Studies in film will begin in the fall with two unique classes that aim to introduce students to film and challenge their abilities to analyze and understand visual media.
The proposal to add a film studies minor has passed the curriculum board but is not yet official. Eighteen credit hours must be obtained in order for a student to minor in film. Four film courses have already been approved and two of these are being offered for the fall semester.
“It is highly likely there will be a film minor,” Todd Kennedy, assistant professor of English, said. “There was an issue with the English department adding too many classes compared to how many we were subtracting. We were only able to add the two classes for fall, the Intro to Film class and the Film Genres class.”
Kennedy will not exclusively teach film classes. However, he is teaching both fall classes and will be teaching most future film classes to get the ball rolling with the minor.
Intro to Film is the only required course in the film curriculum so far. It teaches the basic concepts of the critical study of film including cinematography, sound and other technical elements of film.
“The Intro to Film course is primarily to introduce people to analyzing multiple elements of film,” Kennedy said.
These introductory classes are going to be taught every fall and possibly during summers. Other faculty members will teach future Intro to Film classes as Kennedy moves his focus on upper-level courses.
The other film course offered for the fall is Film Genres, a class that can be taken twice on two different genres. The Film Genres class next semester will focus on Western films. Movies to be studied in the class include “The Searchers,” “Star Wars,” “There Will be Blood” and “No Country for Old Men.”
“We’re going to start with traditional John Wayne and Clint Eastwood Westerns. There will also be some contemporary stuff and also films that wouldn’t traditionally be considered Westerns,” Kennedy said.
The Film Genres classes will cycle throughout semesters as they cover various genres and styles of film.
Major Filmmakers and Topics in Film are two other courses in the proposed film curriculum. Major Filmmakers will explore a body of work from a single filmmaker or group of filmmakers. The Topics in Film course emphasizes specific themes or aspects of film, such as women in film or film history.
“I would advise that if you are interested in the minor to start taking classes now,” Kennedy said. “Worst case scenario, you get classes that count for English and humanities credit. If you’re interested, you should get on this.”
For more information regarding Film Studies, see Todd Kennedy in Peltier 246.
