Film Studies 2009-2010
Overview
The Film Studies Minor, one of the newest additions to the Union College Interdisciplinary Studies curriculum, is designed to develop a conscious awareness of film as a basic and widespread medium of cultural representation and communication. The Film Studies Minor provides students with the critical tools necessary for analyzing and evaluating film texts, and for beginning to understand film technologies. It prepares students to pursue academic and/or creative paths for advanced study and/or professional interests in film, and is ideal for those considering careers in advertising, marketing, public relations, digital arts, journalism, television, communications and, of course, filmmaking.
THE PROGRAM
With more than 30 courses offered, and new courses added on a regular basis, students have plenty of variety to choose from for completing the minor requirements (see below). Drawing on courses from the humanities, art, social sciences, computer science, and engineering, and with focus on films from around the world, the Film Studies Minor encourages interdisciplinary study and rich cultural engagement. Just a sampling of the courses offered include: Hollywood Film: An American History; Filming Margins: Cinéma Vérité and Social Realism in Latin America; Sex Lives and Videotape: Casting Sexuality in French and Francophone Film; Chinese Film; Ethnographic Film; Film as Fictive Art; The Ancient World in Film and Literature; Photographing Culture; and Digital Art.
REQUIREMENTS FOR THE MINOR
A minimum of six approved courses from a least two of the following categories: I. Film History and
Cultures; II. Film: Disciplines, Theory, Criticism; and III. Film Technologies (see Course Catalog for specific listings under each category). Students can also get a course credit toward the minor by carrying out a film-related internship or an independent film project upon pre-approval by one of the program directors (contact one of the directors for further information; the independent film project normally first requires the completion of at least four other Film Studies courses).
THE FACULTY
Students take courses with faculty from a wide variety of departments and programs, including History, Art History, Anthropology, Women’s and Gender Studies, Modern Languages and Literatures, Visual Arts, and Computer Science.
The co-directors of the Film Studies program are Michelle Chilcoat, Associate Professor of French and Francophone Studies in the Department of Modern Languages and Literature; and Andrew Feffer, Associate Professor of American History of the Department of History. The two teach a number of Film Studies courses, and have published Film Studies related articles.
RESOURCES
The Schaffer Library holds an impressive collection of videos and DVDs, including documentaries, Hollywood classics, and films from around the world. Also available for use are DV cameras and film-editing software. Many film showings and series are organized on campus each year, and internationally renowned filmmakers have been invited to campus to give presentations and to teach filmmaking workshops. There are also many film festivals and competitions that take place on- and off-campus.
LEARN MORE
To learn more, please contact Michelle Chilcoat or Andrew Feffer.