235 Humanities Instructional Building; (949) 824-5386
Rhona Berenstein, Program Director
Faculty
Rhona Berenstein, Ph.D. University of California, Los Angeles, Director of the Program in Film Studies and Associate Professor of Film Studies (television, film genre, film history)
Homer Obed Brown, Ph.D. The Johns Hopkins University, Professor of English (film theory, American film, popular culture)
Juan Bruce-Novoa, Ph.D. University of Colorado, Professor of Spanish (Latin American and Chicano studies)
David Carroll, Ph.D. The Johns Hopkins University, Chair of the Department of French and Italian and Professor of French (film history and criticism, French cinema, film and society)
Rey Chow, Ph.D. Stanford University, Professor of Comparative Literature (Chinese literature, Asian literatures and cultures, contemporary critical theory, film)
Edward Fowler, Ph.D. University of California, Berkeley, Associate Professor of Japanese (modern Japanese literature, film, and cultural studies)
Anne Friedberg, Ph.D. New York University, Associate Professor of Film Studies (film history and theory, film and postmodernism, avant-garde and experimental film, and new technologies)
James Herbert, Ph.D. Yale University, Associate Professor of Art History (modern European art, critical theory, and visual culture)
Renée Riese Hubert, Ph.D. Columbia University, Professor Emerita of French and Comparative Literature (surrealist film/fantastic film, early comedy)
David Joselit, Ph.D. Harvard University, Assistant Professor of Art History (modern and contemporary art, critical theory, gender studies)
Kyung Hyun Kim, M.A. University of Southern California, Acting Assistant Professor of Korean Culture (history of film, Asian films)
Marcia Klotz, Ph.D. Stanford University, Assistant Professor of German (feminism, critical theory, German film, cultural studies, race)
Alejandro Morales, Ph.D. Rutgers University, Chair of the Department of Spanish and Portuguese and Professor of Spanish (Latin American film)
Gonzalo Navajas, Ph.D. University of California, Los Angeles, Professor of Spanish (Spanish cinema)
John Carlos Rowe, Ph.D. State University of New York at Buffalo, Professor of English (film and documentary images of war, film theory)
Sally A. Stein, Ph.D. Yale University, Associate Professor of Art History (American art, history of photography, photography and media)
Our understanding of the modern world is to a large extent a mediated one: film and television greatly influence our sense of who we are and how we live. Yet so much of our exposure to these forces remains taken for granted, indeed unreflected. The sights and sounds of movies and television compel and excite us, perhaps more so than many of us realize or would like to admit. An undergraduate education in Film Studies encourages students to explore the appeal and operation of these complex meaning-producing machines we call cinema and television.
The course work leading to the B.A. degree in Film Studies trains students to become visually and aurally literate, to grasp films and images in their socioeconomic, political, and aesthetic dimensions. This entails looking at mainstream films with a more critical gaze as well as gaining a regard for different kinds of movies and alternative ways of seeing. The Film Studies curriculum is systematic and comprehensive; courses are typically taught by regular faculty in classes of about 20 to 50 students. During the 1997-98 academic year, there were more than 80 Film Studies majors enrolled at UCI.
The Program familiarizes students with the history, theory, and art of cinema, individual filmmakers, period styles, genres, and aspects of television. Additional courses address the practical and technical concerns of video production and scriptwriting. Regular course offerings are complemented by student-run film series; special screenings and retrospectives; visits from directors, critics, film and television industry professionals, and scholars; and trips to film festivals, as well as critical symposia.
Film Studies at UCI is unique in its concentration on the history, theory, and criticism of cinema and television. The faculty has published books and articles on such topics as French surrealist cinema, films of the Third Reich, images of the Vietnam war, Hollywood melodramas, contemporary avant-garde directors, film and postmodernism, horror cinema, and women filmmakers. The Program provides its majors with a thorough appreciation of the modern media's innumerable functions in contemporary society.
The School of Humanities charges a laboratory fee of $20 per course to all students taking Film Studies courses.
Film Studies students can complete a professional internship in film or television for elective course credit.
Film Studies students also have the opportunity to spend their junior year in France studying at the Inter-University Center for Film and Critical Studies in Paris, through the University's Education Abroad Program. Information is available both in the Film Studies Office and the Education Abroad Program Office.
A degree in Film Studies will provide students with a variety of opportunities leading to a career choice or to further education at the graduate or professional level. Graduates from the program have gone on to a host of different careers. Some have pursued graduate work in critical film studies at leading institutions such as the University of California, Los Angeles, and the University of Iowa. Others have entered M.F.A. programs in production at places like the University of Southern California, UCLA, or San Francisco State University. Many are now at work in various sectors of the entertainment industry as feature film editors, executives in video distribution companies, technicians for local news programs, and independent filmmakers.
The UCI Career Center provides services to students and alumni including career counseling, information about job opportunities, a career library, and workshops on resume preparation, job search, and interview techniques. See the Career Center section for additional information.
University Requirements: See pages 54-58.
School Requirements: See page 190.
Program Requirements for the Major
Film Studies 85A-B-C, 101A-B-C, 110, either 117A or 120A, 139, and four of the following: 112, 113, 114, 115, 160, 185, 198, and/or no more than two of the following: 117B, 117C, 120B, 120C.
Residence Requirement for the Major: At least five upper-division courses required for the major must be completed successfully at UCI.
Program Requirements for the Minor
Film Studies 85A, 101A-B-C, and three of the following: 85B-C, 110, 112, 113, 114, 115, 160, 185, 198.
Residence Requirement for the Minor: Four upper-division courses must be successfully completed at UCI.
85A-B-C Image Culture
85A Visual Media and Contemporary Culture (4) F. An introduction to the study of visual media--such as advertising, movies, television, and video--and analysis of their role in contemporary culture. Introduces students to the critical vocabulary of film and television studies. Formerly Film Studies 85. (IV)
85B History of Broadcasting (4) W. A history of broadcast media. Social, political, economic, legal, institutional, and cultural perspectives guide analysis. United States commercial TV serves as the primary case study. Prerequisite: Film Studies 85A or consent of instructor. (IV)
85B New Technologies and Visuality (4) S. The study of electronic communication technologies, such as virtual reality and the internet, from social, cultural, psychological, and political perspectives. Prerequisites: Film Studies 85A-B or consent of instructor. (IV)
101A-B-C History of Film
101A The Silent Era I (4) W. An investigation of the technological, economic, social, and aesthetic determinants of the cinema in its first 30 years. The formal strategies and historical importance of films by Méliès, the Lumières, Porter, Griffith, Murnau, Lang, Eisenstein, Pudovkin, and others. Prerequisite: Film Studies 85A.
101B The Sound Era I (4) S. Explores the formal strategies and socio-historical dynamics of films made between 1930 and 1960, concentrating on representative cinemas and works by Lang, Riefenstahl, Renoir, Welles, De Sica, Ophüls, Kurosawa, and others. Prerequisite: Film Studies 101A.
101C The Sound Era II (4) F. Studies narrative strategies and formal possibilities in films made since 1960, framing aesthetic questions in political, social, and economic terms, using selected features from Western and non-Western countries. Prerequisite: Film Studies 101B.
110 Film Theory (4) F, W, S. A survey of major directions in film theory of the silent and sound eras. Includes Frankfurt School theorists of mass culture, formalism, realism, auteurism, semiotics, feminism, and cultural studies. Prerequisite: Film Studies 101A-B-C or consent of instructor.
112 Film Genre (4) F, W, S. Analytical and theoretical approaches to the serial productions we call "genre" films, the patterns of recognition known as westerns, weepies, musicals, horror films, and others. May be repeated for credit as topics vary. Same as Women's Studies 174A when topic is appropriate.
113 Film/Narrative/Image (4) F, W, S. What relations do sound, image, and story assume in film narrative? In what ways does film interact with and borrow from other story-telling media? How have filmmakers explored non-narrative strategies and to what end? May be repeated for credit as topics vary.
114 Film and the Other Arts (4) F, W, S. A synthetic entity, film draws on both established and popular arts. Looks at film's exchanges with high and low culture, exploring its relation to areas such as photography, music, painting, and architecture. May be repeated for credit as topics vary.
115 Film Authorship (4) F, W, S. Theoretical and analytical discussions of film authorship, focusing on case studies of directors, producers, scriptwriters, and artists. May be repeated for credit as topics vary.
117A Introduction to Screenwriting (4) F, W, S. Introduction to the history and technique of the screenplay, with a particular focus on its different aesthetic forms as well as on the various roles it has assumed within the evolution of the film industry.
117B Basic Script Writing (4) F, W, S. Exercises in the development of screenplays with emphasis on formal and structural considerations as well as on film industry praxis. Conducted in an intimate workshop setting with frequent group discussions of student scripts-in-progress. Prerequisite: Film Studies 117A.
117C Scriptwriting Workshop (4) F, W, S. Continuation and intensification of work initiated in 117B. Students complete a full-length screenplay. Concentrates on both practical and technical concerns, addressing pragmatic and aesthetic questions in intensive small-group discussions. Prerequisite: Film Studies 117B.
120A Basic Production (4) F, W, S. Introduction to the basic apparatus of video/film production. The elementary essentials of production, including
the use of camera and lenses, lighting, editing, and sound. Formerly Film Studies 50A.
120B Intermediate Production (4) W. Students work on individual and group projects, utilizing skills and insights introduced in Film Studies 120A. Prerequisite: Film Studies 120A. Formerly Film Studies 50B.
120C Production Workshop (4) S. As film and video are collaborative media, students form production groups and ultimately produce final 10-15 minute film/video projects. Prerequisite: Film Studies 120B.
139 Writing About Film (4) F, W, S. Practical exercises in film criticism as a form of cultural analysis. Requires at least 4,000 words of assigned composition. Film Studies majors are given admission priority. Prerequisites: Film Studies 85A and 101A; satisfaction of lower-division writing requirement; junior standing.
160 National Cinemas (4) F, W, S. Period styles, national schools, oppositional movements, e.g., Classical Japanese Cinema, Italian Neorealism, Nouvelle Vague, Weimar Film, Cinema Nôvo. Same as East Asian 160, French 160, German 160, or Spanish 160 when topics are appropriate. May be repeated for credit when topics vary. (VII-B)
185 Television and New Media (4) F, W, S. An advanced seminar focusing on special issues pertaining to broadcasting and/or new technologies. Topics include, but are not limited to: television criticism; space and new technologies; and broadcast advertising. Prerequisite: Film Studies 85A-B-C or consent of instructor.
198 Special Topics in Film Studies (4) F, W, S. Exploration of special issues concerned with film history and theory. Examples include close textual analysis, film and pornography, representing war, film and gender. May be repeated for credit as topics vary.
199 Individual Study (varying credit) F, W, S. Directed reading and research in consultation with a faculty member. Substantial written work required. Prerequisite: consent of sponsoring faculty member.
Graduate students in Art History can pursue an emphasis in Film Studies. Contact the Film Studies office at (949) 824-5386 for information regarding requirements.
210 Comparative Studies (4) F, W, S, Summer. May be repeated for credit as topics vary.
212 Genre Study (4) F, W, S. Close study of film and television genres (musical, western, pornography, horror, gangster, science fiction, police drama, situation comedy, news magazine). May analyze the concept of genre itself, addressing generic modes (film noir) and cross-generic explorations in cinema, TV, video, other media. May be repeated for credit as topics vary.
213 Media/Narrative/Image (4) F, W, S. Situates changes in electronic technologies that impact experiences of the body, identity, urban and architectural space, and information, within a cultural history of vision and visuality. Examines social, cultural, psychological, and political impact of new technologies. May be repeated for credit as topics vary.
214 Media and the Other Arts (4) F, W, S. Comparison and contrast between film, television, literature, video art, photography, new technologies. The integral rapport between visual mass media, high art, music; performance in various media; issues of adaptation from one medium to another (e.g., literature to film, film to CD-ROM). May be repeated for credit as topics vary.
218 Special Topics in Film and Modern Media (4) F, W, S. Special issues concerned with film and media history, theory, criticism. Examples include Gone Primitive (Anglo-American romance with the "primitive" in literature, film, other media); television criticism (review and analysis of models and modes of criticism applied to television since the 1940s). May be repeated for credit as topics vary.
240 Theory and Methods of Film and Modern Media (4) F, W, S. Examines classical and contemporary film and media theories: the film as art form, the director as author, films as textual systems, the cinematic apparatus, feminist theories, and theoretical paradigms offered by new media.
245 Historiography of Film and Modern Media (4) F, W, S. Studies historiographic questions regarding cinema and modern media in light of contemporary debates about historical inquiry. What is the past? How can it be known/studied? How do we access and trace the cinema and modern media's pasts? How do media transform definitions of history?
250 Debates in Film and Modern Media (4) F, W, S. Focuses on theoretical and critical debates in film, TV, and media; cultural studies; and new technologies. Addresses terms of analysis of films and other media. Topics vary but include: theories of spectatorship and queer film/video. May be repeated for credit as topics vary.
290 Independent Study (4) F, W, S. A project proposal must be prepared by the student and approved by a faculty advisor who will direct the independent study. Area of focus to be determined by graduate student in consultation with faculty advisor. May be repeated for credit as topics vary.
399 University Teaching (4) F, W, S. Required of and limited to teaching assistants. Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory only. May be repeated for credit.
