FILM, TELEVISION AND MEDIA STUDIES

The Film, Television and Media Studies concentration focuses on a variety of paths students may pursue for employment as writers, teachers, archivists, museum personnel. This concentration also aims to enhance student knowledge of film and television for use in the creative fields of directing, cinematography, screenwriting and acting. Areas of study include: American and World Film History, including African-American Film History; Genre and Auteur Studies with courses on Film Noir, Teens Films and American Auteurs from Hitchcock to David Lynch to Charles Burnett; and Television Studies, including a critical History of Television Genres.

Media Arts 10 Introduction to Communication Arts
Prerequisite: Permission of Department Chair
Offered on occasion

An introduction to communication arts designed to define the strengths of the individual student and to sharpen analytical, communication and presentation skills . It is aimed at channeling students’ creative strengths into a product or project in a workshop environment. Students are provided with the tools of presentation and production to help build the analytical and critical skills required to assess their own productivity. Participants engage in the development of a project from idea through refinement, to completed project in print, audio, video, or photographic essay. Three credits.

Media Arts 100 Media Aesthetics

This required foundation course introduces students to the fundamentals of media arts and visual literacy – light, color, composition, perspective, time, motion, sound – and discusses how they are applied in the various forms of contemporary media. In a workshop environment, using media objects as texts, students also explore narrative, art history, philosophy of media, spectatorship, theories of perception and their own creativity. Three credits.

Media Arts 102 Television Production I
Special Fee: $55.00
Offered every semester

An introduction to the practice and principles of television studio production. The course covers all the basic production techniques, including scripting, lighting, shooting, producing and directing. Technical operation and understanding of all studio equipment, including cameras, switcher, audio board and character generator, are stressed. Students apply their skills in studio production assignments. Three credits.

Media Arts 106 Video Workshop I
Special Fee: $55.00
Offered every semester

An introduction to the principles and practice of portable digital video production. Working in crews on field projects, students explore the techniques and aesthetics of single-camera videography, sound recording, location lighting and video editing. Three credits.

Media Arts 109 History of Broadcasting
(Same as Journalism 131)
Offered every Fall

An introduction to the history of radio and television. Topics include the changing relationship between politics and broadcasting, the mobilization of broadcasting resources during wars, the complex relationship between the broadcasting industry and the government, and the growth and nature of federal regulatory legislation. Three credits.

Media Arts 113 Media Arts in the Twenty-first Century
Prerequisite: Permission of the instructor
Offered on occasion

This course discusses the past, present and future impact on human society of modern media and communication technologies. Emphasis is on critical analysis of media; debating ethical issues such as access, privacy and censorship; and research into contemporary institutions of technological development and innovation. Students participate in field trips, on-site research, and interaction with media and technology professionals. Three credits.

Media Arts 119 Business of Media Arts
Special Fee: $55.00
Prerequisite: Completion of 64 credits
Offered every semester

A required course which discusses the applications of business skills for the media artist. Topics include professional development, media management principles, art and commerce, writing the business plan, and grant writing.. Media professionals are invited as guest lecturers. Three credits.

Media Arts 142 The Arts in the Twentieth Century
For course description, see Art 107. Three credits.

Media Arts 144 Comparative Media Systems
Offered on occasion

A survey and analysis of print, broadcast and advanced telecommunications media in countries around the globe. The emphasis is on political and economic dynamics of information systems. Three credits.

Media Arts 152 Screenplay
Special Fee: $40.00
Prerequisite: Media Arts 100 and three credits from English 61-64 or permission of the instructor
Offered on occasion

An intermediate course for the serious writer designed to develop screenwriting skills in a workshop environment. Emphasis on the writer’s creative process, evaluation techniques and constructive feedback. Working independently and in groups, students complete a full-length screenplay as their semester-long assignment. Three credits.

Media Arts 178 Fairy Tales: From Disney to J-Lo
Special Fee: $40.00
Offered on occasion

An exploration of how fairy tale motifs are used in movies and how this can affect a female’s psyche over time. What 17th century standards and prejudices are being passed down to young viewers sitting in front of their VCRs entranced by Disney? How are fairy tales evolving or being deconstructed in the movies to fit the more “feminist minded p.c. mold” of today? Three credits

Media Arts 179 Film Genre
Special Fee: $40.00
Offered on occasion

An examination of the Hollywood film and studio system through film genres. The course defines “genres” as an industry term and a critical construct and explores the social, political and industrial factors affecting film genre construction. Topics include the horror film, women’s film/melodrama, science fiction and the gangster film. Three credits.

Media Arts 180 American Cinema: The Golden Age—1930-1960
Special Fee: $40.00
Offered on occasion

A survey of American sound films from the 1930s through the 1950s. Screenings are made of classics of comedy and drama as well as genre films (westerns, film noir, musical comedy). The individualism of American filmmakers like Welles, Capra and Lang as well as their relationships to Hollywood and society at large is explored. Three credits.

Media Arts 181 World Cinema: The Modern Era
Special Fee: $40.00
Offered on occasion

An exploration of the modernist tradition in films of the 1960s through the 1980s. The exciting breakthrough possible in the new forms of film expression is the central theme of the course, and the influence of such directors as Rossellini, Godard, Fassbinder and Coppola is examined. Modernism in the other arts is also related to the films screened, representing a wide range of nationalities and styles. Three credits.

Media Arts 182 Film Criticism
Special Fee: $40.00
Offered on occasion

A study of analytic approaches to film and their application to the writing of film criticism. A number of approaches are discussed—journalistic, humanist, auteurist, historical, social, scientific, ideological and theoretical; films screened represent a wide variety of directors, styles and genres. Through in-depth analysis of each film in class and in written criticisms, students learn to express their ideas and feelings about film. Three credits.

Media Arts 183 Contemporary American Cinema
Special Fee: $40.00
Offered on occasion

A contextual approach to contemporary American cinema, including both fiction and nonfiction films. The emphasis is on the development of styles and techniques and the relationship of film to other arts, media and society. Includes class discussion and the writing of criticism. Occasionally guest filmmakers are invited to talk about their work. Three credits.

Media Arts 184 Teen Films of the 1980s and 1990s
Special Fee: $40.00
Offered on occasion

An examination of genre theory by exploring the conventions and transformation of one genre -- the teen film. Focus is on the pivotal role of both female and black New Wave directors, viewing the genre as validating a collectivist spirit in the 1980s and both promoting and contesting the attack on teens and teen culture in the 1990s. Three credits.

Media Arts 185 The Psychological Film
Special Fee: $40.00
Offered on occasion

An exploration of film from psychological and sociological perspectives. Topics include the psychological development of characters; the history and influence of psychoanalytic theory on the cinema; the impact of film on the attitudes of the individual and society; and film as a reflection of psychic and cultural identity. A wide range of directors, nationalities and styles are represented in the films screened. Three credits.

Media Arts 187 Film and Television Studies
Special Fee: $40.00
Prerequisite: Media Arts 100
Offered every semester

A survey of the history and development of world cinema and television. Through screenings and discussions, students study this twentieth-century art form as developed by various countries, individuals and movements. The development of cinema and television as an industry and a part of the larger economy; as a series of technical innovations; as a history of aesthetic forms; as a social, cultural and political force; and as a reflection of the ideas of its society is explored. This is a Writing Intensive course and is required for students following a concentration related to moving image. Three credits.

Media Arts 188 Film Noir: The Dark Side of America
Special Fee: $40.00
Offered on occasion

An exploration of the noir tradition from its origins in German expressionism and American gangster films to its classic period after World War II and its current widespread contemporary acceptance. Noir is explored as visual style, as subversive attitude and as an historical series reflecting American anxiety from World War II to the present. Three credits.

Media Arts 189 Hollywood’s New Wave
Special Fee: $40.00
Offered on occasion

A study of the development of the Hollywood film from 1960 to 1980, from the breakup of the studio system through the influence of the 1960s social movements and the European Art Cinema to the retreat to a more traditional cinema. Topics include the rise of the low-budget film, the New Wave in Hollywood, Blaxploitation and the black art film. Directors studied include Scorcese, Coppola and Corman. Three credits.

Media Arts 192 Prime-Time Television
Special Fee: $40.00
Offered on occasion

An introduction to the form, content and ideology of the network television series. An analysis of the series format, including attempts to explain why series are popular, and an examination of such conventions of TV genres as the sitcom and the police series. Students are given an opportunity both to write papers on the development of the TV series and to write a treatment for an episode of a TV series. Three credits.

Media Arts 193 Great American Directors
Special Fee: $40.00
Offered on occasion

A consideration of the director as author of a film. The work of several directors is examined to identify stylistic and thematic consistencies and the way culture, industrial and economic factors influence their works. The influence of foreign directors on Hollywood, of female directors and of the contribution of cultures outside the mainstream of Hollywood cinema is also considered. Directors include Hitchcock, Welles, Spike Lee, Charles Burnett, and Amy Heckerling. Three credits.

Media Arts 194 Men, Women and Film
Special Fee: $40.00
Offered on occasion

An examination of femininity and masculinity on the screen and how men and women interact, as seen through a body of film criticism known as feminist film theory. The representation of men and women in Hollywood genres is discussed in terms of class, culture, and men and women interacting in different cultures. Three credits.

Media Arts 195, 196 Honors Study

Honors Study is designed to give outstanding students an opportunity to do independent work in their major under the guidance of a member of the faculty. There are no regular class meetings. To be eligible, students must have upper junior or senior status, a cumulative quality-point ratio of 3.00 and a 3.25 ratio in their major subject, and the permission of the Director of the Department and the Dean. A total of six credits of Honors Study is the maximum allowed. Three credits per semester.

Media Arts 197, 198 Independent Study
Prerequisites: Permission of student advisor, the Department Chair and the Dean

Courses designed to give students in their junior or senior year an opportunity to do independent work under the guidance of a member of the Media Arts faculty. There are no regular class meetings. Students may undertake either a production (video, screenplay, photography etc.) or a research paper. Three credits per course.

Media Arts 199 Media Arts Internship
Prerequisites: At least 64 credits and Permission of Faculty Advisor and Department Chair

During their senior year, Media Arts majors are strongly recommended to undertake one internship with a media organization. Consultation with Director of Professional Development and approval of the Department is required. Three credits. May be taken in subsequent semesters for credit.

Media Arts 200 Series
Offered every year - Subject matter determined by the expertise of a visiting artist-in-residence. Courses vary from semester to semester and may be repeated for credit. Three credits per course.

Media Arts 201 The Musical: From Jazz to Hip Hop
Special Fee: $40.00
Offered on occasion

A survey of the history of the movie musical, paying particular attention to how musicals depict various sub-cultures and how changes in the form reflect larger developments in social taste. The course charts the musical’s transformation from fantasy narrative to documentary music video. Three credits.

Media Arts 212 African-American Film
Special Fee: $40.00
Offered on occasion

An examination of African-American images as an intrusion on typical Hollywood mainstream narrative. By concentrating on images both inside and outside dominant filmmaking institutions, the course surveys the implicit transgressive politics of filmmakers from Clarence Brown and Oscar Micheaux, to Melvin Van Peebles, Charles Burnett and Ivan Julien. Three credits.

Media Arts 222 Mass Communication and New Media in Society
(Same as Journalism 222 and Speech 222)
For course description, see Speech 222.

Media Arts 239 Survey of Computer Art
Prerequisites: For B.F.A. students: Art 101 and Art 102; for B.A. students: Media Arts 100
Offered on occasion

An advanced New Media theory class in Computer Art, this class will chronologically span the pioneering efforts of the first generation of computer artists to the latest in Internet and computer installations. Class sessions will include lectures, in-class presentations, and on-site gallery and museum exhibitions. Lively theoretical papers and discussions will be required. Three credits.

Media Arts 282 The Road Movie: Discovering America
Special Fee: $40.00
Offered on occasion

An examination of a genre that stresses social mobility from its beginnings in the 1930s, through its apex in the 1970s, to its continuing importance today. This quintessential American genre is seen as tracing differences in class, race and political experience. Three credits.