FILM - Film Studies (FILM)

FILM 101/VIST 101 Introduction to Visual Studies

Credits 3. 3 Lecture Hours. Survey of topics in the interdisciplinary field of visual studies, including forms of art, media, and architecture, and visual culture in global and intercultural contexts; application of visual studies methods and techniques to art, media, and architecture; analysis of the visual in contemporary culture; in-class visual studies exercises and discussions. Cross Listing: VIST 101/FILM 101.

FILM 215/GLST 215 Global Cinema

Credits 3. 3 Lecture Hours. History and theory of global cinema; historical, socio-political, national and international contexts of film production and reception; transnational film. Cross Listing: GLST 215/FILM 215.

FILM 251/ENGL 251 Introduction to Film Analysis

Credits 3. 3 Lecture Hours. Fundamental aspects of film analysis and criticism; ENGL-251 also taught at Galveston and Qatar campuses. Cross Listing: ENGL 251/FILM 251.

FILM 285 Directed Studies

Credits 0 to 3. 0 to 3 Other Hours. Selected fields of film studies not covered in depth by other courses. Reports and extensive reading required. May be repeated for credit. Prerequisite: Concurrent enrollment in FILM 251/ENGL 251 or FILM 299, and approval of instructor.

FILM 289 Special Topics in...

Credits 1 to 4. 1 to 4 Lecture Hours. Special topics in an identified area of film studies.

FILM 291 Research

Credits 0 to 3. 0 to 3 Other Hours. Research conducted under the direction of faculty member in film. Prerequisites: FILM 251/ENGL 251 or FILM 299 and freshman or sophomore classification and approval of instructor.

FILM 299 History of Film

Credits 3. 3 Lecture Hours. Historical development of major periods, movements and styles, including several different national cinemas.

FILM 302 Diversity and the Moving Image

Credits 3. 3 Lecture Hours. Survey of both positive and negative representations of human diversity in motion picture artifacts, broadly understood; forms of diversity addressed include race, gender, sexuality, ability, and class. Prerequisites: Grade of C or better in FILM 251/ENGL 251 or FILM 299.

FILM 315/JWST 315 Cinema in Israel

Credits 3. 3 Lecture Hours. Consideration and analysis of major works of film in Israel; interpretation of diverse cultures in Israel through film; relationship of film to Israeli history; taught in English. Prerequisites: Junior or senior classification or approval of instructor. Cross Listing: JWST 315/FILM 315.

FILM 324/ENGL 324 Science Fiction and Film

Credits 3. 3 Lecture Hours. History and trajectory of science fiction film into the 21st century by filmmakers such as Kubrick, Jenkins, Cameron, Coogler and others. Prerequisites: 3 credits of literature at 200-level or above. Cross Listing: ENGL 324/FILM 324.

FILM 333/VIST 333 Story for the Screen Time

Credits 3. 3 Lecture Hours. Exploration of the internal structure of stories; exploration of stories through emotion and action beats; narrative scripts in the visually kinetic language through which live-action and animated films and narratively-driven video games perform stories. Prerequisites: Junior or senior classification. Cross Listing: VIST 333/FILM 333.

FILM 343/WGST 343 Sex, Gender and Cinema

Credits 3. 3 Lecture Hours. Exploration of a significant topic at the intersection of women's/gender studies and film, such as cinema and sexuality studies, cinema and women, and cinema and masculinity; may include discussion of production, film content, and/or reception. Prerequisites: Junior or senior classification or approval of instructor. Cross Listing: WGST 343/FILM 343.

FILM 345 Media Industries

Credits 3. 3 Lecture Hours. Survey of the business organization, economic structures and processes, and regulations of the media industry. Prerequisite: Junior or senior classification or approval of instructor. Cross Listing: COMM 345 and JOUR 345.

FILM 349 Documentary Cinema

Credits 3. 3 Lecture Hours. History and theory of documentary cinema; examination of documentary film’s ability to both reflect and shape the history of its time. May be taken two times for credit. Prerequisite: Junior or senior classification, or approval of instructor.

FILM 351/ENGL 351 Advanced Film

Credits 3. 3 Lecture Hours. A different film topic each term; sample topics include major directors, historical periods, fiction into film, film genres. May be repeated for credit. Prerequisite: ENGL 251/FILM 251 or FILM 251/ENGL 251 or FILM 301 or approval of instructor; junior or senior classification. Cross Listing: ENGL 351/FILM 351.

FILM 352/HISP 352 Hispanic Literature and Film

Credits 3. 3 Lecture Hours. Exploration of inter-media relationships between film and literature; investigation of the language of film, especially films as expressions of cultural realities through the adaptation of Hispanic literary works; taught in English. Prerequisites: Junior or senior classification, or approval of instructor. Cross Listing: HISP 352/FILM 352.

FILM 355/RUSS 355 Contemporary Russia in Its Own Films

Credits 3. 3 Lecture Hours. Exploration of contemporary Russian and late Soviet films; focus on present-day cultural conditions in the Russian Federation and in the diaspora; taught in English. Prerequisites: Junior or senior classification or approval of instructor. Cross Listing: RUSS 355/FILM 355.

FILM 356/ENGL 356 Literature and Film

Credits 3. 3 Lecture Hours. Novels and films based on them; writers and filmmakers such as Virginia Woolf, John Steinbeck, John Ford, Sally Potter, John Huston, Charlotte Bronte and Peter Bogdonavich. Prerequisites: Junior or senior classification or approval of instructor. Cross Listing: ENGL 356/FILM 356.

FILM 358/ENGL 358 Screenwriting

Credits 3. 3 Lecture Hours. Analysis of screenplay structure coupled with writing assignments illustrating principles of form. Prerequisite: Junior or senior classification. Cross Listing: ENGL 358/FILM 358.

FILM 366/ENGL 366 Horror Studies

Credits 3. 3 Lecture Hours. History, theories and major subgenre developments of contemporary horror studies in film and literature. Prerequisites: Junior or senior classification. Cross Listing: ENGL 366/FILM 366.

FILM 376/PHIL 376 Philosophy, Film and Evil

Credits 3. 3 Lecture Hours. Application of philosophical methods and analyses to the medium of film; survey of various depictions and treatments of evil within the genre of science fiction; investigation of depictions and treatments of evil arising from consideration of human encounters with alien others. Prerequisite: Junior or senior classification or approval of instructor. Cross Listing: PHIL 376/FILM 376.

FILM 394 Studies in Film Genre

Credits 3. 3 Lecture Hours. Study of a specific film genre, such as Western, Gangster, Mystery, Science Fiction; genre varies each time course is taught; movies are screened and analyzed along with assigned readings that explore characteristics of the genre and its cultural importance. May be repeated for credit. Prerequisite: ENGL 251/FILM 251, FILM 251/ENGL 251, or FILM 299, or approval of instructor.

FILM 398/AFST 398 Africana Cinema

Credits 3. 3 Lecture Hours. Overview of African cinema; historical survey of cinema from Africa and the African Diaspora; introducing films produced in several geographical regions and reflecting different filmmaking traditions. May be taken two times for credit. Prerequisite: Junior or senior classification or approval of instructor. Cross Listing: AFST 398/FILM 398.

FILM 399/PERF 399 Star Studies

Credits 3. 3 Lecture Hours. Examination of stardom as a cultural, economic, creative, and performative force; may focus on national or global star industries; topics include examination of film, theater, television, sports, or social media stardom depending on the term. Prerequisites: Grade of C or better in FILM 251/ENGL 251 or FILM 299. Cross Listing: PERF 399/FILM 399.

FILM 401 National Cinema History

Credits 3. 3 Lecture Hours. Cinema History of a given film-producing nation other than the United States, such as Japanese Film, Swedish Film, South African Film. May be taken three times for credit. Prerequisites: ENGL 251/FILM 251, FILM 251/ENGL 251, or FILM 299, or approval of instructor.

FILM 405/EURO 405 European Cinema

Credits 3. 3 Lecture Hours. Exploration of key movements in European cinema from 1895 to the present, including both national cinematic traditions, such as Italian Neorealism or French New Wave, and international trends such as Formalism, Expressionism, or Auteurism. Prerequisite: FILM 251/ENGL 251, FILM 299, or approval of instructor. Cross Listing: EURO 405/FILM 405.

FILM 406 Propaganda and Dissidence

Credits 3. 3 Lecture Hours. Use of film as a medium to promote political ideology, government propaganda, political dissidence, and subversion, with focus on Europe. Prerequisite: Junior or senior classification or approval of instructor.

FILM 415/CLAS 415 The Ancient World in Film

Credits 3. 3 Lecture Hours. Study of modern films as they relate to ancient literary texts that inspired them or with which they share common themes; relationship between Greek epic, tragedy, and comedy and their cinematic adaptations; treatment of Rome as an idea or ideal in the work of both ancient Romans and modern filmmakers. Prerequisite: Junior or senior classification, or approval of instructor. Cross Listing: CLAS 415/FILM 415.

FILM 417 Film Authorship

Credits 3. 3 Lecture Hours. Exploration of a major film author (director, screenwriter or writer/director) as a vehicle for emphasizing intensive analysis, scholarship, film criticism and the question of individual authorship with the collective enterprise of filmmaking. Prerequisites: ENGL 251/FILM 251, FILM 251/ENGL 251, or FILM 299, or approval of instructor.

FILM 425/FREN 425 French Film

Credits 3. 3 Lecture Hours. Overview of French cinema from its origins to the present; interpretation of French cultural history and politics through film; taught in English. Prerequisite: Junior or senior classification, or approval of instructor. Cross Listing: FREN 425/FILM 425.

FILM 434/HIST 434 History and Film

Credits 3. 3 Lecture Hours. Relationship between film, historical events, and public memory; cinematic representation of political, social, and economic change in various contexts; analysis of movies as historical texts; topics covered will vary according to an individual instructor’s discretion. Prerequisites: Junior or senior classification. Cross Listing: HIST 434/FILM 434.

FILM 435/GERM 435 German Film

Credits 3. 3 Lecture Hours. Consideration and analysis of major works and directors of German Film; interpretation of culture through film; relationship of film to history, literature, and other arts; taught in English. May be repeated for credit. Prerequisite: Junior or senior classification, or approval of instructor. Cross Listing: GERM 435/FILM 435.

FILM 445/COMM 435 Rhetoric of Television and Film

Credits 3. 3 Lecture Hours. Critical analysis of television and film; close readings of such mediated texts; special attention to writing television and film criticism. Prerequisite: Junior or senior classification. Cross Listing: COMM 435/FILM 445.

FILM 455/ITAL 455 Italian Cinema

Credits 3. 3 Lecture Hours. Consideration and analyses of major works and directors of Italian cinema, from its origin through Neorealism to the present; analysis of how its visual language relates to Italian history, culture and to other arts; taught in English. May be repeated two times for credit. Prerequisite: Junior or senior classification, or approval of instructor. Cross Listing: ITAL 455/FILM 455.

FILM 465/CHIN 465 Chinese Film

Credits 3. 3 Lecture Hours. Consideration and analysis of major works and directors of Chinese film; interpretation of culture through film; relationship of film to history, literature and other arts; taught in English. May be taken two times for credit. Prerequisite: Junior or senior classification or approval of instructor. Cross Listing: CHIN 465/FILM 465.

FILM 469 Cult Cinema

Credits 3. 3 Lecture Hours. Analysis of the concept of cult status; textual characteristics, historical context and audience reception practices that result in certain films receiving a cult status. Prerequisites: Junior or senior classification or approval of instructor.

FILM 470 Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Cinemas

Credits 3. 3 Lecture Hours. Examination of cinema by and about LGBTQ individuals or communities; discussion of production, film content and reception. Prerequisites: Grade of C or better in WGST 200, FILM 215/GLST 215, FILM 251/ENGL 251, ENGL 251/FILM 251, or FILM 299, and junior or senior classification; or approval of instructor.

FILM 475/GLST 475 Film, Propaganda, and Dissidence

Credits 3. 3 Lecture Hours. Examination of films promoting well-defined political aims in various countries and historical periods; focus on dissident works produced under repressive regimes. Prerequisites: Junior or senior classification or approval of instructor. Cross Listing: GLST 475/FILM 475.

FILM 481 Seminar in Film Studies

Credits 3. 3 Lecture Hours. Seminar on a figure, theme, style, movement or theory in film studies, with practice in the methods of research in film studies, culminating in a substantial research paper. Open to seniors enrolled in the interdisciplinary minor in film studies and to others with approval of the Coordinator of Film Studies. May be taken two times for credit. Prerequisite: FILM 251/ENGL 251 or FILM 299, or approval of instructor; junior or senior classification.

FILM 484 Internship in Film Studies

Credits 0 to 4. 0 to 4 Other Hours. Directed internship in a public or private organization to provide students with applied experience in Film Studies; internship will be supervised by selected agency personnel and appropriate faculty; experiences and requirements will vary slightly according to placement and student interests. Prerequisite: FILM 251/ENGL 251 or FILM 299; approval of instructor.

FILM 485 Directed Studies

Credits 0 to 3. 0 to 3 Other Hours. Selected fields of film studies not covered in depth by other courses. Reports and extensive reading required. May be repeated for credit. Prerequisite: FILM 251/ENGL 251 or FILM 299, and approval of instructor.

FILM 489 Special Topics in...

Credits 1 to 4. 1 to 4 Lecture Hours. 0 to 4 Lab Hours. Special topics in an identified area of film studies. Prerequisite: Junior or senior classification or approval of instructor.

FILM 491 Research

Credits 0 to 3. 0 to 3 Other Hours. Research conducted under the direction of faculty member in film. Prerequisites: FILM 251/ENGL 251 or FILM 299; approval of instructor.