globalization, and representational practices. IIIB. PA-4C. CAS-C.
Cross-listed with ATH.

FST 177. Independent Studies. (0-6; maximum 10)

FST 201. Film History and Analysis. (3)

Introduction to basic principles of cinematic form and to major movements and issues in the history of cinema. Primary emphasis given to principal methods of critical thinking in film studies, from close analysis of formal and stylistic elements in a single film to more global ways of understanding and interpreting films within their aesthetic, social, historical, and political contexts. Includes screenings of representative films, lectures, discussions, group activities, papers, and exams. IIB. PA-3B. CAS-B.

FST 204. Brazilian Culture Through Music and Film. (3)

Through music and film this course raises questions about national identity, history, social, religious, and ethnic diversity in Brazil. IIA, IIB, IIIB. PA-3A, PA-3B, PA-4C. CAS-B.
Cross-listed with LAS/MUS/POR 204.

FST 206. Diversity and Culture in American Film. (3)

Analysis of the representation of diversity and culture as portrayed in American motion pictures. IC, IIB. PA-3B, PA-4B. CAS-B.
Cross-listed with IDS.

FST 220. Literature and Film. (3; maximum 6)

Study of the relationship between film and genres of literature, focusing on a comparison of techniques of rhetoric, fiction, and drama, and those of film. Primary consideration given to film adaptations of works of fiction and drama. Extensive screenings of films. May be repeated once when topic changes. IIB. PA-3B. CAS-B-LIT.
Cross-listed with ENG.

FST 221. Shakespeare and Film. (3)

Study of several Shakespeare plays covering different genres of drama combined with filmed versions, ranging from theatrical to filmic/auteur cinema. IIB. PA-3B. CAS-B-LIT.
Cross-listed with ENG 221.

FST 222. Italian American Culture. (3)

The course explores the history of Italian immigration in America, focusing on the development of Italian American communities across the land and the contributions that Italian Americans have made to American society and culture. Students examine and discuss the dynamics of immigration, assimilation, ethnicity, and diversity. Taught in English. IC. PA-4B.
Cross-listed with AMS 222 and ITL 222.

FST 235. Classical Hollywood Cinema. (3)

This course examines the production of the so-called classical period of Hollywood cinema, beginning in the 1930s with the emergence of early sound and ending in the 1960s with the demise of the studio system. We will utilize an industry-studies approach, but will also explore the principal narrative and stylistic trends associated with the classical era, as well as its key creative figures- directors, producers, cinematographers, actors, etc. Weekly Screenings Required.
Cross-listed with ENG.

FST 236. Experimental Film. (3)

This course examines influential works and movements in experimental film, emphasizing filmmakers for whom the conventional entertainment narrative is an object of radical investigation. Working outside the traditions of commercial film, experimental filmmakers take alternative approaches not only to narrative but also to visual representation, sound production, and editing, often exploiting new or unconventional technologies to achieve their effects. The course will also consider critical and theoretical perspectives, situating the unconventional techniques of experimental film in relation to broader aesthetic, cultural, historical, and political contexts.
Cross-listed with ENG 236.

FST 249. Asian & Asian American Cinema. (3)

Explores films in the contexts of Western colonial influences and legacies in Asia and Asian America. Students will learn how mainstream notions of nation, gender, sexuality, family values, social hierarchies and social change are constructed at the intersection of the audience, visual imagery, political, and economic contexts. We will also explore the role alternative cinema plays in challenging mainstream forms of knowledge production with the overall goal of critically evaluating how cinema creates, recreates, perpetuates and reproduces "Asian" cultures for global and local audiences. IC, IIB, IIIB. PA-3B, PA-4B, PA-4C. CAS-B-Humanities.
Cross-listed with AAA/ENG 249.

FST 250. History and Popular Culture. (3; maximum 6)

Topical studies of historical imagery as presented in the popular communications media: best-selling fiction, documentaries, school texts, popular histories, and especially film. May not take course more than once with same instructor. When topic is film, cross-listed with HST 250. Offered infrequently.

FST 252. History at the Movies. (3)

Explores the ways that history is represented in film and video (as opposed to print). By comparing film to texts, analyzing narrative structure, and studying the representations of the past on screen, students learn how history is depicted in this medium. Introduces history of film by viewing and discussing works of several early directors who represented history. Films and directors selected for inclusion will vary from year to year.
Prerequisite: FST 201 recommended (not required).
Cross-listed with HST.

FST 261. German Film in Global Context. (3)

This course traces the dynamic development of German speaking cinema from 1895 to the present within a global context that impacts filmmaking beyond national borderlines. The global context is determined by the effects of: 1) technological innovations (camera, lighting, sound systems, editing techniques); 2) commercial practices (production, collaboration, distribution, exhibition); 3) political influences on a global scale (the interplay of film, war, politics, and ideology), and 4) shared artistic trends (genres, formal devices, and specific cultural preferences and traditions).The course is taught in English and all the films have English subtitles. IIB, IIIB. PA-3B, PA-4C, SI-04. CAS-B-LIT.
Cross-listed with GER 261.

FST 262. Italian Cinema. (3)

Discussion and analysis of major movies and trends in Italian cinema. Topics may vary but attention is given to social and ideological implications of Italian cinema and the way movies produce a critique of cultural mores. Taught in English. No prerequisites. CAS-B-LIT.
Cross-listed with ITL.

FST 263. Soviet and Post-Soviet Russian Cinema. (3)

Critical survey of directors, genres, and movements in Soviet cinema. Screening of films from Eisenstein to current directors. Lectures, discussion, and readings in English. CAS-B-LIT.
Cross-listed with RUS.

FST 264. Chinese Cinema and Culture. (3)

Study of selected films. Introduces Chinese cinema and, through films, Chinese culture. Works are from mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong, and subject matter is both historical and modern. Knowledge of Chinese is not required.
Cross-listed with CHI.

FST 266. Survey of Japanese Cinema. (3)

This course examines representative Japanese films from the immediate post-war era to the new wave of Japanese anime (animated film). Offered in English.
Cross-listed with JPN.

FST 269. Global French Cinema. (3)

Critical survey of major directors, genres, and movements in French and Francophone cinema from the silent era to the digital age. The course focuses on diverse cultural, aesthetic, and historical contexts and invites reflection upon how French-speaking films intersect with global film culture. Emphasis on the formal and stylistic analysis of film language and on constructing interpretations and arguments about films that take into account the broader contexts including different cultural perspectives, film theory, and aesthetics. Taught in English. PA-3B, PA-4B. CAS-B.
Cross-listed with FRE 269.

FST 277. Independent Studies. (0-6; maximum 10)

FST 282. Sexualities and Film. (3)

An exploration of film representations of diverse sexualities and gender expressions from the silent era to the present. PA-3B.

FST 301. Film Theory. (3)

Introduction to the basic concepts of classical and contemporary film theory, such as realism, formalism, structuralism, post-structuralism, psychoanalysis, cognitive theories, among others. Mandatory weekly screenings.
Prerequisite: FST 201.

FST 330. Film Auteurs. (3; maximum 9)

In-depth study of the films of a particular director or pair of directors, within the framework of auteurism. Weekly screenings required.

FST 340. Internship. (0-20)

FST 350. Topics in Film. (3; maximum 6)

In-depth and concentrated studies in film. Focuses on specific topics in film such as national film traditions (American, Japanese, French, etc.), genres (science fiction, western, detective, etc.), and themes (film and society, women in film, political conspiracy, etc.). May be repeated once when topic changes.
Cross-listed with ENG.

FST 356. Women and Gender in Film. (3)

This course explores the construction of gender and representations of women in film in two contexts: in mainstream Hollywood cinema and in experimental and independent films. While not providing an extensive history of women in film, the course provides a sampling of iconic films—from early cinema to the present—to critically examine how women are portrayed throughout the twentieth century and in various genres, in films made by both men and women. Course readings engage theoretical and practical points of contact within cinema, including feminist film theory, postcolonial theory, psychoanalysis, queer theory, and critical race theory. IIB, IC. PA-3B, PA-4B. CAS-B-LIT.
Cross-listed with ENG/WGS.

FST 360. Film Genres. (3; maximum 9)

In-depth study of the conventions, artists, and styles associated with a specific film genre and the historical circumstances in which the genre appeared. Possible topics include the Western, film noir, the musical, etc.
Prerequisite: FST 201.

FST 362. Mafia and Cinema. (3)

This course explores how modern films depict the complex phenomenon of the mafia. Taught in English. IC. PA-4B. CAS-B.
Cross-listed with ITL 362.

FST 377. Independent Studies. (0-6; maximum 10)

FST 381. Afro-Brazilian Diaspora Through Film and Arts. (3)

A focus on questions of gender, race, class and stereotypes in the African Lusophone countries. Taught in English. CAS-B-LIT.
Prerequisite: any literature course.
Cross-listed with ENG/CRE/POR.

FST 383. Brazilian Women through Literature and Film. (3)

Addresses questions about gender, race, class and stereotype of women's bodies in 20th-century Brazil. IIB, IIIB. PA-3B, PA-4C. CAS-B-LIT.
Cross-listed with ENG/POR/WGS.

FST 400. Topics in Film. (3)

FST 401. Seminar in Film Study. (3)

Students critique series of seminal analyses of films as preparation for development of their own research projects. SC.
Prerequisite: FST 201 and nine credit hours of course work in courses cross-listed for the film studies minor.

FST 407. Moving Image Art. (3)

Since the dawn of moving image media, artists and filmmakers have found means of artistic expression outside of both commercial entertainment and narrative cinema. This class examines this exciting history and experiences artworks that push our expectations and limits as spectators and challenge the dominant forms of film and television. Special attention is paid to creating a genealogy of experimental approaches to moving image media and connecting to art historical developments in painting, sculpture, conceptual art, and installation art as well as major social and political movements. Class includes regular screenings in addition to class discussion and lecture.
Cross-listed with ART 407/ART 507.

FST 477. Independent Studies. (0-6; maximum 10)