Courses - Spring 2021
UNDERGRADUATE COURSES
GRADUATE COURSES
FILM COURSES IN OTHER DEPARTMENTS
FILM COURSES AT THE 5-COLLEGES
FILM-ST 296F: Massachusetts Multicultural Film Festival
Instructor: Daniel Pope
1 credit
Weds 7:30-10:00pm
Mandatory Pass/fail
FILM-ST 284: The Undead Souths (also available as French 284)
Instructor: Patrick Mensah
4 credits Gen Ed course (AT and DU)
t/th 10 am-11:15am
The Southern Gothic and Francophone- Mythologies on Film and TV - Through the medium of Film and contemporary televisual programming, this course offers a broad critical examination of the tropes, iconology, and practices of representation, involving the undead and other paranormal figures, drawn from the gothic lore of the American South. Paying due attention to their filiation with elements of French, French Creole, and Francophone Caribbean cultures, we will explore tales of zombies, vampires, witches, ghosts, and other grotesque creatures, as well as landscapes, of the gothic imaginary, as fictional sites through which such pressing social issues of contemporary culture, as the history of slavery and colonialism, gender relations, themes of sexuality, religiosity, class
relations, ecological politics, and related anxieties are articulated, contested, and negotiated. The course will be conducted in English
UNDERGRADUATE FILM STUDIES CERTIFICATE CATEGORY: III, V
FILM STUDIES MAJOR IN BDIC CATEGORY: N/A (not 300 level)
FILM-ST 304: German Cinema: From Berlin to Hollywood (also: /German 304 )
Instructor: Mariana Ivanova
Credits: 3
This course offers a survey of German cinema from the 1920s on until the 21st century and focuses on transborder mobility of pictures and artists. We will examine the emigration of film directors from Babelsberg, the epicenter of the ‘Golden Age’ in German cinema to Hollywood. From celebrated directors such as Fritz Lang, Friedrich Murnau, and Ernst Lubitsch, to stars, such as Marlene Dietrich and Peter Lorre, we will trace the careers of those working in exile in the 1930s and 1940s. The course will continue with an exploration of the postwar period and the export of West German films into the US, while we look at the work of directors Wim Wenders, Volker Schlöndorff, Margarete von Trotta and Harun Farocki who also significantly shaped the perception of North America in Germany. We will conclude with discussions of more recent works by Tom Tykwer and Michael Hanneke, well-known among cineastes today for their international coproductions, Hollywood remakes, or Netflix series. Key issues in the course will be the transformation of film financing and material production circumstances as a result of European funding structures and a persistent ‘transnational aesthetic’ emerging in the work of the above directors. Both big budget blockbusters and independent films will be considered in their implications for film content, style, and social content. Conducted in English.
UNDERGRADUATE FILM STUDIES CERTIFICATE CATEGORY: III, V
FILM STUDIES MAJOR IN BDIC CATEGORY: N
FILM-ST 344: Film and Society in Israel (Also available as JUDAIC 344)
Instructor: Olga Gershenson
Wed 4-6:45
This course uses film to discuss Israeli society. Topics include: foundation of Israel, Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Holocaust survivors, religion, gender, and interethnic relations. All film showings are with English subtitles.
UNDERGRADUATE FILM STUDIES CERTIFICATE CATEGORY: III, V
FILM STUDIES MAJOR IN BDIC CATEGORY: N
FILM-ST 353: African Cinema (Also available as French 353)
Also available online as a multimodal class
Instructor: Patrick Mensah
4 credits
Gen Ed course (AT and DG)
Tues 4 pm-6:45 pm
Histories and development of African film and its aesthetic forms, from its inception to the present day. The sociocultural, economic, and political forces and imperatives defining its forms and shaping its agendas. Questions this work raises in film aesthetics and theory as a whole. All screenings available online. Line up of screenings: The Battle of Algiers (Pontecorvo) Lumumba, Sometimes in April (Raoul Peck) Xala, Borom Sarret, Moolaade, Black Girl (Ousmane Sembene) Sometimes in April (Raoul Peck) Bamako (Abderrahmane Sissako) Afrique, Je te plumerai (Jean-Marie Teno) Keita, Heritage of the Griot (Dany Kouyaté) Pièces d’Identités (Mweze Ngangura) Tsotsi (Gavin Hood) District 9 (Neill Blomkamp) Silences of the Palace (Moufida Tlatli) Hyenas (Djibril Diop Mambety) Course taught in English.
UNDERGRADUATE FILM STUDIES CERTIFICATE CATEGORY: III, V
FILM STUDIES MAJOR IN BDIC CATEGORY: N
FILM-ST 381: Self-Reflective Avant-Garde Film (also available as CompLit 381)
Instructor: Don Levine
Credits: 4
Mo 4:00PM - 7:30PM
Explores modern origin of film experimentation in avant-garde modes such as Expressionism, Surrealism and Contemporary results of this heritage. Trying to determine if film is the most resolutely modern of them media, we’ll look at cinema as the result of two obsessive concerns 1.) The poetic, dreamlike and fantastic 2.) The factual, realistic and socially critical or anarchistic. Thus, we’ll attempt to discover how modern culture deals with avant-garde imperatives to always “make it new.” Films and filmmakers such as Breathless (Godard), My Own Private Idaho (Van Sant), The American Soldier (Fassbinder), others.
UNDERGRADUATE FILM STUDIES CERTIFICATE CATEGORY: II, V
FILM STUDIES MAJOR IN BDIC CATEGORY: H2
Film-St 391SF International Science Fiction Cinema (also available as COMP-LIT 391SF)
Instructor: Chris Couch
Credits: 4
T 7pm-10pm (discussions: TH 1pm-1:50pm, F 2:30pm-3:20pm, F 12:20pm 1:10pm)
This course provides an introduction to science fiction cinema from the end of the nineteenth century to today. Beginning with the experiments of the Melies Brothers and the importance of German Expressionist films like Fritz Lang’s Metropolis, the course considers technological prognostication from Destination Moon to 2001: A Space Odyssey, adventure and science fiction in films like Forbidden Planet and Star Wars, and the dystopian imagination from Invasion of the Body Snatchers to District 9. The course will also highlight the roles of women writers and directors form Thea von Harbou to Kathryn Bigelow, and technological cinematic advances from matte painting and process shots to CGI. Cross-listed with FILM-ST 391SF – International Science Fiction Cinema.
UNDERGRADUATE FILM STUDIES CERTIFICATE CATEGORY: III, V
FILM STUDIES MAJOR IN BDIC CATEGORY: D&G
FILM-ST 398R: Undergraduate Research Program (Research Assistantship)
Instructors: Barry Spence & Barbara Zecchi
Credits 1-3 Mandatory pass/fail
Instructor consent required
FILM-ST 398T: Teaching Assistantship Program
Instructors: Barry Spence & Barbara Zecchi
Credits 1-3 Mandatory pass/fail
Instructor consent required
Film-St 397EF - Experiments in Film (Only offered ONLINE through CPE/UWW)
Instructor: Christopher Janke
Credits 3
Let’s Break Some Rules Together: 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
Film-St 397Q Production Sketchbook
Instructor: Patricia Montoya
Credits: 3
Thursday 4:00- 6:30
RESTRICTIONS & NOTES: Enrollment Requirements:Open to BDIC/Film Studies majors only, or permission of the instructor. Preference will be given to Film Studies students (Cap. 15)
Video, still images and sound are used in this course to explore the fundamental character of storytelling, filmmaking and time-based art practices. Students perform all aspects of production with particular attention to developing ideas and building analytical, critical and production skills. We will read seminal written work and interviews with practicing artists in order to expand our knowledge, understanding and love for the medium. Through exercises that include weekly projects students will produce sketches aimed at exploring video as an experimentation tool. There will be special emphasis paid to sound design that includes original music, and ambient sound gathered with separate sound recorder. The class will review students the basic theoretical tools to critique their own productions and develop an understanding of the possibilities that medium offers. Final project presentations due in class during Finals Week
UNDERGRADUATE FILM STUDIES CERTIFICATE CATEGORY: V
FILM STUDIES MAJOR IN BDIC CATEGORY: E
Film 397V Latin American Cinema (also available as SPAN 397W)
Instructor: Barbara Zecchi
Latin American Cinema
Credits: 3
Monday 4:00-6:30
The course is designed to introduce students to the cinematic work of some of the most important Latin American directors . The course will center on a variety of topics that are vital to the understanding of the most significant political, historical, social and cultural events that have shaped Latin America. Some of the topics to be examined in the class are: racial, gender, sexual and identity issues; nation formation; revolution; immigration; repression; utopia; resistance; violence; freedom and indigenism. Students will be expected to develop interpretative filmic skills through an exploration of the connections between the technical composition of the films and the social, political, and cultural context to which each film refers.
UNDERGRADUATE FILM STUDIES CERTIFICATE CATEGORY: III, V
FILM STUDIES MAJOR THROUGH BDIC CATEGORY: N
FILM-ST 398 Practicum for Internship
Instructors: Barry Spence & Barbara Zecchi
Credits: 3
Mandatory pass/fail
(Students with a GPA of 2.5 or better)
Instructor consent required
FILM-ST 497DF- Short Documentary Filmmaking (only offered ONLINE through CPE/UWW)
Instructor: David Casals Roma
Credits: 3
In the same way that fiction films are the mirror of our imagination, documentaries are the mirror of our surrounding reality. But making a documentary requires a creative point of view by the director and the knowledge of some filmmaking techniques. In this course you will learn how to develop your ideas for documentary, how to write a script, how to plan de production, how to shoot interviews and how to structure your movie in the editing room. Moreover, you will write, shoot and edit a 5-minute documentary during the course. It is important that you can have access to a camera, a computer and an editing software to edit your documentary.
UNDERGRADUATE FILM STUDIES CERTIFICATE CATEGORY: IV,V
FILM STUDIES MAJOR IN BDIC CATEGORY: E
FILM-ST 497L /697FL Fellini- The Liar (Also available as ITALIAN 497FL/ ITALIAN 697FL)
(Also available online)
Instructor: Andrea Malaguti
Credits: 3
Tue 4:00-6:30
The course examines the most important films by Federico Fellini (whose "La dolce vita" and "8 1/2" both entered the 100 greatest movies list of the British Film Institute) to understand how his work both contends with his contemporaries (especially Hollywood) and still has a strong grip on our film imagery today. Lectures and discussions in English.
UNDERGRADUATE FILM STUDIES CERTIFICATE CATEGORY: III, IV, V
FILM STUDIES MAJOR IN BDIC CATEGORY: N
FILM-ST 497P Film Podcasting
Instructor: Daniel Pope
Credits: 3
Tue 4pm-7:30pm
This is, above all, a course in film criticism. For as long as there has been cinema there has also been film criticism, from print and broadcast media to web sites and social media in recent decades. The swiftly growing field of audio podcasting offers a versatile new digital medium for film criticism, drawing on many of the strengths of traditional media and bringing its own unique qualities of engagement. In this course, we will study varieties of film writing and explore the craft of creating compelling and illuminating film criticism and the key techniques for producing rich, engaging podcast content. We will work with films across a variety of genres and time periods and do hands-on work in all aspects of producing a film criticism podcast - research, analysis, writing, planning, conducting interviews, moderating, recording, editing, and posting your finished podcasts.
UNDERGRADUATE FILM STUDIES CERTIFICATE CATEGORY: II, V
FILM STUDIES MAJOR IN BDIC CATEGORY: T, E
FILM-ST 597A Cinemas of Confluence and Alliance
Instructor: Daniel Pope
3 credits
Mon 4:00- 6:30
Cap 25
How can film foster empathy? Bridge difference? Inspire dedication to the dreams, endeavors, and struggles of others? In this course, we explore a selection of international films that engage themes of community, solidarity, and partnerships for social justice, environmental advocacy, intersectional alliance, and other collective efforts to achieve a common good or address a prevailing ill. We investigate the potential for narrative fiction film, documentary, video art, and other media to challenge ideas of self and other and imagine new modes of reflection, representation, and agency. Concepts of selfhood and otherness, questions of empathy, relationship, community and allyship, and such issues as equity, ethics and ecology will frame our discussions.
Open to graduate students and advanced undergraduate students. UMass Amherst Undergraduate Film Certificate Categories: II, IV, V
FILM STUDIES MAJOR IN BDIC CATEGORY: T, E
Film-St 597LA African-Latin American Film Festival
Instructors: Patricia Martinho Ferreira & Barbara Zecchi
TBA
Credits: 1
Description TBA
FILM COURSES OFFERED IN OTHER DEPARTMENTS THAT COUNT BOTH FOR THE CERTIFICATE AND FOR THE MAJOR
ART 230 – Image Capturing
Jenny Vogel Cap: 10, 3 Credits
Lecture: TuThu 1:00PM-3:45PM
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
FILM STUDIES MAJOR IN BDIC CATEGORY: N/A (below 300 level)
ART 231 – Photography II
Susan Jahoda Cap: 8, 3 Credits
Lecture: MoWe 1:25PM-4:10PM
Open to Undergraduate Art, BFA-ART, BFA-ART ED, and Art History majors
In-depth exploration of techniques and materials including zone system, large format, and non-silver processes. Slide lectures, discussions, and readings. Prerequisite: ART 275, 230 or consent of instructor.
UNDERGRADUATE FILM STUDIES CERTIFICATE CATEGORY: V
FILM STUDIES MAJOR IN BDIC CATEGORY: N/A (below 300 level)
ART 274 – Animation Fundamentals
Staff Cap: 15, 3 Credits
Lecture: TuTh 8:30AM-11:15AM
Open to BA-ART, BFA-ART, and BDIC students only.
Prerequisite: Art 104, 110, 120, or 131
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, audio and visual editing. Studio course.
UNDERGRADUATE FILM STUDIES CERTIFICATE CATEGORY: V
FILM STUDIES MAJOR IN BDIC CATEGORY: N/A (below 300 level)
ART 375 – Moving Image
Jenny Vogel Cap: 14, 3 Credits
Lecture: MoWe 4:00PM-6:45PM
Open to Undergraduates with majors in Art, BFA-Art, and BFA-Art Education only
Prerequisites: ART 104, 110, or 120
This course explores digital video and sound within the context of contemporary art practices. Students learn basic skills and concepts used in experimental digital video production through small-scale projects.
UNDERGRADUATE FILM STUDIES CERTIFICATE CATEGORY: V
FILM STUDIES MAJOR IN BDIC CATEGORY: E
COMM 140 – Introduction to Film Studies
Staff Cap. 125, 3 Credits
Lecture: TuTh 2:30PM-3:45PM; Screening/Lab: Tu 4:00PM-6:00PM
Open to Sophomores & Freshmen Only
This course is designed to provide an introduction to the nature and functions of film in its narrative, documentary, and experimental forms. We will look at the various components of film expression (composition, movement, editing, sound, production design, acting), developments in screen narrative, film's relationship to other arts and media, and its role as an instrument of social expression.
UNDERGRADUATE FILM STUDIES CERTIFICATE CATEGORY: I, V
FILM STUDIES MAJOR IN BDIC CATEGORY: I
COMM 231 - Film and Television Production Concepts
Kevin Anderson Cap. 56, 3 credits
Th 4:00PM - 6:30PM
Open to undeclared students, SBS Exploratory Track students, and Communication majors only. Open to COMM and Undeclared majors, or to students who have taken either COMM 118, 121, 122, 125, or 140. 75 seats reserved for COMM majors. Students wishing to enroll who do not meet course eligibility should contact instructor.
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
FILM STUDIES MAJOR IN BDIC CATEGORY: I
Comm 284 – Possible Futures: Science Fiction in Global Cinemas
Kevin Anderson 4 Credit - Gened DG SB
Lec: Fr 10:10AM-1:10PM
There are multiple growing concerns regarding issues of climate, class, race, gender identity, and the nature of democracy in our contemporary world. Science fiction has proven to be a thought-provoking genre to help raise awareness to many of these social and environmental issues. This course takes a global perspective on such pressing issues by examining science fiction films from around the world. As such, the course uses science fiction films as primary texts, accompanied by weekly readings. Students will engage in a critical analysis of the assigned films and readings in order to better appreciate what we can begin to anticipate regarding our future.
UNDERGRADUATE FILM STUDIES CERTIFICATE CATEGORY: III, V
FILM STUDIES MAJOR IN BDIC CATEGORY: N/A (below 300 level)
COMM 331 –Program Process in TV
Jason May Cap. 36, 3 Credits
Lecture: We 10:10AM-11:00AM; Lab: Mo 1:25PM-4:25PM, We 1:25PM-4:25PM, Fr 9:05AM-12:05PM
Open to Senior, Junior and Sophomore Communication majors only. Journalism Majors and Film Certificate Students by permission of the instructor, jasonmay@umass.edu
This course introduces concepts and techniques of television production through weekly lectures and lab meetings. During the course students work on two major projects: first, a short, narrative piece shot in single-camera, post-production style; and, second, a multiple camera piece shot live in the studio.
UNDERGRADUATE FILM STUDIES CERTIFICATE CATEGORY: V
FILM STUDIES MAJOR IN BDIC CATEGORY: E
COMM 397B – ST-Intro Studio Directing
Jason May Cap. 10, 3 Credits
Lecture: Th 10:00AM-2:00PM
Open to Senior, Junior and Sophomore Communication majors only.
Journalism Majors and Film Certificate Students by permission of the instructor, jasonmay@umass.edu. If you have taken COMM 433, you cannot take this course.
Students will learn basic concepts and techniques of studio television production, with a focus on directing live programs in a full-scale studio facility on the UMASS campus. The course includes lecture presentations, production exercises, script-writing projects, and studio production projects. Finally, each student will write, produce, and direct a live studio production.
UNDERGRADUATE FILM STUDIES CERTIFICATE CATEGORY: V
FILM STUDIES MAJOR IN BDIC CATEGORY: E
COMM 433 – Advanced Television Production and Direction
Jason May Cap. 10, 3 Credits
Lecture: Tu 2:55 PM-7:00 PM
Open to Senior, Junior and Sophomore Communication majors only.
Journalism Majors and Film Certificate Students by permission of the instructor, jasonmay@umass.edu. If you have taken COMM 433, you cannot take this course.
Students will learn basic concepts and techniques of studio television production, with a focus on directing live programs in a full-scale studio facility on the UMASS campus. The course includes lecture presentations, production exercises, script-writing projects, and studio production projects. Finally, each student will write, produce, and direct a live studio production.
UNDERGRADUATE FILM STUDIES CERTIFICATE CATEGORY: IV, V
FILM STUDIES MAJOR IN BDIC CATEGORY: E
COMM 441 – Principles and Techniques of Film Style Production
Kevin Anderson Cap: 12, 3 Credits
Lecture: Tu 2:30PM-6:30PM
Open to Senior and Junior Communication majors only.
Prerequisites: COMM 231 and 331
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.
UNDERGRADUATE FILM STUDIES CERTIFICATE CATEGORY: IV, V
FILM STUDIES MAJOR IN BDIC CATEGORY: E
COMM 445 – Screenwriting
Marty Norden Cap: 20, 3 Credits
Seminar: MoWe 10:00AM-11:15AM
Open to Senior and Junior Communication majors only. This course was formerly numbered as COMM 493E. If you have already taken COMM 493E you cannot take this course.
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: IV, V
FILM STUDIES MAJOR IN BDIC CATEGORY: E
COMM 494BI – Countercultural Films
Bruce Geisler Cap: 25, 3 Credits
Seminar: We 12:20PM-2:20PM; Discussion: We 2:30PM-3:30PM
Open to Seniors & Juniors only, or by permission of the instructor.
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 rocked America and Europe back then and that continue to reverberate today.
UNDERGRADUATE FILM STUDIES CERTIFICATE CATEGORY: III, IV, V
FILM STUDIES MAJOR IN BDIC CATEGORY: E
COMM 593D – S-Advanced Screenwriting
Bruce Geisler Cap: 16, 3 Credits
Lecture: TuThu 2:30PM-3:45PM
Open to Senior & Junior Communication majors only.
Prerequisite: COMM 493E or another college-level screenwriting course
Building on the introductory course, (COMM 493E: Seminar-Screenwriting), an intensive workshop where students receive continuing, in-depth feedback on their work in progress, as they strive for professional competence in feature-length theatrical screenwriting or writing for episodic television. Analysis of two professional screenplays and the films or shows produced from them as students delve into the writer's art and craft. Students will complete either 60 pages of a feature length motion picture screenplay or a complete episode for an existing dramatic television show, or two episodes for a current sitcom.
UNDERGRADUATE FILM STUDIES CERTIFICATE CATEGORY: IV, V
FILM STUDIES MAJOR IN BDIC CATEGORY: E
COMP-LIT 350 – International Film
Barry Spence Cap: 75, 4 Credits
Lecture: Th: 4:00PM-7:00PM ; Dis: Fr: 11:15AM- 12:05PM, Fr: 12:20PM- 1:10PM, OR Fr: 1:25PM- 2:15PM
This class will screen films from across the globe studying examples of lesser-known subgenres of the Horror film, such as Giallo (Italian genre mixing slasher horror with detective mysteries), Fantastique (French genre mixing gothic horror with fantasy erotica), and Jiangshi (Hong Kong genre mixing slasher horror with Kung Fu). We will also consider the so-called dystopian film. We will look at the interrelationship connecting these two modes, which can be seen at work in films like Battle Royale. This course will include a primary focus on gender issues, will examine the representation of women, and will screen (transgressive) examples of these modes by women filmmakers. The intention of this course is to expose students to a cultural diversity of these vital contemporary film genres beyond the conventional Hollywood fare. Weekly film screenings and discussion. (Gen. Ed. AT)
UNDERGRADUATE FILM STUDIES CERTIFICATE CATEGORY: III, V
FILM STUDIES MAJOR IN BDIC CATEGORY: D&G
COMP-LIT 381 – Self-Reflective Avant-Garde Film
NOTE: This class is also available as a FilmSt course
Don Levine Cap: 30, 4 Credits
Lec: Mo 4:00PM-7:30PM; Dis: Tu 2:30PM-3:45PM OR 6:15PM-7:30PM
Explores modern origin of film experimentation in avant-garde modes such as Expressionism, Surrealism and contemporary results of this heritage. Trying to determine if film is the most resolutely modern of the media, we'll look at cinema as the result of two obsessive concerns: 1) the poetic, dreamlike and fantastic, 2) the factual, realistic and socially critical or anarchistic. Thus, we'll attempt to discover how modern culture deals with avant-garde imperatives to always "make it new." Films and filmmakers such as Breathless (Godard), My Own Private Idaho (Van Sant), The American Soldier ( Fassbinder), others. Requirements: one 5-page paper for midterm, ten-page final paper or project; attendance. (Gen.Ed. AT)
UNDERGRADUATE FILM STUDIES CERTIFICATE CATEGORY: II, V
FILM STUDIES MAJOR IN BDIC CATEGORY: H2
COMP-LIT 391SF/591SF – International Science Fiction Cinema
NOTE: This class is also available as a FilmSt course
N Couch Cap: 30, 3 Credits
Lec: Tu 7:00PM-10:00PM; Dis: Th 1:00PM-1:50PM , Fr 2:30AM-3:20AM OR Fr 12:20PM-1:10PM
This course provides an introduction to science fiction cinema from the end of the nineteenth century to today. Beginning with the experiments of the Melies Brothers and the importance of German Expressionist films like Fritz Lang's Metropolis, the course considers technological prognostication from Destination Moon to 2001: A Space Odyssey, adventure and science fiction in films like Forbidden Planet and Star Wars, and the dystopian imagination from Invasion of the Body Snatchers to District 9. The course will also highlight the roles of women writers and directors from Thea von Harbou to Kathryn Bigelow, and technological cinematic advances from matte painting and process shots to CGI.
UNDERGRADUATE FILM STUDIES CERTIFICATE CATEGORY: III, V
FILM STUDIES MAJOR IN BDIC CATEGORY: D&G
COMP-LIT497T: Greek Tragedy on Screen and Stage
Instructor: Barry Spence
Cap: 12, 3 Credits
Thursday 1:00-3:45pm & Friday 2:30-3:45
This course explores the cultural practice and institution of classical Greek tragedy as practiced by Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides, and it examines modern cinema’s engagement with and adaptation of important plays from that tradition. We will study ten plays in translation to examine the structure of tragedy and its cultural, religious, and political function in fifth-century BCE Athens. The reading of each tragedy will be paired with the screening of at least one cinematic adaptation. Students will examine various theories and practices of adaptation and reception, deepen their understanding of the artistic and expressive nature of the cinematic medium, and gain competence in the formal analysis of film.
UNDERGRADUATE FILM STUDIES CERTIFICATE CATEGORY: III, IV, V
FILM STUDIES MAJOR IN BDIC CATEGORY: D&G
FRENCH 353 – African Film
Patrick Mensah Cap: 30, 4 Credits
Lecture: Tu 4:00PM-6:45PM; Discussion: Thu 2:30PM-3:45PM OR Thu 4:00PM-5:15PM
This course offers an introduction to African film as an aesthetic and cultural practice. Students should expect to be familiarized with the key ideas and objectives that have inspired and driven that practice since the early 1960s, and be furnished with the technical tools and methodological skills that would permit them to understand, analyze, and think critically about the artistic and thematic aspects of the films that are screened. They should also expect the course to provide them with a critical peek into several cardinal issues of social and cultural relevance in contemporary Africa and its history. Issues of interest typically include, the nation state and its declining status, imperatives of decolonization, economic dependency and structural adjustment programs, orality and changing traditional cultures, diasporic migrations, urbanization and its problems, gender relations, civil wars, child soldiers, gangs, and related themes. Filmmakers studied include, but are not limited to, Abderrahmane Sissako, Gillo Pontecorvo, Ousmane Sembene, Raoul Peck, Jean-Marie Teno, Dani Kouyate, Mweze Ngangura, Gavin Hood, Neill Blomkamp, Moufida Tlatli, Djibril Diop Mambety (please note that this list is subject to change, and shall be updated as future changes are made). The course is conducted in English, and requires no prior knowledge of the field. All films are streamed to your computer from the UMass library on demand. Required readings are provided online, and no book purchases are necessary. (Gen.Ed. AT, DG)
UNDERGRADUATE FILM STUDIES CERTIFICATE CATEGORY: III, V
FILM STUDIES MAJOR IN BDIC CATEGORY: N
GERMAN 304 – From Berlin to Hollywood
Mariana Ivanova Cap: 10, 4 Credit
Lec: TBA
This course offers a survey of German cinema from the 1920s on until the 21st century and focuses on transborder mobility of pictures and artists. We will examine the emigration of film directors from Babelsberg, the epicenter of the ‘Golden Age’ in German cinema to Hollywood. From celebrated directors such as Fritz Lang, Friedrich Murnau, and Ernst Lubitsch, to stars, such as Marlene Dietrich and Peter Lorre, we will trace the careers of those working in exile in the 1930s and 1940s. The course will continue with an exploration of the postwar period and the export of West German films into the US, while we look at the work of directors Wim Wenders, Volker Schlöndorff, Margarete von Trotta and Harun Farocki who also significantly shaped the perception of North America in Germany. We will conclude with discussions of more recent works by Tom Tykwer and Michael Hanneke, well-known among cineastes today for their international coproductions, Hollywood remakes, or Netflix series. Key issues in the course will be the transformation of film financing and material production circumstances as a result of European funding structures and a persistent ‘transnational aesthetic’ emerging in the work of the above directors. Both big budget blockbusters and independent films will be considered in their implications for film content, style, and social content. Conducted in English.
UNDERGRADUATE FILM STUDIES CERTIFICATE CATEGORY: III, V
FILM STUDIES MAJOR IN BDIC CATEGORY: N
ITALIAN 497FL /697FL Fellini- The Liar (Also available as FILM 497FL)
(Also available online)
Instructor: Andrea Malaguti
Credits: 3
Tue 4:00-6:30
The course examines the most important films by Federico Fellini (whose "La dolce vita" and "8 1/2" both entered the 100 greatest movies list of the British Film Institute) to understand how his work both contends with his contemporaries (especially Hollywood) and still has a strong grip on our film imagery today. Lectures and discussions in English.
UNDERGRADUATE FILM STUDIES CERTIFICATE CATEGORY: III, IV, V
FILM STUDIES MAJOR IN BDIC CATEGORY: N
JAPANESE 197L – ST-Manga/Anime
Bruce Baird Cap: 52, 3 Credits
Lecture: TuThu 11:30AM-12:45PM; Lab: We 7:00PM-9:00PM
Japan has become a phenomenally successful exporter of pop culture. This course will give students tools to understand Manga and Anime; it will investigate the role Manga and Anime play in Japan; and, it will examine ways that Manga and Anime flow from one place to another. Course is conducted entirely in English.
UNDERGRADUATE FILM STUDIES CERTIFICATE CATEGORY: III, V
FILM STUDIES MAJOR IN BDIC CATEGORY: N/A (below 300 level)
JOURNAL 333 – Introduction to Visual Storytelling
Brian Mcdermott Cap: 40, 4 Credits
Lecture: TuTh 11:30AM-12:45PM
Sophomore, junior, and senior journalism majors only
In introduction to Visual Storytelling, students will become better producers and consumers of visual media. Students will develop a deeper visual literacy by studying topics like visual ethics, aesthetics, agency, and the currents of the modern visual journalism ecosystem. By reporting their own video, photography and data visualization projects, students will learn how to control exposure with a DSLR camera, how to capture quality video and how to use different editing and production software. (Gen. Ed. AT)
UNDERGRADUATE FILM STUDIES CERTIFICATE CATEGORY: II, V
FILM STUDIES MAJOR IN BDIC CATEGORY: E
JOURNAL 390S – Short-Form Documentary
Greeley A. Kyle Cap: 16, 4 Credits
Lecture: TuTh 10:00AM-12:00PM
Prerequisite: Journal 300
This class is where documentary filmmaking and traditional journalism meet. People often look at news for the headlines and see little bits of the news. Here we give them more depth, alternate perspectives, ask deeper questions and look to the future with long form storytelling. David Wilson, a co-founder of the True/False Film Festival calls this a new era of journalism? and says, "We are getting away from the 'voice of God' narration. Primary sources still rule, but viewers also want stories to help triangulate a topic." The challenge of modern day videos is to tell enrapturing stories in a short period of time. Today, the most successful online videos are no more than 5 minutes. This course will teach you how to produce short, sharp, strong micro-documentaries.
UNDERGRADUATE FILM STUDIES CERTIFICATE CATEGORY: V
FILM STUDIES MAJOR IN BDIC CATEGORY: E
JUDAIC 344 - Film and Society in Israel
Olga Gershenson Cap: 10, 4 Credits
We 4:00PM - 6:45PM
This course uses film to discuss Israeli society. Topics include: foundation of Israel, Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Holocaust survivors, religion, gender, and interethnic relations. All film showings are with English subtitles. (Gen. Ed. AT, DG)
UNDERGRADUATE FILM STUDIES CERTIFICATE CATEGORY: III, V
FILM STUDIES MAJOR IN BDIC CATEGORY: N
SPANISH 397W – Special Topics: Latin American Cinema
Barbara Zecchi Cap: 15, 3 Credits
Lec: Mo 4:00PM-6:30PM
The course is designed to introduce students to the films of some of the most important Latin American directors. The course will center on a variety of topics that are vital to the understanding of the most significant political, historical, social and cultural events that have shaped Latin America.
UNDERGRADUATE FILM STUDIES CERTIFICATE CATEGORY: III, V
FILM STUDIES MAJOR IN BDIC CATEGORY: N
FILM COURSES AT THE 5-COLLEGES
Please check also the 5-Colleges Course Catalogue in Film Studies
https://www.fivecolleges.edu/academics/courses/film
GRADUATE FILM COURSES
Spring 2021 Graduate Film Certificate courses
Anne Ciecko, GPD, Graduate Film Certificate
Per graduate school requirements, all Certificate courses must be taken at 500-level or above.
ART 574 Animation Fundamentals
Class number: 84517
3 credits
Tues/Thurs 8:30AM-11:15AM
Fully Remote Class
Instructor: Staff
Prerequisite: Completion of Art Foundations courses (ART 110,120,131, and 142)
Course description: With studio. Introduction to methods and techniques as used in fine art animation and experimental film/video, or motion graphics. It evolved from a need for students to have a firm understanding of the included material & topics prior to their working on more advanced projects in traditional, experimental or digital animation.
Open to Masters Art majors only.
ART 675 Digital Media: Time Based
Class number:
3 credits
Tues/Thurs 4:00PM - 6:45PM
Fully Remote Class
Instructor: Jenny Vogel
Course description: Explores experimental digital video and sound within the context of contemporary art practices in projects involving a sustained inquiry into self-selected themes.
Studio skills required. Open to Masters Art majors only.
ART 684 Computer Animation II
Class number: 72278
3 credits
Mon/Wed 9:05AM-11:50AM
Fully Remote Class
Instructor: Shane Meckleberger
Couse description: Experimental and narrative film titles and interactive art are studied and used as a catalyst for creation of experimental and applied motion graphics.
Studio skills required. Previous sound and visual editing experience helpful.
ARTS-EXT 500 Introduction to Arts Management
Class number: 83821
3 credits
Online
Instructor: Dee Boyle-Clapp
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.
UWW class; $47/term reg. fee + $474/credit. Refunds differ from Univ. day classes; see www.umass.edu/uww/resources/refund-policy. Class meets with LLAMS 1 (83686).
ART 685 - 01 Media and Motion Graphics
Class number: 72280
3 credits
Tues/Thurs 8:30AM-11:15AM
Fully remote class
Instructor: Staff
Course description: Experimental and narrative film titles and interactive art are studied and used as a catalyst for creation of experimental and applied motion graphics.
Studio skills required. Previous sound and visual editing experience helpful.
COMM 593D S-Advanced Screenwriting
Class number: 73632
3 credits
Tues/Thurs 2:30PM - 3:45PM
Fully Remote Class
Instructor: Bruce Geisler
COMM 445 or another college-level screenwriting course. Open to senior & junior Communication majors or permission of the instructor geisler@comm.umass.edu.
Course description: Building on the introductory course (COMM 445: Seminar-Screenwriting), 593D is an intensive workshop where students receive continuing, in-depth feedback on their work in progress, as they strive for professional competence in feature-length theatrical screenwriting or writing for episodic television. Included is an analysis of two professional screenplays and the films or shows produced from them, as students delve into the writer's art and craft. Students will complete either the first 60 pages of a feature film screenplay or a complete episode for a dramatic television show, or two episodes for a sitcom.
Prerequisite: COMM 445 (formerly 493E). Open to Senior and Junior Communication majors only. Confirm graduate eligibility with the instructor.
UNDERGRADUATE FILM STUDIES CERTIFICATE CATEGORY: IV, V
FILM STUDIES MAJOR IN BDIC CATEGORY: E
EDUC 693K S-Designing Digital Media for Teaching and Learning
Class number: 84295
3 credits
Wed 4:00PM - 6:30PM
Remote Learning
Instructor: Torrey Trust
Course description: This project-based course focuses on the theoretical and practical issues related to designing digital learning media (e.g. eBooks, videos, websites) and environments (e.g. online courses) for teaching and learning.
UWW class; $47/term reg. fee + $474/credit. Refunds differ from Univ. day classes; see www.umass.edu/uww/resources/refund-policy.
This class meets synchronously (for timing check the class schedule).
FILM-ST 591SF Seminar- International Science Fiction Cinema
Class number: 84772
3 credits
Tues 7:00-10:00pm
Instructor: N. C. Christopher Couch
Course description: This course provides an introduction to international science fiction cinema. The course will include films from the nineteenth to the twenty-first century, and may include films made using a variety of techniques including stop-motion animation, cell and/or digital animation, and various forms of CGI. The course will consider films in their social context, including both the historical, social, and economic contexts in which they were created and distributed, and the history of film in their countries of origin. The course will also include considerations of racial and ethnic imagery, gender, and class, both in depictions in the films considered and in society and film industries in which they were produced. The course will also include consideration of the origins in and relationship to international literary science fiction of the films, as well as to scientific understandings of the universe and the practices and context of scientific work.
FILM-ST 697P Special Topics- Cinema Paranoia: Epidemics/Upheavals/Catastrophes
Course number: 84182
3 credits
Thurs 4:00PM - 6:45PM
Instructor: Olga Gershenson
Course description: We are living in a time of multiple global crises: climate change, massive inequality, racial tension, and now pandemic. These are not one-time events in a specific location, after which normalcy can be restored. Rather these crises are in continuous development over extended periods of time, with no end in sight. Although we may respond with the feelings of rage, sadness or apathy, the dominant emotion is fear. In this course, we'll examine how international cinema has channeled these difficult emotions through various genres - from zombie horror to Holocaust films, from historical drama to thriller, from classics to B-movies. How do these diverse films represent epidemics, upheavals, and catastrophes? How do they induce fear through narrative, sound, mise-en-scene, and editing? What is the source of threat? Finally, how do genre and subject matter influence audience perception and critical response? Included are American, Israeli, British, German, French, Spanish, Russian, Hungarian, Polish, Japanese, and Korean films, all with English subtitles.
Combined grad/undergrad course: also listed as Jud 497P
THEATER 593F Seminar- Fabric Painting
Course number: 83480
3 credits
Tues/Thurs 9:05AM - 11:05PM
Fully remote class
Instructor: Yao Chen
Course description: This is a class exploring multiple medias to create beautiful 2D painting on fabric. Fabric painting and treatment has been a traditional decorative efforts from the cradle of the human civilization and is different within various culture and geographic setting. This class would cover popular fabric painting and distressing crafts in Western theatre and film industry. After the class, students should be able to create convincing portfolio pieces through fabric silk dye, batik, fabric paint, and screen printing. Consult with instructor to confirm eligibility and film-related interests.
COMM 593D – Advanced Screenwriting
Bruce Geisler Cap: 16, 3 Credits
Lec: TuTh 2:30PM-3:45PM
Open to Senior and Junior Communication majors only.
Prerequisite: COMM 445 (formerly 493E)
COMM 445 or another college-level screenwriting course. Open to senior & junior. Communication majors or permission of the instructor geisler@comm.umass.edu.
Building on the introductory course (COMM 445: Seminar-Screenwriting), 593D is an intensive workshop where students receive continuing, in-depth feedback on their work in progress, as they strive for professional competence in feature-length theatrical screenwriting or writing for episodic television. Included is an analysis of two professional screenplays and the films or shows produced from them, as students delve into the writer's art and craft. Students will complete either the first 60 pages of a feature film screenplay or a complete episode for a dramatic television show, or two episodes for a sitcom.
COMP-LIT 591SF – International Science Fiction Cinema
N Couch Cap: 3, 3 Credits
Lec: Tu 7:00PM-10:00PM ; Dis: Th 1:00PM-1:50PM
This course provides an introduction to science fiction cinema from the end of the nineteenth century to today. Beginning with the experiments of the Melies Brothers and the importance of German Expressionist films like Fritz Lang’s Metropolis, the course considers technological prognostication from Destination Moon to 2001: A Space Odyssey, adventure and science fiction in films like Forbidden Planet and Star Wars, and the dystopian imagination from Invasion of the Body Snatchers to District 9. The course will also highlight the roles of women writers and directors form Thea von Harbou to Kathryn Bigelow, and technological cinematic advances from matte painting and process shots to CGI. Cross-listed with FILM-ST 391SF – International Science Fiction Cinema.
UNDERGRADUATE FILM STUDIES CERTIFICATE CATEGORY: III, IV, V
FILM STUDIES MAJOR IN BDIC CATEGORY: D&G
COMP-LIT 695A/FILM-St 695A – International Film Noir (also offered as CompLit/ Film-St 495A)
Don Levine Cap: 9, 3 credits
Lec: We 4:00PM-8:00PM
Undergraduate students with previous film experience may apply to the Professor for registration. Contact del@crocker.com
Often referred to as the only indigenous American film style, "film noir" in its very appellation reveals that its major effects (for certain modern conceptions of cinema) lay elsewhere. We will examine film noir in its American heyday (1945-1957) and how it came to be a major propelling force in the new European cinema of the 1960's (Godard, and the Cahiers du cinema).
UNDERGRADUATE FILM STUDIES CERTIFICATE CATEGORY: III, IV, V
FILM STUDIES MAJOR IN BDIC CATEGORY: D&G
FILM-ST 597A – Special Topics-Cinemas of Confluence and Alliance
Daniel Pope Cap: 25, 3 Credits
Lecture: Mo 4:00PM-6:30PM
How can film foster empathy? Bridge difference? Inspire dedication to the dreams, endeavors, and struggles of others? In this course, we explore a selection of international films that engage themes of community, solidarity, and partnerships for social justice, environmental advocacy, intersectional alliance, and other collective efforts to achieve a common good or address a prevailing ill. We investigate the potential for narrative fiction film, documentary, video art, and other media to challenge ideas of self and other and imagine new modes of reflection, representation, and agency. Concepts of selfhood and otherness, questions of empathy, relationship, community and allyship, and such issues as equity, ethics and ecology will frame our discussions. Open to graduate students and advanced undergraduate students.
UNDERGRADUATE FILM STUDIES CERTIFICATE CATEGORY: II, IV, V
FILM STUDIES MAJOR IN BDIC CATEGORY: E
FILM-ST 597LA – Special Topics-African-Latin American Film Festival
Barbara Zecchi, Patricia Martinho Ferreira Cap: 30, 1 Credits
Lecture: MoFr 4:00PM-7:00PM
Course Description TBA
FILM-ST 697FL – Special Topics-F. Fellini: The Liar (also offered as Italian/Film-St 497FL)
Andrea Malaguti Cap: 5, 3 Credits
Lecture: Tu 4:00PM-6:30PM
The course examines the most important films by Federico Fellini (whose "La dolce vita" and "8 1/2" both entered the 100 greatest movies list of the British Film Institute) to understand how his work both contends with his contemporaries (especially Hollywood) and still has a strong grip on our film imagery today. Lectures and discussions in English.
UNDERGRADUATE FILM STUDIES CERTIFICATE CATEGORY: III, IV, V
FILM STUDIES MAJOR IN BDIC CATEGORY: D&G
FILM-ST 697IS International Screenplays (Also available as CompLit 697IS)
Instructor: Jeremi Szaniawski
Credits: 3
This course proposes a survey of celebrated literary and filmic texts produced in a variety of countries (the US, the Soviet Union, France, Sweden, Italy, Poland and South Korea) interrogating the methodologies of filmic adaptation and the national specificities and technical limitations of screenplays/screenwriting. The course will also show samples of actual screenplays in foreign languages, explaining the cultural differences in format, emphasis and presentation of the ‘medium’ that in the shooting script. Please note that this course is not a screenwriting/creative writing class. However, it may be of interest as well to those students who want to learn about techniques and efficient ways of storytelling in the screenplay format.
UNDERGRADUATE FILM STUDIES CERTIFICATE CATEGORY: II, IV, V
FILM STUDIES MAJOR IN BDIC CATEGORY: E
FILM-ST 697P – Special Topics-Cinema Paranoia: Epidemics/Upheavals/Catastrophes (also available as Judaic 497P)
Olga Gershenson Cap: 8, 3 Credits
Lecture: Th 4:00PM-6:45PM
We are living in a time of multiple global crises: climate change, massive inequality, racial tension, and now pandemic. These are not one-time events in a specific location, after which normalcy can be restored. Rather these crises are in continuous development over extended periods of time, with no end in sight. Although we may respond with the feelings of rage, sadness or apathy, the dominant emotion is fear. In this course, we'll examine how international cinema has channeled these difficult emotions through various genres - from zombie horror to Holocaust films, from historical drama to thriller, from classics to B-movies. How do these diverse films represent epidemics, upheavals, and catastrophes? How do they induce fear through narrative, sound, mise-en-scene, and editing? What is the source of threat? Finally, how do genre and subject matter influence audience perception and critical response? Included are American, Israeli, British, German, French, Spanish, Russian, Hungarian, Polish, Japanese, and Korean films, all with English subtitles.