Director: Jon Cowans
The film studies minor draws on a range of disciplines to allow
students to examine a vital modern form of cultural expression.
The 18-credit minor examines film as an art form, a form of
entertainment, a business, and a political and social practice,
tracing its evolution over time and its variants in different
cultures. The minor primarily aims to develop students' abilities
to think critically about a central and highly influential facet
of modern life, but it also seeks to help prepare students who are
majoring in other fields such as business to work in the
entertainment industry. All courses in the minor require and teach
writing skills.
Students completing the minor will have learned about the
historical evolution of film as an art form and a business in
multiple countries; this knowledge should include an awareness of
major styles, genres, directors, films, and controversies
involving films; and major approaches to censorship used in
various times and places, as well as arguments for and against
censorship. They should be capable of thinking critically about
films, identifying and analyzing many of the techniques they use
(directing, casting, editing, etc.) to convey messages and images.
Classes will also train students in writing about film, from
reviews of individual films to essays of broader scope.
