Chair: Mark J. Williams
Professor A. Lawrence; Associate Professors M. Desjardins, M. J. Williams; Assistant Professor J. K. Ruoff; Senior Lecturer J. E. Brown; Visiting Professors D. G. Ehrlich, J. E. Rapf; Visiting Associate Professor W. F. Phillips; Adjunct Instructor M. S. Hanitchak; Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow O. E. Gelley.
REQUIREMENTS FOR THE MAJOR IN FILM AND TELEVISION STUDIES
The Film and Television Studies department at Dartmouth College offers a wide range of courses in the theory, history, and criticism of film and television as well as a limited number of courses in film and video production and screenwriting. The major provides a common basis for all students in the theory, history, and crit-icism of film and television, while at the same time asking that students take at least one course with a production component. Beyond this, the major allows stu-dents not only to shape their own emphasis within it (for instance, history and crit-icism or screenwriting).
Prerequisites:
Film Studies 1 (Introduction to Film: From Script to Screen)
Film Studies 20 (History of Film I)
Requirements:
Ten major courses, exclusive of the prerequisites, as enumerated below:
1) Film Studies 21 (History of Film II)
2) Film Studies 22 (History of Film III)
3) Film Studies 40: (Theories and Methodologies). Film Studies 40 should be taken in the Sophomore year. It may be approved for the Junior year, if absolutely necessary, in consultation with the chair.
4) Film Studies 41: A Genre Course or 43 or 47
5) A National Cinema Course: Film Studies 42 (National Cinemas). Courses on film offered in language departments can be used to meet this requirement. If an outside course is not cross-listed with Film Studies, request permission from the Film Studies’ Chair.
6) A Television Course: Film Studies 44 (Television: A Critical Approach); Film Studies 45 (US Television History); Film Studies 46 (Topics in Television).
7) One course in Production: Film Studies 30 (Documentary Videomaking); Film Studies 31 (Filmmaking I); Film Studies 33 (Screenwriting I); Film Studies 35 (Animation: Principles and Practice); Film Studies 36 (Experimental Videomaking); Film Studies 37 (Directing for the Camera).
8 and 9) Two Courses at an Advanced level. Advanced courses include Film Studies 32 (Filmmaking II); Film Studies 34 (Writing for the Screen II), Film Studies 38 (Advanced Animation); any Film Studies course at the level of 40 and above, including Film Studies 50 (Topics in Film Theory); Film Studies 80 (Independent Studies); Film Studies 93 (Major Projects) a two term project; Film Studies 95 (Honor Projects). Film Studies 80, 93, and 95 may be in screenwriting, production, or a thesis in film or television history/theory. These require departmental approval and must be applied for in the preceding term.
10) A Culminating Experience Course (see below).
MODIFIED MAJOR IN FILM AND TELEVISION STUDIES
Students may modify Film Studies with another related discipline with the permission of the Chair of Film and Television Studies and that of the chair of the related department. Film can be either the major or the minor part of a modified major. If film is the minor part of the modified major, the only prerequisite is Film Studies 1: Introduction to Film. The requirements are four other film studies courses. If film is the major part of the modified major the two prerequisite courses must be taken. The other specified requirements for the modified major are as follows:
Prerequisite: Film Studies 1 (Introduction to Film: From Script to Screen) and Film Studies 20 (History of Film I)
1) One of the following: Film Studies 41 (Genre), Film Studies 42 (National Cinemas), Film Studies 43 (The Film Creator: Directors, Producers, Actors, Writers); Film Studies 44 (Television: A Critical Approach) Film Studies 45 (U.S. Television History) or Film Studies 46 (Topics in Television), or Film Studies 47 (Topics in Film).
2) One production course: Film Studies 30 (Documentary Videomaking); Film Studies 31 (Filmmaking I); Film Studies 33 (Screenwriting I); Film Studies 35 (Animation: Principles and Practice); Film Studies 36 (Experimental Videomaking); or Film Studies 37 (Directing for the Camera).
3) Film Studies 40: Theories and Methodologies of Film and Television Studies. Film Studies 40 should be taken in the Sophomore year. It may be approved for the Junior year, if absolutely necessary, in consultation with the chair.
4) One of the following: Film Studies 50 (Topics in Film Theory), or a selection from Film Studies 21, 22, 41-47. (Film and Television Studies courses at the level of 40 or above may be repeated when the topic is different.)
5) An advanced course: Film Studies 34 (Writing for the Screen II), Film Studies 32 (Filmmaking II), Film Studies 38 (Advanced Animation), Film Studies 50 (Topics in Film Theory), Film Studies 80 (Independent Study), Film Studies 93 (Major Project) a two term project, Film Studies 95 (Honors Project).
6) A Culminating Experience Course (see below).
CULMINATING EXPERIENCE
The Culminating Experience requirement is designed to offer each student an opportunity to fulfill an enhanced and focused project related directly to her/his emphasis within the major. It is required of both Majors and Modified Majors. This course will be selected and declared by each individual student, but must meet department requirements and schedules.
The faculty will work with each student to determine the optimal design for the Culminating Experience course. This course may be one of the following:
1) An advanced class already being offered by the department, for which the student will do extra work for the culminating experience;
2) A pre-arranged independent study (Film Studies 80: Independent Study, Film Studies 93: Major Project, or Film Studies 95: Honors Project). All independent studies must be approved in the preceding term. Production independent studies require department approval of a formal proposal in the spring before senior year. Non-production independent studies require approval by the advising faculty member.
Students considering how and when to fulfill the Culminating Experience requirement. should keep in mind the following:
A) All Majors and Modified Majors must submit a general Culminating Experience proposal by May 1 of their Junior Year. The cover sheet for this proposal is available in the Department office. Each proposal must be worked out in consultation with a faculty advisor and the cover sheet must be signed by the advisor.
B) All Majors and Modified Majors are required to take Film Studies 40 before they propose or enroll in a culminating experience course. (Film Studies 40 should be taken in the Sophomore year. It may be approved for the Junior year, if absolutely necessary, in consultation with the chair.)
C) Production projects will be assessed in relation to the rest of the production curriculum. Regularly scheduled courses will have priority regarding equipment demands.
D) Students may not be enrolled in more than one production course per term, including independent study courses.
E) Each faculty member is only available during select terms of each academic year. Projects related to a specific faculty member must be arranged in conjunction with her/his teaching schedule.
F) Students enrolled in Culminating Experience courses will complete this requirement at a celebratory dinner, to be held at least once per academic year, typically in the Spring term. Each student will make a brief presentation of her/his culminating project.
MINOR IN FILM AND TELEVISION STUDIES
The minor in Film Studies consists of seven courses: Film Studies 1 (prerequisite) and six other courses. These six courses must be distributed as follows:
Film Studies 42 (National Cinemas); Topic dealing with a non-United States cinema. It can be satisfied also by courses in film offered by the language departments (e.g., Russian Film).
A Film History Course (Film Studies 20, 21, or 22).
A Film Genre Course (Film Studies 41).
A Television Course (Film Studies 44 or 45 or 46).
A Production Course (Film Studies 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, and occasional topics under Film Studies 10), or Film Studies 40: Theories and Methodologies of Film and Television Studies, or Film Studies 50: Topics in Film Theory.
Another production, screenwriting, or theory course in line with the area of major interest.
HONORS PROGRAM
Students who have completed at least five major courses and who have an average in the major of 3.4 or higher (and a college average of 3.0 or higher) are eligible to apply for the Honors Program.
Students wishing to do a production project must submit a proposal to the Department in the term before the project is to begin. Honors projects that do not include production must be approved by the advisor and the Chair. Students with modified as well as standard majors may apply. The member(s) of the Department who will supervise the project will be confirmed at the time the proposal is approved. An Honors project usually extends through two terms and receives two major credits. For additional information, students should consult the Department Chair.
TRANSFER CREDIT
Permission of the Chair and a detailed description of the course will obtain provisional approval for transfer credit. Final approval will be granted on the basis of the Chair’s review of the syllabus and evidence of the student’s work in the course for which transfer credit has been requested. Three courses taken at other institutions may be substituted in fulfillment of the major requirements, provided that the program as a whole is consistent with the intent of the major. Of the three transferred courses, no more than two may be in film theory, history, and criticism, and no more than two may be in production.
COURSES
1. Introduction to Film: From Script to Screen
04F, 05X:3A 05F:10A
This course examines all the processes which go into the creation of a film, from its inception as a treatment and screenplay to its distribution as a film. Experts (writers, directors, actors, cinematographers, and distributors) may talk on various areas of expertise. The course will offer an in-depth analysis of classic films and different kinds of films, including an explanation and use of the key technical and critical concepts used in understanding them.
Open to all classes. Limited to 75 students. Dist: ART. Class of 2007 and earlier: WCult: NA. Class of 2008 and later: WCult: W.
7. First-Year Seminars in Film and Television Studies
Consult special listings
10. Special Studies in Film Studies
Not offered in the period from 04F through 06S
20. Film History I (Silent to Sound)
04F: 2A 05F: 3A
Detailed history of film from its origins to early sound films. Among the major topics to be addressed are: Pre-cinematic devices and early cinema; the rise of the feature film; the tradition of silent comedy; the rise of the studio and star systems; European movements and their influence; the coming of sound.
Prerequisite to the major in Film Studies. Open to all classes. Dist: ART. Class of 2007 and earlier: WCult: NA or EU. Class of 2008 and later: WCult: W. Desjardins, J. Rapf.
21. Film History II (1930-60)
05W, 06W: 3A
A detailed history of film beginning with the golden age of the U.S. studio system and its major genres. Among the topics and films considered will be the rise of sound film; Hollywood in the 30s; the impact of World War II; neo-realism; film noir; the blacklist; the impact of television and the decline of the studio system; Japanese cinema; the emergence of European auteurs; beginnings of the French New Wave.
Open to all classes. Dist: ART. Class of 2007 and earlier: WCult: NA or EU. Class of 2008 and later: WCult: W. Williams, Desjardins.
22. Film History III (1960 to present)
05S, 06S: 3A
A detailed history of film beginning with the French New Wave and its impact on American and international cinema. Among the topics and films to be considered will be the interrogation of genres in this period; the rise of alternative models of production; independent and radical film in the United States, Europe, and the Third World; new national cinemas (Eastern Europe in the 60’s, Australian and New German film in the 70’s, and Soviet and British film in the 80’s.)
Open to all classes. Dist: ART. Class of 2007 and earlier: WCult: EU. Class of 2008 and later: WCult: W. Desjardins, Lawrence.
30. Documentary Videomaking
05X: 10A
This documentary workshop will explore in depth the rich world of nonfiction film and video production.Working in groups, students will tackle a variety of technological, aesthetic and ethical issues intrinsic to the medium. Each group will produce one 10-minute non-fiction narrative. The class will utilize standard professional production models, which require intense collaborative teamwork and the distribution of tasks and responsibilities.
Open to all classes; enrollment limit of 15. Permission granted by the instructor after the first day of class, on the basis of an application submitted before the end of the previous term. Supplemental course fee required. Dist: ART. Class of 2007 and earlier: WCult: NA. Class of 2008 and later: WCult: W. Ruoff.
31. Filmmaking I: Basic Elements of Film
04F, 05S, 06S: 3A
An introduction to the theory and technique of filmmaking combining comprehensive analysis of significant works in various film styles with practical exercises in production. The course aims to provide a basic understanding of the filmmaking process—from script to screen. Students will work in 16mm and portable video for experience in scriptwriting, directing, cinematography, acting, and editing. Readings will include introductory film history, film theory and criticism, screenplays, and essays on new aesthetics in film and video.
Permission required with preference given to students who have taken Film Studies 1. Permission is granted by the instructor after the first day of class. Supplemental course fee required. Dist: ART. Brown.
32. Filmmaking II
05W, 05F: 3A
A workshop course in film production, with students, working alone or in collaboration, required to complete a project for showing at the end of the term. Weekly class meetings will include analysis of film classics and work in progress, as well as critical discussions with visiting professionals.
Prerequisite: Permission granted by instructor after the first day of class and if you have taken Film Studies 31. Supplemental course fee required. Dist: ART. Brown.
33. Writing for the Screen I
04F, 05W, 05F: 10A
An analysis of the creative writing process as related to film and other media. A variety of styles will be explored and the potential of specific content for a visual medium will be examined. Each student will be expected to complete a script for a work of at least twenty minutes as a term project.
Permission will be granted by the instructor, on the basis of material submitted before the end of fall term. Dist: ART. Phillips.
34. Writing for the Screen II
05S, 06S: 10A
A continuation of Film Studies 33 in which the student is expected to complete a full- length screenplay begun in that course. Continued work on the methods of writing, particularly on character development and plot rhythms.
Permission is granted by the instructor and if you have taken Film Studies 33. Dist: ART. Phillips.
35. Animation: Principles and Practice
06W: 2A
A workshop course in a variety of animation techniques including drawing, object, process and 3-D computer animation. Working individually, students will complete four short exercises as well as one extended final project that will be shown at the Dartmouth Animation Festival in late May. Weekly classes will include thorough critiques of completed work, as well as screenings of professional animation and meetings with visiting animators from around the world. Students will be expected to work an average of 20 hours a week on independent projects outside of class. Permission of the instructor is required and given after the first day of class. Supplemental course fee required. Dist: ART. Ehrlich.
36. Experimental Videomaking
05W, 06W: 10A
The basic techniques and theories of portable and studio video production. The course covers the basics of developing a video project from idea through realization on the screen. Students are expected to produce several projects which emphasize ideas outside the traditional narrative and documentary forms, and are encouraged to develop their own form of aesthetic expression. Students show and critique their work in class weekly in preparation for a final project and public screening.
Permission is granted by the instructor after the first day of class, on the basis of an application submitted before the end of previous term. Supplemental course fee required. Limited to 15 students. Dist: ART. Ruoff.
37. Directing for the Camera
06W:3A
Offered in conjunction with Theater 34 (Acting for the Camera), Directing for the Camera investigates the directorial process of translating the written script to the screen. Working with actors from Theatre 34, students analyze, rehearse, shoot and edit narrative scenes from existing or original screenplays. The exercises are critiqued and comparisons are then made between the existing works and the exercises. Students work in crews rotating between the roles of director, camera, and sound. Special attention is also given to lighting, cinematography, and audio recording. Texts will include works on directing, e.g., Truffaut /Hitchcock, as well as on cinematography and writing.
Permission required. Limit 10 students. Dist: ART. Brown.
38. Advanced Animation
Not offered in the period from 04F through 06S
A workshop course in two-dimensional film animation, with the individual student required to complete an animated short with synchronized sound for showing at the Animation Festival at the end of the term. Weekly class meetings will focus on conceptualizing, storyboarding and scheduling the various stages of production, frame-by-frame analysis of sound, advanced animation techniques, and critiques of ongoing work.
Prerequisite: Film Animation I or previous animation experience. Permission of the instructor required. Supplemental course fee required. Dist: ART.
40. Theories and Methodologies of Film and Television Studies
05S, 06S: 11
This course is designed to introduce the film and television studies major to some of the field’s major scholarly methodologies and their theoretical value in explaining how texts, industries, creative artists, and audiences participate in meaning-making processes. Students will read scholarship and participate in projects that illuminate how meaning is created and negotiated at the levels of industrial production, artistic creation of texts, and audience knowledge and engagement. The screenings, readings, and assignments will ask the student to think about the relations among his/her own position as a scholar, as an audience member, and as a creative artist. This knowledge provides a foundation for critical thinking skills necessary for the student’s success in the major. The course is designed for students who have had some introductory exposure to the principles of film and/or television aesthetics and production techniques, but before they have completed their upper division major requirements. Dist: ART. Lawrence.
41. Genre
04F:10A 06W: 2A
An examination of the concept and use of genre with focus on a particular genre. How are the genres determined and how useful structurally and historically is genre as a concept of classification? What constitutes a genre? What is the relationship between periods and genres? Between genre and the Hollywood film? This course will consider genre as both an aesthetic concept and an economic one, producing stabilization and variation in product. The roles of repetition and variation, stability and change. Genres may include the western, the crime movie, the women’s film, the musical, family melodrama, the film noir or other genre-related topics such as film and literature. May be repeated for credit with a different topic. Dist: ART; WCult: Varies.
In 04F, Melodrama. Desjardins.
In 06W, Romantic Comedy. This course will present an overview of the genre of romantic comedy in U.S. cinema, ranging from the silent and early sound era to contemporary movies. In addition to examining the cultural and industrial contexts of these films, we will study theories of comedy and traditions of comedic narrative. Special attention will be paid to the construction and representation of gender. Emphasis will be placed on significant sub-genres (screwball, etc.), directors (Lubitsch, Hawks, Wilder, etc.), and stars (Cary Grant, Katherine Hepburn, Meg Ryan, etc.). Students will be expected to write a research paper which examines films and /or creative personnel not already cited on the syllabus. Interdisciplinary approaches will be encouraged. Williams.
42. National Cinemas
05W, 06S: 2A
Focus on a specific national cinema or a particular period of a national cinema. May be repeated for credit with a different topic. Dist: ART (unless indicated otherwise); WCult: Varies.
In 05W, Post-World War II European Cinema and National Identity. This course will examine the various ways in which the postwar cinema of Italy, France, and Germany, in particular, has attempted not only to depict the history of the second World War, but to confront the very problem of historical representation. This course will also look at how post-war cinema in these countries participates in discourses of national history and identity. The course considers works by major directors, such as Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Michael Verhoeven, Agnieszka Holland, Alain Resnais, Lilianna Cavani, Lina Wertmüller, and Pier Paolo Pasolini against a background of written texts on film and historiography, some of which served these filmmakers (and others in the European intellectual tradition) as key points of reference. Gelley.
In 06S, Asian Animation. Because animated films have traditionally been targeted at children, animators in Asia have often been able to side-step much of the political control exercised by some of their more centralized governments to create sophisticated artistic works that speak as much to educated adults as they do to children. The course will feature the most interesting of these works from China, Japan, Korea, Mongolia, India and Iran, and students will analyze them within a socio-political and cultural context. Faculty from the Department of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies will provide guest lectures on Asian history and literature. Ehrlich.
43. The Film Creator: Directors, Producers, Actors, Writers
Not offered in the period from 04F through 06S
This course will focus on a single figure or group of related figures, examining their roles and creative authority in the filmmaking process, investigating the major films with which they are associated, and determining the central thematics of their works. Resources in addition to films will include biographies, film-scripts, critical writing, and some examples of theory. Dist: ART; WCult: Varies.
44. Television: A Critical Approach
Not offered in the period from 04F through 06S
Using the student’s exposure to television as a starting point, this course will examine prominent critical issues regarding television as an industry, as a narrative form, and as a cultural institution. Analytic viewing of past and present programs, assigned readings in books and periodicals, and lectures from scholars and industry veterans will be among the materials used as the basis for discussion and critical writing. A historical understanding of the medium will be emphasized. Dist: ART. Class of 2007 and earlier: WCult: NA. Class of 2008 and later: WCult: W.
45. U. S. Television History
06S: 2A
This course will examine the history of television as an emerging technology; its dynamic interaction with government, private industry, and audiences; and its impact on society and culture. It will include a consideration of both pre-television media (especially radio) and new media (cyber-culture) as they inform a historical understanding of TV. The norms and practices of the network era (1955-1985) will be positioned as a functional middle-ground, much in the way that classical Hollywood Cinema (1920-1960) serves as middle-ground in motion picture history. Students will be encouraged to develop their capacity for a critical distance from contemporary media via this historicized approach. Open to all classes. Limited to 50 students. Dist: ART. Class of 2007 and earlier: WCult: NA. Class of 2008 and later: WCult: W. Desjardins.
46. Topics in Television
05W: 10A
This course presents a range of approaches to television studies with varying emphases on historical, theoretical, or new methodological approaches including the impact of the new technologies. Dist: Varies.
In 05W, Television and Histories of Gender (Identical to Women’s Studies 45). Representative network and local television programing from the 1940’s to the present will be screened and discussed in terms of American television’s changing contribution to the constructions of femininity and masculinity. Feminist historiography will inform how the class examines television’s assumptions about such constructions as the family, the “housewife”, the “patriarch,” feminism, and “postfeminist”/“post-modern” constructions of gender and sexuality.
Open to all classes. Limit 35. Dist: ART. Class of 2007 and earlier: WCult: NA. Class of 2008 and later: WCult: W. Desjardins.
47. Topics in Film Studies
05W: 3A 05S: 2A 05F, 06S: 10A
This course presents a range of approaches to film studies outside traditional categories such as genre or national cinemas. Each course will emphasize a different combination of historical, theoretical, and new methodological approaches to one area of film studies.
Open to all classes. Dist: Varies.
In 05W, History of Documentary. Documentary film combines nonfiction with an aesthetic aspiration. this course will explore achievement in the documentary, raising issues about the influence of documentary upon political persuasion, historical memory, the status of film as evidence and its utility as a means of investigation. We will look at films from a broad range of styles, viewpoints and eras. Documentary represents an alternative to the dominant entertainment cinema and as such, frequently addresses controversial issues directly. Students should be prepared to explore sensitive issues of race, class and gender raised by non-fiction film. Ruoff.
In 05S, International Stardom. Stars in the Cinema: Hollywood and Europe. This course will first of all look comparatively at the emergence of the star system in the silent era in Europe and in Hollywood. How was the emergence of the star system in different parts of Europe (e.g.,Italy, Sweden, and Denmark) influenced by its development in Hollywood and vice versa? To what extent did the star in different contexts retain links to other forms of popular and high culture, such as, the theater, vaudeville, opera, and literature? In looking at the star in the sound era (from the 1930’s up into the contemporary era) the course will, among other things, examine the effects of modern technological culture and globalization on the promotion and reception of the star in different national and transnational contexts. One aim of the course will be to forge connections between the cinematic effects of the star image in specific films and the commercially and publicly constructed persona of the star.
In 05F, Jews and Hollywood (Identical to, and described under, Jewish Studies 15 in 05F).
In 06S, topic to be announced. Desjardins.
50. Topics in Film Theory
05S:10A 06S:3A
Introduction to basic issues of film and television theory as seen by classical and contemporary film theorists. Issues include the problem of realism and representation, signification, narrative, and the impact of semiotic, psychoanalytic, feminist, and structuralist theories on classical theory. Dist: ART; WCult: Varies.
Prerequisite: Film Studies 20 or 21.
In 05S, Cyber-Disciplinarity. This course will survey historical and theoretical literature related to understanding critical issues attendant to the developing relationship between the rise of cyber-culture and the changing dynamics and definitions of “discipline” within and outside academia. In addition to considering the literature on this topic, we will invite scholars from a variety of fields to discuss the impact of cyber-culture on their research and disciplinary boundaries. The two principle threads to be studied will be the apparently inherent capacity of cyber-culture to blur such disciplinary boundaries, and the implications of this; and the adjacent tendency of cyber-culture to institute new or revised modes of surveillance and information gathering -- the source for what may be seen as an enhanced regime of “discipline” in the Foucauldian sense. Students will be expected to write a research paper in addition to shorter analytical papers and exams. Williams.
In 06S, Cyber-Theory. This course will survey historical and theoretical literature related to understanding critical issues attendant to the development of cyber-culture, especially from the perspective of the field of Film and Television Studies. Theorists to be considered include Vannevar Bush, Jean Baudrillard, Paul Virilio, Sandy Stone, Lev Manovich, Margaret Morse, John Caldwell, Friedrich Kittler, and Gilles Deleuze. Students will be required to write analytical and research papers, but also will be encouraged to produce media projects related to the course material.
80. Independent Study
All terms: Arrange
This course is designed to enable qualified upperclass students to engage in independent study in film under the direction of a member of the Department. A student should consult with the faculty member with whom he or she wishes to work as far in advance as possible. A proposal for any independent project must be submitted by the appropriate deadline in the term immediately preceding the term in which the independent study is to be pursued. Permission of instructor required. The staff.
93. Major Project
All terms: Arrange
This course, limited to Film and Television Studies majors or as part of a modified major, involves an individual project in some aspect of film and television history, theory or practice. The subject of the project, the term, and the hours are to be arranged. Each project must be directed by a faculty member of the Department. The approval of the faculty member and the Chair must be secured in advance, not later than the term immediately preceding the term in which the project is to be undertaken. This is a two term project.
95. Honors Project
All terms: Arrange
A thesis, screenplay, or film production written under the supervision of a member of the Film and Television Studies Department. This course must be elected by all honors candidates. Permission of the Film Studies Faculty required.