UMASS COURSES: UNDERGRADUATE
FALL 2011
Updated 07 September 2011
Note: This guide is a work-in-progress. Course info may be subject to change.
AFROAM 197A: TASTE OF HONEY: BLACK FILM SINCE THE 1950’S, PT I
John Bracey Cap: 25
01-LEC(36845)Th 7:00PM – 9:30PM Malcolm X Cultural Center
Course Description: TBA
Course Eligibility*: All majors; no prerequisites
Undergraduate UMass Film Studies Certificate category: IIB, V
Five College Film Studies Certificate: TBA
NOTE: This is a one-credit class.
AFROAM 297D: AFRICAN-AMERICAN IMAGE IN FILM
Ernest Allen Cap: 40
01-LEC(38656)TuTh 2:30PM – 3:45PM New Africa House 311
Course Description: TBA
Course Eligibility*: All majors; no prerequisites
Undergraduate UMass Film Studies Certificate category: IIB, V
Five College Film Studies Certificate: TBA
ART 230: PHOTOGRAPHY I
Staff Cap: 14
01-STS(31112)MoWe 1:25PM – 4:10PM Studio Arts Building 18
Introduction to photographic tools and methods. The balance between self-inquiry and the importance of process and materials as vehicles of meaning. Theory explored through class critiques and slide presentations. Photography examined and discussed both from a personal point of view and in its wider cultural context.
Course Eligibility*: Open to Undergraduate students with majors in Art, BFA-Art, BFA-Art Ed, BFA-Design, BFA-Architecture or Art History.
Undergraduate UMass Film Studies Certificate category: V
Five College Film Studies Certificate: None
ART 274: ANIMATION FUNDAMENTALS
Patricia Galvis-Assmus Cap: 14
01-STS(31199)TuTh 9:30AM – 12:15PM Fine Arts Center 447
Introduction to traditional animation techniques as used in fine art animation and experimental film/video. Basics of locomotion, timing, lighting, camera moves, exposure, sound design and audio an visual editing. Studio course.
Course Eligibility*: Open to Undergraduate students with majors in Art, BFA-Art, BFA-Art Ed, BFA-Design, BFA-Architecture or Art History.
Prerequisite: Completion of Art Foundations courses (ART 110,120,131, and 142)
Undergraduate UMass Film Studies Certificate category: V
Five College Film Studies Certificate: TBA
ART 275: DIGITAL MEDIA: STILL IMAGE
Mikael Petraccia Cap: 16
01-STS(31204)TuTh 1:00PM – 3:45PM Studio Arts Building 16
This course explores the creative possibilities of digital image creation and manipulation. Through demonstrations, creative technical assignments, students explore the digital workflow in independent projects involving sustained inquiry into self selected theme.
Course Eligibility*: Open to Undergraduate Art, BFA-Art, BFA-Art-Ed, BFA-Design and BFA-Architecture majors only.
Prerequisite: Completion of Art Foundations courses (ART 110,120,131, and 142)
Or permission of the instructor.
Undergraduate UMass Film Studies Certificate category: V
Five College Film Studies Certificate: none
ART 374: INT COMPUTER ANIMATION
Christopher Bishop Cap: 16
01-STS(31228)TuTh 4:00PM - 5:55PM Fine Arts Center 447
L01-LAB(35934)TuTh 6:10PM - 7:00PM Fine Arts Center 447
First half of a two-semester sequence. With studio. Principles and applications of computer animation using Crater and Alias Maya software in film, video, music, and technology. Introduction to 2D and 3D animation programs. Skills acquired in preparation for production in second semester. Emphasis on professionalism and quality. Course Eligibility*: Open to students with majors in Art, BFA-Art, and BFA-Art Education only. Students may enroll without prerequisites with permission of the instructor.
Prerequisites: ART 271, 297Q. Should be followed by 397, 3D Computer Animation.
Undergraduate UMass Film Studies Certificate category: V
Five College Film Studies Certificate: TBA
ART 397R: PHOTOGRAPHY III
Susan Jahoda Cap: 14
01-STS(31216)TuTh 1:00PM – 3:45PM Studio Arts Building 240
Course Description
Course Eligibility*: Open to Art, BFA-Art, BFA-Design and BFA-Architecture majors only.
Prerequisites: Art 230 & 231
Undergraduate UMass Film Studies Certificate category: V
Five College Film Studies Certificate: none
CHINESE 136: INTRODUCTION TO CHINESE CINEMA
Enhua Zhang Cap: 40
01-LEC(36266)TuTh 11:15AM – 12:30PM Herter Hall 225
Chinese cinema, broadly defined to include films from Hong Kong and Taiwan, from its inception at the turn of the century to the present. Explores Chinese film as an art form, an instrument of political propaganda, and a medium of mass entertainment. No background required, although some knowledge of modern Chinese history is helpful. Conducted in English. (Gen.Ed. AT, G)
Course Eligibility*: All majors; no prerequisites
Undergraduate UMass Film Studies Certificate category: IIB, V
Five College Film Studies Certificate: TBA
COMM 140: INTRODUCTION TO FILM STUDIES
Shawn Shimpach Cap: 125
01-LEC(38561)TuTh 11:15AM – 12:30PM Herter Hall 231
L01-LAB(38562)Tu 7:00PM- 9:30 PM Herter Hall 231
The nature and several functions of film, including narrative and nonnarrative approaches to film communication. Topics include: the components of film expression (composition, movement, editing, sound, setting, and acting); designs in screen narrative; film's relationship to other arts and media; and its role as an instrument of social reflection and change.
Course Eligibility*: Open to Sophomores & Freshmen only.
This course was formerly numbered and titled COMM 240: Modes of Film Communication. If you have received credit for taking COMM 240, you will not receive credit for taking this course.
Undergraduate UMass Film Studies Certificate category: I, V
Five College Film Studies Major category: 1
COMM 231: FILM & TV PRODUCTION CONCEPTS
Bruce Geisler Cap: 150
01-LEC(32025)TuTh 2:30PM – 3:45PM Herter Hall 231
An introduction to film and television production principles and processes from script to screen in lecture format as preparation for hands-on production courses. The art and craft of film and video, including scripting, pre-production, production and post-production phases are explored.
Course Eligibility*: Open to Communication majors and Undeclared majors, or to students who have already taken COMM 118 or COMM 121.
Undergraduate UMass Film Studies Certificate category: I, V
Five College Film Studies Major category: TBA
COMM 296F: IndStu-FILM FESTIVAL
Anne Ciecko Cap: 200
01-IND(32028)We 7:00PM – 10:00PM School of Management 137
Film screening. This course is held in conjunction with a semester-long series of curated weekly film screenings and related events. To earn 1 credit (mandatory pass/fail), students are required to attend at least 7 film festival events and complete surveys at the end of the screenings.
Course Eligibility*: All majors; no prerequisites
Undergraduate UMass Film Studies Certificate category: None (1 Credit, pass/fail only)
Five College Film Studies Major category: None (1 Credit, pass/fail only)
COMM 331: PROGRAM PROCESS IN TELEVISION
David Maxcy Cap: 36
01-LEC(31945)We 10:10AM – 11:00AM Machmer Hall E-35
L01-LAB(31946)Mo 1:25PM – 4:25PM Herter TV Studio
L02-LAB(31947)We 1:25PM – 4:25PM Herter TV Studio
L03-LAB(31948)Fr 9:05AM – 12:05PM Herter TV Studio
Lecture, studio. Introduction to concepts and techniques of television production, through lectures, lab exercises, and guided production projects. All three sections will meet together once a week for a 50-minute lecture with the course director. Each section will then meet once a week for a 3-hour lab session.
Course Eligibility*: Open to Senior, Junior and Sophomore Communication majors only.
Undergraduate UMass Film Studies Certificate category: V
Five College Film Studies Major category: 8
COMM 340: HISTORY OF FILM I
Shawn Shimpach Cap: 50
01-LEC(31949)TuTh 2:30PM – 3:45PM Machmer Hall E-37
L01-LAB(31950) Tu 4:00PM - 6:00PM Machmer Hall room E-37
Lecture, lab (screening), discussion. A survey of key events and representative films that mark the history of motion pictures in the United States and other countries to 1950. In addition to identifying and providing access to major works, the course is designed to facilitate the study of the various influences (industrial, technological, aesthetic, social, cultural, and political) that have shaped the evolution of the medium to the advent of television.
Course Eligibility*: Open to Senior and Junior Communication majors only.
Undergraduate UMass Film Studies Certificate category: IIA, V
Five College Film Studies Major category: 2
COMM 393C: SEMINAR - ISSUES IN WORLD CINEMA
Anne Ciecko Cap: 20
01-SEM(37387)TuTh 1:00PM – 2:15PM Machmer Hall room W-24
Course Description:__________________________
Course Eligibility*: All majors; no prerequisites
Undergraduate UMass Film Studies Certificate category: IIA or IIB, V
Five College Film Studies Major category: TBA
COMM 397VV: SEMINAR – CINEMA FROM THE AFRICAN DIASPORA
Demetria Shabazz Cap: 42
01-LEC(37389)TuTh 9:30AM – 10:45AM Machmer Hall W-24
What is an Afrocentric vision of woman and what does a woman’s vision of Africa say about being African and Black around the world? These are some of the questions explored in this course on women, identity, and Afrocentric film practices. An objective of the course is to introduce students to the evolution of African women in all aspects of the cinema as image and as image makers. This course not only explores depictions of women, but especially women of color who direct, produce, and write films within the African Diasporic world. Specifically we look at discourses about women and works by filmmakers on and off the continent of Africa that take both an historical and global approach, in terms of issues of representation and film practice. We will study the different and parallel ways these filmmakers write their own sense of identity into their works about who they are as filmmakers speaking for and about issues that may be important to women of African descent. We will look at the various political, social and cultural roles of African women in the visual media of film, video, and television and engage in critical perspectives that examine how Black and African women explore subjectivity, the body, and positionality within the Diaspora. Some of the films we will study include films from Nigeria, Algeria, France, Great Britain, and the U.S. such as Tsitsi Dangarembga’s Everyone's Child; These Hands by Flora Mbugu-Schelling; Ngozi Onwurah’s Monday's Girls; Euzhan Palcy's Rue Cases Negres (Sugar Cane Alley); Daughter’s of the Dust by Julie Dash; Compensation by Zeinabu Irene Davis. This course includes an evening lab and some of the films will be screened during the Massachusetts Multicultural Film Festival as a part of the Interdepartmental Program in Film Studies at the University of Massachusetts.
Course Eligibility*: Open to Senior and Junior Communication majors only.
Undergraduate UMass Film Studies Certificate category: IIB, V
Five College Film Studies Major category: 5, 6
COMM 441: PRINCIPLES & TECHNIQUES OF FILM STYLE PRODUCTION
Bruce Geisler Cap: 12
01-LEC(31957)We 1:25PM – 5:25PM South College 120
Hands-on introduction to single-camera filmmaking using 16mm film cameras and/or digital video camcorders (electronic field production) and non-linear (computer-based) editing. Students learn concepts of pre-production, shot composition, lighting, visual story telling, continuity editing, and production and post-production audio as they plan, shoot, and edit exercises and complete projects.
Course Eligibility*: Open to Senior and Junior Communication majors only.
Prerequisite: COMM 231 or 331 plus one of the following (COMM 493E, COMM 493F or consent of instructor).
Students who do not meet the prerequisites for this class may fill out an application available from the instructor (Office: 411 Machmer).
Undergraduate UMass Film Studies Certificate category: IV, V
Five College Film Studies Major category: 8
COMM 493E: SEMINAR - SCREENWRITING
Bruce Geisler Cap: 20
01-LEC(31957)TuTh 11:15AM – 12:30PM South College 108
Lecture, discussion. An examination of the art, craft, and business of screenwriting from theoretical and practical perspectives. Topics include screenplay format and structure, story, plot and character development, dialog and scene description, visual storytelling, pace and rhythm, analysis of professional and student scripts and films, and more. Written work includes three screenwriting projects. The focus is on writing for narrative films and, to a limited extent, TV programs.
Course Eligibility*: Open to Senior and Junior Communication majors only.
Prerequisite: COMM film course
Undergraduate UMass Film Studies Certificate category: IV, V
Five College Film Studies Major category: 8
COMM 497J ST-ADVANCED VIDEO PRODUCTION - NEW!
Baba Hillman Cap: 12
79075 Wed 1:00-3:50 127A Lederle 127A
79076 Monday 6:30-8:30pm location South College room 108
Fall 2011 Topic: "Directing and Performance for Media." This is an advanced production/theory course for video students interested in developing and strengthening the elements of directing and performance in their work. This course will explore directing and performance in their most diverse possibilities, in a context specific to film and videomakers. Students will gain skills in production and criticism through video production assignments and analysis of theoretical discourses that ground issues of production. The course will include the study of cinematography, sound recording, processing and mixing, the study and practice of editing theory, aesthetics and techniques including an exploration of structure and formats in experimental, narrative and hybrid forms. How does performance for the camera differ from performance for the stage? How do we find a physical language and a camera language that expand upon one another in a way that liberates the imagination? We will discuss visual and verbal gesture, dialogue and voice-over, variations of approach with actors and non-actors, narration and voice-over, camera movement and rhythm within the shot, and the structuring of performance in short and long form works. Screenings and readings will introduce students to a wide range of approaches to directing and performance. We will study works by Pedro Costa, Wong Kar Wai, Charles Burnett, Nagisa Oshima, Abdellatif Kechiche, Ximena Cuevas and Apichatpong Weerasethakul.
Students will complete three video projects. Instructor permission required. Contact Professor Baba Hillman for an application form at bhillman@hampshire.edu.
Undergraduate UMass Film Studies Certificate category: IV, V
Five College Film Studies Major category: 8
COMP-LIT/FRENCHST 350: FRENCH FILM
Catherine Portuges, Katheryn Lachman Cap: 120
01-LEC(36386)Mo 3:35PM – 6:05PM Herter Hall 227
D01-DIS(32147)Tu 9:30AM – 10:45AM Katheryn Lachman Herter Hall room 225
D02-DIS(32148)Tu 11:15AM – 12:30PM Meagen Moreland Herter Hall room 211
D03-DIS(32149)Tu 1:00PM – 2:15PM Daniel Pope Herter Hall room 211
D04-DIS(32150)Tu 2:30PM – 3:45PM Daniel Pope Herter Hall room 211
The development of French film from the 1930s and its relations to French society. Analysis and reading of specific films, the ideology of different film practices, and relevant aspects of film theory, including questions of representations. Films by directors such as Vigo, Carné, Renoir, Bresson, Resnais, Godard, Truffaut, Ackerman, Kurys, Tavernier. Course taught in English (with screenings).
Course Eligibility*: All majors; no prerequisites
Undergraduate UMass Film Studies Certificate category: IIB, V
Five College Film Studies Major category: 5
COMP-LIT 391I: SPIRITUAL CINEMA EAST/WEST
Laszlo Dienes Cap: 20
STILL ENROLLING NEW STUDENTS post Add/Drop
Contact Prof. Dienes at dienes@complit.umass.edu
01-LEC(37998)Mo 7:00PM – 10:00PM Herter Hall room 116
D01-DIS(37999)Tu 2:30PM – 3:45PM Herter Hall room 208
An introduction to spiritual cinema, its themes and characteristics, from early to modern masters. In the context of a brief look at the cinematic achievements of such filmmakers as Bergman, Bresson, Kurosawa, Mizoguchi, Pasolini, Fellini and others and their philosophy of film as a spiritual art, we will focus on the art and times of the Russian film director, Andrey Tarkovsky. Of interest to students in Comparative Literature, Film, English, Art, Philosophy, History, Religion, and Russian Studies. No prerequisites, other than an open mind and a genuine interest in filmmaking that is unlike any other. No prior familiarity with the work of these directors is assumed. OIT computer account is required. A significant portion of the course will use resources on the Web; students will be expected to do some of the coursework electronically. Comparative Literature and Russian majors and graduate students will be expected to do some research in a foreign language.
Course Eligibility*: All majors; no prerequisites
Undergraduate UMass Film Studies Certificate category: IIA, V
Five College Film Studies Major category: 6
ITALIAN 397TC: TRANSNATIONAL ITALIAN CINEMA
Antonella Sisto Cap: 50
01-LEC(37932)TuTh 2:30PM – 3:45PM Bartlett Hall 301
D01-DIS(37933)Mo 6:00PM – 8:00PM Herter Hall 205
The course traces a cultural and cinematographic history of Italian modernity through the works of its major film directors emphasizing how, while addressing the nation, they were also contributing to the shaping of modern film aesthetics. Pointing to the relevance of cinema which speaks to social and existential issues, we will become critically aware of film as cultural and aesthetic construct, and will analyze how the moving-sound-images are constructed within the screen/frame and in the socio-political context that surrounds them.
Course Eligibility*: All majors; no prerequisites
Undergraduate UMass Film Studies Certificate category: IIB, V
Five College Film Studies Major category: TBA
JOURNAL393F: SEMINAR – JOURNALISTS IN THE MOVIES
John Katzenbach Cap: 30
01-SEM(38742)Tu 4:00PM– 7:00PM Bartlett Hall 125
They can be heroes; they can be villains. They can be ruthless; they can be sympathetic. They can be right; they can be wrong - and perhaps sometimes a bit of both. Since the first film director yelled "Action!" on a studio back lot, journalists of all sorts - local reporters, television news crews, even foreign correspondents - have been staples of the Hollywood milieu. The movies that have emerged have done much to define how people view journalists and continue to inform those opinions - both positive and negative - today. In an examination of selected films from the 1930s to current times, this class will explore perceptions of reporters, and reporters' choices through the prism of the big screen. Films to be seen will range from All The President's Men to The Year of Living Dangerously. Readings likely to include such works as Schanberg: The Death and Life of Dith Pran; Caputo: Means of Escape.
Course Eligibility*: Open to Journalism majors only
Undergraduate UMass Film Studies Certificate category: IIB, V
Five College Film Studies Major category: TBA
JOURNAL397L: DOCUMENTARY TRADITIONS IN LITERATURE & FILM
Madeleine Blais Cap: 25
01-LEC(33360)Tu 2:30PM– 5:30PM Bartlett Hall 312
This course offers an in depth exploration of the artistic and journalistic impulse to capture in words and images what the Irish call the “music of what happens.” Sample pairings include Harvest of Shame shown in conjunction with the John Steinbeck novel, Grapes of Wrath, Capturing the Friedmans with the Susan Orlean essay, Seriously Silly, Dead Man Walking with Norman Mailer’s great work of literary nonfiction The Executioner’s Song. We will examine the strengths and weaknesses of varying approaches to what amounts to the same material, with a special emphasis on how the author/director honors truth and fact simultaneously.
Course Eligibility*: Open to Senior, Junior and Sophomore Journalism majors only.
Undergraduate UMass Film Studies Certificate category: IIB, V
Five College Film Studies Major category: 6 (component)
POLISCI 201: AMERICAN POLITICS THROUGH FILM
Dean Robinson Cap: 108
01-LEC(35705)MoWe12:20PM – 1:10PM Ag. Engineering Bldg rm 119
D01-DIS(35706)Fr 9:05AM – 9:55AM Chenoweth Lab Addition rm 329
D02-DIS(35708)Fr 10:10AM – 11:00AM Chenoweth Lab Addition rm 329
D03-DIS(35709)Fr 11:15AM – 12:05PM Chenoweth Lab Addition rm 329
D04-DIS(36871)Fr 1:25PM – 2:15PM Chenoweth Lab room 108
D05-DIS(36872)Fr 2:30PM – 3:20PM Chenoweth Lab Addition rm 329
D06-DIS(36873)Fr 1:25PM – 2:15PM Chenoweth Lab room 113
Motives used to explore the development of American politics in the 20th century. The forces that shaped our politics early in the century (immigration, reform, religion), the rise of "big" government in the depression and World War II years (the new roles of the federal government, the enhanced presidency, internationalism, and anti-communism), and selected issues (race, gender, modern campaigns) prominent since the 1960s. The meaning of political democracy in America and how our understanding of it has adapted to changing times and conditions. (Gen.Ed. HS)
Course Eligibility*: All majors; no prerequisites
Undergraduate UMass Film Studies Certificate category: IIB, V
Five College Film Studies Major category: 6 (component)
SPANISH 397PP: SPANISH CINEMA
Jose Ornelas Cap: 30
01-LEC(36637)TuTh 4:00PM – 6:30PM Herter Hall 117
Analysis of several films by some of the most important Spanish directors from the sixties to the early XXI Century, in the context of Spanish history, society, culture and politics. Special attention will be given to films by Buñuel, Saura and Almodóvar, the three most acclaimed Spanish film directors of the 20th Century. The following topics will be analyzed: representation of gender, history, national identity and the Spanish Civil War; filmic narrative; role of religion; sexual and sociopolitical repression; violence and transgression; (de)construction of myths, symbols and conventions associated with the church, bullfighting, machismo; and other topics. All films will be streamed. Requirements: Mid-term, Final, 4 short essays and readings.
Course Eligibility*: All majors; no prerequisites
Undergraduate UMass Film Studies Certificate category: IIB, V
Five College Film Studies Major category: 5
SPANISH 497WC: WOMEN’S LITERATURE AND CINEMA
Barbara Zecchi Cap: 25
01-LEC(38857)TuTh 1:00PM – 2:15PM Herter Hall room 206
A close examination of the works by Spanish women filmmakers and writers. In particular we will address topics such as sexual violence, the influence of the Catholic Church, the decades of dictatorship under Franco, domesticity, and lesbian desire, among others. Taught in Spanish.
Course Eligibility*: All majors; no prerequisites
Undergraduate UMass Film Studies Certificate category: IV, V
Five College Film Studies Major category: TBA
SPAN 597SW SCREENWRITING WORKSHOP: HOW TO CREATE ORIGINAL FEMALE CHARACTERS
Inés París
(1 credit)
Nov. 1 - Nov. 4
4:00PM - 7:00PM at UMass (Continuing Ed) and Smith College
This exciting five days intensive screenwriting workshop is taught by visiting scholar Inés París, an Award Winning film director and screenwriter from Spain, with a broad teaching experience at international institutions. Through her comedies — A mi madre les gustan las mujeres (My mother likes women); Semen, una historia de amor (Semen, a love story); and Miguel and Williams, among others — Inés París promotes social criticism and attacks stereotypical gender roles in contemporary society. Founder and President of CIMA (Association of Women in the Audiovisual), Inés París has been a fundamental figure in Spain to raise awareness about the situation of women in the Film Industry. By bringing her practical experience to the classroom, Inés París’s goal in this workshop is twofold. On one end we will analyze patriarchal gender stereotypes in cinema and in tv series and, on the other, we will work to create stories with original female characters that deconstruct and overcome patriarchal gender constraints.
Class is taught in Spanish with English translation. Students with no knowledge of Spanish are welcome. Spanish Majors and Minors will do their written assignments in Spanish. [Course flyer.]
UMass Graduate Certificate course:
Dept/College: Spanish / Humanities & Fine Arts
See also the Graduate Course guide.
