Courses - Fall 2021

FILM-ST 170—Introduction to film Analysis: Cinematic Time Travel

This is an introduction to film studies and to the analysis of film. The course explores the complex nature and cultural function of cinema by focusing on time travel as both a central theme of a wide range of films and as a way of understanding how cinema works as a time-based medium. By studying films from various points in the global history of cinema—including films from nine countries and five continents—this course performs a transcultural introduction to the formal and stylistic aspects of cinematic storytelling.

UNDERGRADUATE FILM STUDIES CERTIFICATE CATEGORY: I, V

FILM-ST 320—Jewish Humor

What part does humor play in Jewish culture? This course examines Jewish humor in literature, folklore, film, TV, and stand-up comedy. Topics include: the origins of modern Jewish humor, Yiddish satire and comedy, Jewish role in popular culture in the US, Europe, and Israel, and the relationship of Jewish humor to antisemitism.

UNDERGRADUATE FILM STUDIES CERTIFICATE CATEGORY: III, V
FILM STUDIES MAJOR IN BDIC CATEGORY: N

FILM ST 375—Writing & Criticism in the New Media

Film and screen media touch nearly every corner of popular, professional and intellectual culture, and new varieties of film writing are flourishing along with it. In addition to the force of the research essay and the art of the film review, there is now the dynamism of new media—videographic essays, podcasts, blogs, and other engagements with film. This course is designed to teach advanced film and media analysis and writing skills for academic, professional, and public audiences. We dedicate our time to workshops of student writing and to analytical engagements with films, film criticism, and film theory. We study films from an array of genres, periods in film history, international cinemas, and underrepresented voices, and we challenge familiar modes of engaging film. The core work of this course is in discovering original, compelling insights into film and media and expressing those discoveries effectively in written text and in various forms of new media.

UNDERGRADUATE FILM STUDIES CERTIFICATE CATEGORY: II, IV, V
FILM STUDIES MAJOR IN BDIC CATEGORY: Junior-Year Writing or E

FILM-ST 383-01—Narrative Avant Garde Film

Focus on narrative problems of love, desire, sexual identity, daily life, and death. These films' investigations of how we might gain distance on our life fictions by questioning and undermining viewer identification with narrative. (Gen.Ed. AT)

UNDERGRADUATE FILM STUDIES CERTIFICATE CATEGORY: II, V
FILM STUDIES MAJOR IN BDIC CATEGORY: H2

FILM–ST 397G—Contemporary Hispanic Cinema

This course gathers together an array of recent Latinamerican, Spanish, Caribbean, and Latinx films with an emphasis on addressing the experiences of marginalized people. We will explore the historical and cultural contexts in which these films are made and seen, in many cases reaching vast audiences across the world, and we will push at the boundaries of the category "Hispanic" in cinema. Analysis and discussions will also draw on insights from film theory, such as approaches to world cinema, "Third Cinema," national and transnational cinemas, and Hamid Naficy's concept of "accented cinema." Taught in English with films subtitled in English.

UNDERGRADUATE FILM STUDIES CERTIFICATE CATEGORY: III, V
FILM STUDIES MAJOR IN BDIC CATEGORY:N

FILM-ST 397Z ST—Classical Hollywood Cinema

This is a history of film course focusing on what is sometimes referred to as the "Golden Age" of Hollywood. An examination of classical Hollywood cinema, this course will concentrate on the period from the 1920s to the 1960s. We will look at the production and distribution practices of the Hollywood studio system, and pay special attention to the way this preeminent form of cinema established many of the norms of the immersive film experience.among other subjects, we will consider the construction of classical continuity by studying the narrative structures and devices, stylistic techniques, and approaches to editing of a wide range of exemplary films. Weekly in-class screenings, with separate discussion.

UNDERGRADUATE FILM STUDIES CERTIFICATE CATEGORY: II, V
FILM STUDIES MAJOR IN BDIC CATEGORY: H1

FILM-ST 446—Film Documentary

We will view, analyze, and discuss films by modern documentary masters such as Michael Moore ("Sicko"), Chris Paine, ("Revenge of the Electric Car"), Seth Gordon ("The King of Kong—A fistful of Quarters"), Pamela Yates ("Granito") and many others to further the understanding of the documentary craft and art from a filmmaker's perspective. Students will also do preproduction (research and treatment) for their own short documentary, along with shorter hands-on exercises in writing narration, interview techniques, etc.

UNDERGRADUATE FILM STUDIES CERTIFICATE CATEGORY: III, IV, V
FILM STUDIES MAJOR IN BDIC CATEGORY: D&G

FILM-ST 470—Film Theory

This course provides an in-depth overview of key theoretical approaches to the study of cinema by examining historically significant ways of analyzing film form and its social and cultural functions and effects. The course seeks to equip students with a command of the diverse history of theoretical frameworks for understanding the medium and experience of cinema, from early concerns over film’s relation to other arts to the way the movie as a cultural form has been reconceptualized within the contemporary explosion of new media. The pressing relevance of film theory becomes clear once we stop to consider, taking just one small example, the many implications of a society-wide movement away from the collective experience of movies in a public theater to private viewing with earbuds on the tiny screen of a cell phone or tablet. We will explore a wide range of questions (concerning the nature of the cinematic medium and its apparatus, aspects of the spectator’s experience of film, and the aesthetic and ideological dimensions of film genre, to name just a few) as a way of putting ourselves in dialogue with various film theoreticians. And we will ground our examination by looking at cinematic practice in relation to theory. This will be done through regular film screenings throughout the semester.

PREREQUISITES: 1 Intro course (either FILM-ST 170, COMP-LIT 170, COMM 140, or COMM 231); and 1 film course at the 300 level.

Course is reserved for students in the Film Studies Major in BDIC or the Film Studies certificate.

UNDERGRADUATE FILM STUDIES CERTIFICATE CATEGORY II, IV, V
FILM STUDIES MAJOR IN BDIC CATEGORY: T

FILM-ST 493L—S-Experimental Film & Video

This course explores the genre of Experimental Film and Video with a critical eye toward the history and current articulations of this form of production in both feature film and short form movies; videos. The course begins with an introduction to the genre, then explores Experimental Film; Video according to three different categories: Experimentation with Narrative, Experimentation with Structure; Form, and Experimentation with the line between Fact and Fiction. Students will emerge from this course with a solid foundation in the history and theory of experimental film; video as evidenced by writing projects, research papers, and student-produced experimental media projects.

Open to Senior and Junior Communication majors only
Requirements: One of the following: COMM 331, COMM 441, COMM446

UNDERGRADUATE FILM STUDIES CERTIFICATE CATEGORY: III, IV, V
FILM STUDIES MAJOR IN BDIC CATEGORY: D&G

FILM-ST 497S—Untold Screenwriting

This is a course in writing unconventional screenplays, singular film scripts that not only take innovative forms but also tell stories not often found in established film and media production. We will read from an international selection of screenplays, examine clips from unconventional films, and address questions of representation, inclusion, and the work of writing underrepresented characters and untold narratives for the screen. “Untold” signifies in two ways—it can mean boundless or limitless, and it can refer to a narrative that is not recounted. We are witnessing the beginnings of a film and media renaissance, with new works emerging and evolving that tell stories not commonly told and take innovative forms that can surprise, edify, delight, and enrich us. In this class, we will write screenplays for such works, starting with an appreciation for established forms and conventions of screenwriting and pushing to expand the boundaries of what stories films can tell, and how.

UNDERGRADUATE FILM STUDIES CERTIFICATE CATEGORY: IV, V
FILM STUDIES MAJOR IN BDIC CATEGORY: E

FILM-ST 397K ST—Screenwriting: Film & Video

In this class students will learn character and plot creation techniques in feature films, TV, short films, online media and develop their own stories and scripts for selected formats. This course is an elective for the film studies major through BDIC.

UNDERGRADUATE FILM STUDIES CERTIFICATE CATEGORY: V
FILM STUDIES MAJOR IN BDIC CATEGORY: E

FILM ST 397X—Experiments in Film

Is Christopher Nolan experimental? Richard Linklater? Marjane Satrapi? Abbas Kiarostami? The language of contemporary cinema is made from the bold experiments of the past. Filmmakers like Chris Marker and Maya Deren turned budgetary problems into films that stand the test of time. Adrian Piper's radical experiments in racial identity: are these films? How would we talk about how they were cast ? or about the set? We will look at the risks filmmakers take and why they take them, and we will wonder how they (or we) can know if their risks have paid off. And then we will use our creative resources to turn our own challenges into artistic constraints ? into visions where our problems and concerns, our inspirations and quirks, spur us to create the unusual, the unique, and the daring. Come risk and play. Requirements include: short weekly experiments, reflections, risks, and films; watching films; and an independent project. In addition to a computer and internet access, you will need access to a camera that shoots video (a cellphone can work) as well as to video editing software and to a way to transfer between the two.

UNDERGRADUATE FILM STUDIES CERTIFICATE CATEGORY:V
FILM STUDIES MAJOR IN BDIC CATEGORY:E

ART 674—Computer Animation I

First of two semester sequence. Creative animation techniques for motion graphics, film, video, music and technology. Animation software and professional compositing programs are used. Storyboarding, production design scheduling and production issues are incorporated. Emphasis is on creativity and professionalism. Open to Masters Art majors only.

Prerequisite: ART 574

ARTS-EXT 500—Introduction to Arts Management

Arts Managers perform the work that is required to bring the arts and cultural programs to audiences, organizing programs such festivals and exhibits, performing arts events and film screenings. This course will introduce you to the "business of the arts," providing you with an overview of the careers in arts management, the types of work that arts managers do, and the current issues and trends now affecting arts management professionals. This course is designed for individuals who are new to the field of arts management, are considering an arts management career, or are interested in arts management principles for the purposes of starting one's own nonprofit. This course is a requirement for all UMass students joining the Arts Management program who have no prior experience in the field.

This class is open to Graduate students and Senior, Junior or Sophomore Undergraduate students only.
This is a 3 credit course open to Soph/Jr/Sr/Grad students. We meet twice a week for lecture/discussion and all assignments and exams are offered in Moodle. Students should plan to attend (and may need to pay admission for) one nonprofit arts event in Week 4 or 5.
If the course is filled or if you wish to register for a concurrent course and have trouble, contact the Arts Extension Service at aes@acad.umass.ed or 413-545-2360. The department is willing to open a second section if necessary.

COMM 797R—Special Topics: Narrative and Mediated Storytelling

This interdisciplinary graduate seminar combines theory, analytical methods, and critical creative practice in an exploration of the interconnections between words and images (and words as images), textuality and audiovisuality in storytelling. Topics, concepts, readings, and/or approaches to be considered are grounded in and drawn from film and media studies, aesthetics and other branches of philosophy, visual culture studies and art history, critical fashion studies, history, linguistics, and anthropology. These include ekphrasis; iconography and symbolism; point of view/perspective; genre (including blending, bending, and hybridity); dialogism; reality and representation; character, voice, and identity; prosody and syntax; memory and sensation; time, space, and place; human and nonhuman agency; folklore and orality; and the politics and practices of mediation and citation. Our central emphasis will be on diverse short-format personal digital storytelling across media platforms, although we may also consider a wide range of forms and expressions from fiction feature films and documentaries, painting, poetry, literary fiction, photography and photojournalism, public art and installation art, performance art and theater, published memoir and autobiography, advertisements, illuminated manuscripts/illustrated books, comics and graphic novels, memes and games, and more. Projects can be customized to student interests and needs, and experimentation is encouraged.

Open to Graduate students only, any major/program.

This course counts toward the Graduate Film Certificate. Likely Fall 2021 format: virtual with synchronous weekly meetings(TBD)

COMP-LIT 692S Seminar—The Sociology of Film

A survey of film and media studies texts of Marxist, neo- and post-Marxist inspiration: the writings of SM Eisenstein, Walter Benjamin, Bertolt Brecht, the Frankfurt School (esp. Theodor Adorno, Max Horkheimer), Ernst Bloch, Roland Barthes, Raymond Williams, Fredric Jameson, Jacques Ranciere, Paul Coates, Lynn Spigel, John MacKay, Michael Cramer. Films under scrutiny will include early Soviet cinema, classical Hollywood genre films (High Noon and Johnny Guitar), European New Wave films (from France, Poland, the Soviet Union), New Hollywood popular fare (e.g. Jaws and The Godfather), as well as more recent productions. After looking at case studies discussed in the reading, we will apply a sociological and/or Marxist grid of interpretation to contemporary films from the US, Russia, Poland, South Korea, and others.

COMP-LIT 695C Seminar—Melodrama Effect (Fassbinder, Godard, Sirk)

What were Godard's early films for Fassbinder? Instead of rejecting the most influential avant-garde film maker of the sixties, Fassbinder adopted Godard as father. Yet this fathering was a highly selective progeneration. What does the juxtaposition of these film makers reveal and conceal–and not only about Fassbinder's films, since we cannot now see those of Godard without having our past viewings of Fassbinder films in our heads. Fassbinder sets us on track with two remarks: "Godard believes that film is the truth 24 frames per second, while I believe film is the lie 25 frames per second," and "Both Godard and I despise our characters." The course will raise theoretical issues of spectatorship, tone (irony, distanciation, citation) gender, genre, while being firmly grounded in the formal analysis of filmic text; the construction of the filmic text and its "meaning," and the destruction of subject by means of abyssal structures (mises-en-abyme, structural or metaphoric infinite regresses); Fassbinder's ideological fatigue and complex sexual politics, Godard's political innocence (which is not the same as naivete), his cinematic energyamidst his films' increasing cultural despair.

Pre-requisites: familiarity with film theory and discourse, preferably by at least two courses in film analysis. Course meets as intensive seminar, once a week for 4 hours. "Films include: Sirk -' All that Heaven Allows', Godard–'Vivre sa vie' ;Fassbinder–'Ali', 'Petra von Kant',' 13 Moons', 'Veronica Voss'; Haynes -' Far from Heaven'."

[combined undergraduate/graduate course]

JAPANESE 591T Seminar—Tokyo Through Literature & Film

In this course we will explore the transformation of Tokyo from Edo into one of the most vibrant, cosmopolitan cities of the world. Using the themes of maps, disaster and rebirth, and the role of space in identity formation, we will look at how the city has been transformed and reborn. Our materials will include film, photos, literature, and history in order to delve into the nooks and crannies of the city and the city spaces. Course instruction and materials will be in English. [combined undergraduate/graduate course]

SPANISH 597NC—Special Topics: New Catalan Cinema: Feminist Film Theory and Women Film Practice

Recent Catalan film production has experienced a boom of women filmmakers. This class will develop a close examination of an array of Catalan films directed by women through the viewpoint of gender and feminist film theories. By highlighting women’s gynocentric cinematic scope, it will engage several of the most recurrent topics that shape women’s films (such as violence against women, the depiction of the female body, and the rejection of traditional female roles,among others) in comparison with how these same themes surface in hegemonic cinema (i.e. both Hollywood and Spanish male-authored production). Furthermore, by tackling the so-called gender-genre debate, this class will analyze how women's cinema uses (or subverts) different male-dominated cinematic forms (i.e. if there is a female version of the comedy, a women’s road movie, film noir, etc.). Finally, it will address whether and how these films reflect a female idiosyncrasy, a woman’s language, a female gaze. Taught in Spanish.

ART 230—Image Capturing

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.

UNDERGRADUATE FILM STUDIES CERTIFICATE CATEGORY: V

COMM 140—Introduction to Film Studies

This course offers an introduction to the study of film as a distinct medium. It introduces the ways in which film style, form, and genre contribute to the meaning and the experience of movies. Topics include film as industrial commodity, narrative and non-narrative form, aspects of style (e.g. composition, cinematography, editing, and sound), and the role of film as a cultural practice. Examples are drawn from new and classic films, from Hollywood and from around the world. This course is intended to serve as a basis for film studies courses you might take in the future.

Open to Sophomores & Freshmen Only

UNDERGRADUATE FILM STUDIES CERTIFICATE CATEGORY: I, V

COMM 140—Introduction to Film Studies (RAP)

This course offers an introduction to the study of film as a distinct medium. It introduces the ways in which film style, form, and genre contribute to the meaning and the experience of movies. Topics include film as industrial commodity, narrative and non-narrative form, aspects of style (e.g. composition, cinematography, editing, and sound), and the role of film as a cultural practice. Examples are drawn from new and classic films, from Hollywood and from around the world. This course is intended to serve as a basis for film studies courses you might take in the future.

UNDERGRADUATE FILM STUDIES CERTIFICATE CATEGORY: I, V

COMM 231—Film & TV Production Concepts

This class provides an overview of film and television production principles and processes from script to screen and also prepares students for later hands-on production courses. We will explore both the art and craft of film and digital motion picture production, including the roles and functions of the major creative and technical personnel in the scripting, pre-production, production, and post-production phases. Technical aspects such as digital vs. analog media, lighting and color, cinematography, production design, editing concepts, sound recording, and storytelling and script-writing will be covered. In addition, students are given three options for producing a creative project for the course.

UNDERGRADUATE FILM STUDIES CERTIFICATE CATEGORY: I, V

COMM 296F—Independent Study: Film Festival

Film Screening. This is a 1-credit Mandatory Pass/Fail course. Film screening. This festival colloquium will be held in conjunction with one or more semester-long film festivals.

UNDERGRADUATE FILM STUDIES CERTIFICATE CATEGORY: not applicable

COMM 340—History of Film 1

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.

UNDERGRADUATE FILM STUDIES CERTIFICATE CATEGORY: II, V
FILM STUDIES MAJOR IN BDIC CATEGORY: H1

COMM 441—Principles and Techniques of Film Style Production

A hands-on introduction to single-camera filmmaking using digital video camcorders and non-linear editing. Production assignments will foster student skills in the art of visual

storytelling: from pre-production, shot composition and lighting to continuity editing and post production audio.

Open to Senior and Junior Communication majors only. Prerequisites: COMM 231 and 331

UNDERGRADUATE FILM STUDIES CERTIFICATE CATEGORY: IV, V
FILM STUDIES MAJOR IN BDIC CATEGORY: E

COMM 445—Screenwriting

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.

Open to Senior and Junior Communication majors only.

Prerequisites: One of the following: COMM 140, COMM 240, COMM 340

UNDERGRADUATE FILM STUDIES CERTIFICATE CATEGORY: IV, V
FILM STUDIES MAJOR IN BDIC CATEGORY: E

COMM 446—Film Documentary

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.

UNDERGRADUATE FILM STUDIES CERTIFICATE CATEGORY: III, IV, V
FILM STUDIES MAJOR IN BDIC CATEGORY: D&G

COMM 493L—S-Experimental Film & Video

This course explores the genre of Experimental Film and Video with a critical eye toward the history and current articulations of this form of production in both feature film and short form movies; videos. The course begins with an introduction to the genre, then explores Experimental Film; Video according to three different categories: Experimentation with Narrative, Experimentation with Structure; Form, and Experimentation with the line between Fact and Fiction. Students will emerge from this course with a solid foundation in the history and theory of experimental film; video as evidenced by writing projects, research papers, and student-produced experimental media projects.

Open to Senior and Junior Communication majors only
Requirements: One of the following: COMM 331, COMM 441, COMM446

UNDERGRADUATE FILM STUDIES CERTIFICATE CATEGORY: III, IV, V
FILM STUDIES MAJOR IN BDIC CATEGORY: D&G

COMM 494BI—Countercultural Films

An exploration of the counter-cultural movements of the 1960s and 70s and later, hosted by someone who was there and lived to tell the tale. Through the medium of documentary and fiction films, we will delve into the musical, sexual, artistic, political and spiritual upheavals that rockedamerica and Europe back then and that continue to reverberate today. This course satisfies the Integrative Experience requirement for BA-Comm majors.

UNDERGRADUATE FILM STUDIES CERTIFICATE CATEGORY: III, IV, V
FILM STUDIES MAJOR IN BDIC CATEGORY: D&G

COMP-LIT 170—Introduction to film Analysis: Cinematic Time Travel

This is an introduction to film studies and to the analysis of film. The course explores the complex nature and cultural function of cinema by focusing on time travel as both a central theme of a wide range of films and as a way of understanding how cinema works as a time-based medium. By studying films from various points in the global history of cinema—including films from nine countries and five continents—this course performs a transcultural introduction to the formal and stylistic aspects of cinematic storytelling. (Gen. Ed. AT)

UNDERGRADUATE FILM STUDIES CERTIFICATE CATEGORY: I, V

COMP-LIT 383-01—Narrative Avant Garde Film

Focus on narrative problems of love, desire, sexual identity, daily life, and death. These films' investigations of how we might gain distance on our life fictions by questioning and undermining viewer identification with narrative. (Gen.Ed. AT)

UNDERGRADUATE FILM STUDIES CERTIFICATE CATEGORY: II, V
FILM STUDIES MAJOR IN BDIC CATEGORY: H2

FRENCH 397C—Contemporary French Cinema

Following the French New Wave, contemporary French cinema from the 1980s to the current era has revisited the country’s recent historical past, in particular those periods of the Occupation and of decolonization, in addition to focusing on social issues such as the suburbs and their culture, immigration, and the French education system, in a variety of films including thrillers and comedies. This class will focus on how these topics reflect economic realities, national obsessions, behavioral conventions, and societal transformations. By the end of this course, students will be able to analyze films and their different genres as cultural products, identify the values transmitted within these works of art, and critically discuss films with the technical vocabulary of film analysis. Finally, this course taught in French will include content analysis, the development of critical thinking, and the investigation of connections with society through the study of Franco-american cultural differences.

UNDERGRADUATE FILM STUDIES CERTIFICATE CATEGORY: III, V
FILM STUDIES MAJOR IN BDIC CATEGORY: N

GERMAN—391G Contemporary German Cinema

In the past 10 years, a new generation of young directors seeks to re-position German cinema within the discursive space of European film. Their films portray German society not in a well-defined historical moment, but rather in the middle of continuous political, demographic, and cultural transformations. In this course, we will examine key issues in contemporary German cinema as seen in feature films, Netflix series, filmmaker interviews, and documentaries. The course will introduce students to film-specific habits of inquiry and will develop tools for critical thinking about German film as a complex cultural product. To that end, students will analyze political and societal background, authorship, narrative strategies, various productions techniques (cinematography, lighting, editing, sound, costume), and the politics of censorship, marketing, and distribution. In their writing, course participants will engage in field-specific compositional techniques and genres (encyclopedia entry, film sequence analysis, film review) and will enact authentic critical processes of evaluating film, such as creating persuasive arguments for or against the release of a film. The course will be conducted entirely in English

This course counts toward German major/minor requirements and it fulfills the JYW requirement for German primary majors.

UNDERGRADUATE FILM STUDIES CERTIFICATE CATEGORY: III
FILM STUDIES MAJOR IN BDIC CATEGORY: N

ITALIAN 350— Italian Film

This course is a historical overview of how the most modern form of visual and narrative art responded to Italian culture, i.e. one of the richest traditions in painting, mosaic, and theater. From silent movies to current productions, the history of Italian film parallels and documents also the history of a modern nation, from pre-industrial to post-industrial economy. The course is conducted entirely in English.

UNDERGRADUATE FILM STUDIES CERTIFICATE CATEGORY: III, V
FILM STUDIES MAJOR IN BDIC CATEGORY: N

JAPANESE 391T—Tokyo Through Literature and Film

In this course we will explore the transformation of Tokyo from Edo into one of the most vibrant, cosmopolitan cities of the world. Taking the themes of maps, disaster, and rebirth, and the role of space in identity formation, we will look at how the city has been transformed and reborn. Our materials will include film, photos, literature, and history in order to delve into the nooks and crannies of the city and the city spaces.

PREREQ: NONE

UNDERGRADUATE FILM STUDIES CERTIFICATE CATEGORY: III, V
FILM STUDIES MAJOR IN BDIC CATEGORY: N

JOURN 339—Video Content Creation

This advanced, writing-intensive course will build on the fundamentals covered in Newswriting and Reporting to address the development and distribution of client content including earned, shared and owned media. Students will explore and gain practical, hands-on experience researching, writing, editing and evaluating various public relations materials, resulting in the creation of professional writing samples at the end of the semester.

UNDERGRADUATE FILM STUDIES CERTIFICATE CATEGORY: V
FILM STUDIES MAJOR IN BDIC CATEGORY: E

JOURN 433—Photojournalism

This course will cover the theory and practice of photojournalism and documentary photography. Students will photograph a diverse range of community events, including news, sports, portrait and photo essay assignments. They will also learn about the history, philosophy, ethics, aesthetics and contemporary multimedia practice of photojournalism.

UNDERGRADUATE FILM STUDIES CERTIFICATE CATEGOR: IV, V
FILM STUDIES MAJOR IN BDIC CATEGORY: E

JUD 320—Jewish Humor

What part does humor play in Jewish culture? This course examines Jewish humor in literature, folklore, film, TV, and stand-up comedy. Topics include: the origins of modern Jewish humor, Yiddish satire and comedy, Jewish role in popular culture in the US, Europe, and Israel, and the relationship of Jewish humor to antisemitism.

UNDERGRADUATE FILM STUDIES CERTIFICATE CATEGORY: III, V
FILM STUDIES MAJOR IN BDIC CATEGORY: N

SPAN 397B ST—Contemporary Hispanic Cinema

This course gathers together an array of recent Latinamerican, Spanish, Caribbean, and Latinx films with an emphasis on addressing the experiences of marginalized people. We will explore the historical and cultural contexts in which these films are made and seen, in many cases reaching vast audiences across the world, and we will push at the boundaries of the category "Hispanic" in cinema. Analysis and discussions will also draw on insights from film theory, such as approaches to world cinema, "Third Cinema," national and transnational cinemas, and Hamid Naficy's concept of "accented cinema." Taught in English with films subtitled in English.

UNDERGRADUATE FILM STUDIES CERTIFICATE CATEGORY: III, V
FILM STUDIES MAJOR IN BDIC CATEGORY: N