What do we mean by World Cinemas?
The concept of "World Cinemas" encompasses the diverse industrial, aesthetic, linguistic, and cultural traditions that construct film beyond —against, alongside, and in conversation with— Hollywood. To study World Cinemas is to understand cinema as a transnational form: shaped by colonial histories, local production ecologies, regional audiences, state policies, and the circulation of stories across borders. Students in this specialization grapple with how political upheaval, migration, war, censorship, translation, and technology influence cinematic expression, and how films travel, transform, and acquire new meanings in new cultural contexts. The study of World Cinemas is therefore not simply geographic—it is linguistic, historical, and comparative.
World Cinemas at UMass
UMass Film Studies is uniquely positioned to support advanced undergraduate research in World Cinemas. Through collaboration with departments and programs across the College of Humanities and Fine Arts—including Spanish & Portuguese, German & Scandinavian, Italian, Judaic Studies, French & Francophone Studies, Japanese, and Comparative Literature—students learn to analyze film within broader linguistic and cultural frameworks. Majors expand their world perspective by engaging deeply with multiple national and regional cinemas, spanning Europe, Latin America, Africa, East Asia, and the Middle East.
Students pursuing the specialization explore at least two linguistic and regional traditions, grounding their study in cross-continental comparison. Because World Cinemas cannot be meaningfully learned only from afar, all students complete a semester abroad, immersing themselves in the lived cultural contexts of the films they study. This experiential dimension—linguistic, social, intellectual, embodied—ensures that students graduate not only with knowledge but with perspective. Please check our sponsored study abroad opportunities here.
Why a Letter of Specialization in World Cinemas?
The Specialization in World Cinemas recognizes Film Studies majors who have developed advanced fluency in international film traditions and who think critically about cinema as a global medium shaped by movement, conflict, exchange, and encounter. Students who complete this pathway emerge with intercultural competence, comparative analytical skills, and the linguistic and historical literacy that graduate schools, arts institutions, and media organizations increasingly seek. Whether pursuing careers in programming, cultural diplomacy, curating, international festival management, translation, journalism, graduate research, or transnational media production, recipients of this specialization demonstrate the intellectual breadth and global awareness necessary to navigate a rapidly shifting film landscape.
Requirements
Students earn a Letter of Specialization in World Cinemas by completing 4 courses selected in consultation with the Specialization Advisor and a semester abroad.
All of the following conditions must be met:
—Courses must be 300-level or above.
—A minimum of 4 courses with a grade of ‘C’ or higher.
—Courses must represent at least two distinct world regions and at least two different linguistic traditions.
—At least one course must be taken outside of a European context (Africa, Latin America, Middle East, Asia, Global Transnational frameworks, etc.).
—Students must complete one semester of approved Study Abroad, ideally aligned with one of their chosen linguistic or regional specializations.
Courses
FILM-ST 384: Iberian Cinemas (also available as SPAN 384)
FILM-ST 304: German Cinema: From Berlin to Hollywood (also available as GERMAN 304)
FILM-ST 326: Weimar Cinema ((also available as GERMAN 326)
FILM-ST 345: Cinema of the Lusophone World (Also available as PORT 345)
FILM-ST 344: Film and Society in Israel (Also available as JUDAIC 344)
FILM-ST 350: Italian Film (Also available as ITALIAN 350)
FILM-ST 353: African Cinema (Also available as French 353)
FILM-ST 397V: Latin American Cinemas (also available as SPAN 397W)
FILM-ST 497L: Fellini- The Liar (Also available as ITALIAN 497FL)
FILM-ST 391SF: International Sci-Fi Cinema
JAPANESE 391T: Tokyo through Literature and Film
COMM 345: Contemporary World Cinema
COMP-LIT 350: International Film
COMP-LIT 391W: Polish Film
FRENCH 350: French Film
FRENCH 351: Contemporary French Cinema
With advisor approval, additional international film courses not listed may count toward the specialization if they meet regional and linguistic criteria. Also, previous educational experiences abroad may count towards this specialization.
For questions about this letter, please contact Professor Barbara Zecchi ([email protected]) and Daniel Pope ([email protected])