Program Requirements
The Minor Concentration World Cinemas instructs students in film aesthetics, history, and theory by acquainting them with cinematic practices from different national and international traditions. This interdisciplinary program draws on the already existing teaching and research activities in several departments within the Faculty of Arts and will serve as an institutional context for future teaching and research endeavors in film studies.
Required Courses (6 credits)
* Take either EAST 279 or LLCU 279.
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EAST 279 Introduction to Film
History (3 credits) *
Overview
Asian Language & Literature : An introduction to representative periods, movements and styles in the history of cinema, as well as questions of film historiography.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
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ENGL 277 Introduction to Film Studies (3 credits)
Overview
English (Arts) : An introduction to key concepts in film studies. Exemplary works from the history of film will be studied to introduce students to such topics as the aesthetics of film; sound's production of meaning; film as narrative; film and genre; period and national cinemas; film's role in culture.
Terms: Fall 2024
Instructors: Schantz, Edward; Pintiuta, Iris; Pickett, Ariel (Fall)
For the most detailed and up-to-date descriptions of course and seminar offerings please see the Department of English website at .
Fall
Restriction: Cultural Studies Major and Honours program students.
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LLCU 279 Introduction to Film History (3 credits) *
Overview
LLCU : An introduction to representative periods, movements and styles in the history of cinema, as well as questions of film historiography.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Complementary Courses (12 credits)
12 credits selected from the course list below with the following specifications:
a minimum of 6 credits in non-U.S. cinemas;
a maximum of 6 credits from any one department.
No more than 6 credits may be taken from the same discipline as the student's other major or minor concentrations.
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CANS 300 Topics in Canadian Studies 1 (3 credits)
Overview
Canadian Studies : An historical explanation of the Canadian experience of nationalism from the Patriotes to the First Nations, with reference to politics, economics, iconography, ideology and multicultural experience.
Terms: Fall 2024
Instructors: Nurse, Jodey (Fall)
Prerequisite: CANS 200 or permission of instructor
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EAST 353 Approaches to Chinese Cinema (3 credits)
Overview
Asian Language & Literature : Development of Chinese film in the 20th century, with an emphasis on both critical approaches to film as well as film history.
Terms: Fall 2024
Instructors: Suher, Dylan (Fall)
Prerequisite: EAST 211.
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EAST 361 Animation and New Media (3 credits)
Overview
Asian Language & Literature : Animation and new media in East Asia, with an emphasis on postwar developments.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Restrictions: Not open to students who have taken EAST 214.
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EAST 362 Japanese Cinema (3 credits)
Overview
Asian Language & Literature : This course will study the development of film in Japan during the 20th century with a particular focus on the analysis of film form, genres and history.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
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EAST 368 Asian Genre Cinemas (3 credits)
Overview
Asian Language & Literature : This course explores the historical and aesthetic dimensions of Asian genre cinemas in a regional framework, in relation to varied social and cultural phenomena. Genres explored include the gangster film, martial arts action, horror, revenge, melodrama, period drama, and documentary.
Terms: Winter 2025
Instructors: Suher, Dylan (Winter)
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EAST 369 Gender and Sexuality in Asian Media (3 credits)
Overview
Asian Language & Literature : In this course, we examine contesting notions of gender, sexuality, femininity, and masculinity in Asian cinema and media. We study how individual works negotiate the social discourses on gender and sexual representation, identities, and performance, and how we may borrow conceptual frameworks from queer theories and histories at large to discuss them.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
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EAST 454 Topics: Chinese Cinema (3 credits)
Overview
Asian Language & Literature : Advanced seminar in selected themes and issues in Chinese film.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Prerequisites: EAST 353, a 300-level film studies course, or permission of the instructor.
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EAST 467 Topics: Japanese Cinema (3 credits)
Overview
Asian Language & Literature : Topics in the study of Japanese cinema.
Terms: Fall 2024
Instructors: Tarcov, Marianne (Fall)
Prerequisites: EAST 362 or permission of the instructor.
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EAST 564 Structures of Modernity: Asia (3 credits)
Overview
Asian Language & Literature : This course explores relations between some of the principal sites which structure the experience of "modernity" in Asia (and elsewhere) - from bodies and cities, to the urban context in general. Along with general approaches (e.g. the idea of everyday life; questions of time), specific topics may include speed, music, architecture, crime, etc.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Prerequisite (Undergraduate): Any East Asian Studies course above the introductory level, or permission of the instructor
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ENGL 279 Introduction to Film History (3 credits)
Overview
English (Arts) : An introduction to key historical moments, cinematic movements, formal styles, as well as historiographical and theoretical debates in the history of world cinema.
Terms: Winter 2025
Instructors: Osterweil, Ara (Winter)
For the most detailed and up-to-date descriptions of course and seminar offerings please see the Department of English website at .
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ENGL 280 Introduction to Film as Mass Medium (3 credits)
Overview
English (Arts) : An introduction to film's social, historical, and technological contexts, including its relationships to other mass media.
Terms: Winter 2025
Instructors: Ponech, Trevor (Winter)
For the most detailed and up-to-date descriptions of course and seminar offerings please see the Department of English website at .
Students will be required to pay a screening fee.
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ENGL 350 Studies in the History of Film 1 (3 credits)
Overview
English (Arts) : Developments in proto-cinema and early cinema through the silent era.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
For the most detailed and up-to-date descriptions of course and seminar offerings please see the Department of English website at .
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ENGL 351 Studies in the History of Film 2 (3 credits)
Overview
English (Arts) : Developments in the Hollywood Studio Era, including rivals, imitators, and alternatives.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
For the most detailed and up-to-date descriptions of course and seminar offerings please see the Department of English website at .
Winter
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ENGL 354 Sexuality and Representation (3 credits)
Overview
English (Arts) : Topics on representations of sexuality with reference to its cultural contexts.
Terms: Fall 2024
Instructors: Olibet, Ylenia (Fall)
For the most detailed and up-to-date descriptions of course and seminar offerings please see the Department of English website at .
Fall
Priority will be given to English Major/Honours students in second year of program
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ENGL 363 Studies in the History of Film 3 (3 credits)
Overview
English (Arts) : Developments in post-1958 cinema, from the European New Waves to contemporary global and independent cinemas.
Terms: Fall 2024
Instructors: Osterweil, Ara (Fall)
For the most detailed and up-to-date descriptions of course and seminar offerings please see the Department of English website at .
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ENGL 366 Film Genre (3 credits)
Overview
English (Arts) : A discussion of an individual genre of cinema; concept of genre.
Terms: Winter 2025
Instructors: Schantz, Edward; Pickett, Ariel (Winter)
For the most detailed and up-to-date descriptions of course and seminar offerings please see the Department of English website at .
Winter
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ENGL 374 Film Movement or Period (3 credits)
Overview
English (Arts) : Study of a significant movement or period in film history.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
For the most detailed and up-to-date descriptions of course and seminar offerings please see the Department of English website at .
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ENGL 381 A Film-Maker 1 (3 credits)
Overview
English (Arts) : Studies in the history of film: the works of a major director. Topic varies each year.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
For the most detailed and up-to-date descriptions of course and seminar offerings please see the Department of English website at .
Winter
Restriction: Limited to students in English Major programs
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ENGL 382 International Cinema 1 (3 credits)
Overview
English (Arts) : Studies in the history of film by period or nation. Topic varies by year.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
For the most detailed and up-to-date descriptions of course and seminar offerings please see the Department of English website at .
Amount: $ 3,443.00
Description: The fee for this field course is $3,443.00. The fee for this activity covers ground transportation, academic materials, accommodation, and other field related expenses. The Summer Studies in Italy courses will be taught at La Sapienza by McGill professors. Local faculty will be invited to give guest lectures, and weekly interactive workshop/activities will take place, allowing students to engage with local communities and institutions.
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ENGL 385 Topics in Literature and Film (3 credits)
Overview
English (Arts) : A topic in literature and film. Topics vary by year.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
For the most detailed and up-to-date descriptions of course and seminar offerings please see the Department of English website at .
Winter
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ENGL 391 Special Topics: Cultural Studies 1 (3 credits)
Overview
English (Arts) : Current issues in cultural studies. Topics will include contemporary debates on high culture and the literary canon, and the question of aesthetic value and aesthetic judgment.
Terms: Fall 2024, Winter 2025
Instructors: Greer, Amanda (Fall) Thain, Alanna Michael (Winter)
For the most detailed and up-to-date descriptions of course and seminar offerings please see the Department of English website at .
Fall
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ENGL 393 Canadian Cinema (3 credits)
Overview
English (Arts) : A study of Canadian cinema.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
For the most detailed and up-to-date descriptions of course and seminar offerings please see the Department of English website at .
Fall
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ENGL 451 A Period in Cinema (3 credits)
Overview
English (Arts) : In-depth examination of a significant historical period in cinema's development, early silent era to present.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
For the most detailed and up-to-date descriptions of course and seminar offerings please see the Department of English website at .
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ENGL 476 Alternative Approaches to Media 1 (3 credits)
Overview
English (Arts) : Study of alternative uses of contemporary media with particular emphasis on the forms of independent video and community television and their relationship to mainstream television and film.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
For the most detailed and up-to-date descriptions of course and seminar offerings please see the Department of English website at .
Fall
Workshop course. Departmental permission required
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ENGL 479 Philosophy of Film (3 credits)
Overview
English (Arts) : Philosophical approaches to and topics in the study of cinema.
Terms: Fall 2024
Instructors: Ponech, Trevor (Fall)
For the most detailed and up-to-date descriptions of course and seminar offerings please see the Department of English website at .
Winter
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ENGL 480 Studies in History of Film 1 (3 credits)
Overview
English (Arts) : Studies in the history of film.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
For the most detailed and up-to-date descriptions of course and seminar offerings please see the Department of English website at .
Fall
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ENGL 481 A Film-Maker 2 (3 credits)
Overview
English (Arts) : Studies in the history of film.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
For the most detailed and up-to-date descriptions of course and seminar offerings please see the Department of English website at .
Fall
Restriction: Permission of instructor required
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ENGL 482 International Cinema 2 (3 credits)
Overview
English (Arts) : Intensive study of a particular tradition or movement in international cinema.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
For the most detailed and up-to-date descriptions of course and seminar offerings please see the Department of English website at .
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ENGL 483 Seminar in the Film (3 credits)
Overview
English (Arts) : In-depth study of a topic related to film. Topic varies by year.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
For the most detailed and up-to-date descriptions of course and seminar offerings please see the Department of English website at .
Winter
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ENGL 484 Seminar in the Film (3 credits)
Overview
English (Arts) : In-depth study of specific topics related to the film, which vary from year to year.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
For the most detailed and up-to-date descriptions of course and seminar offerings please see the Department of English website at .
Restriction: Permission of instructor required
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ENGL 492 Image and Text (3 credits)
Overview
English (Arts) : Study of the relationship between verbal and visual aspects of a range of cultural artifacts. Topics may include iconography; illuminated manuscripts; book illustrations; cartoons and caricature.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
For the most detailed and up-to-date descriptions of course and seminar offerings please see the Department of English website at .
Winter
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ENGL 585 Cultural Studies: Film (3 credits)
Overview
English (Arts) : Advanced study of a specific topic in film.
Terms: Fall 2024
Instructors: Osterweil, Ara (Fall)
For the most detailed and up-to-date descriptions of course and seminar offerings please see the Department of English website at .
Winter
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FILM 499 Internship: World Cinemas (3 credits)
Overview
World Cinemas : Internship with an approved host institution or organization.
Terms: Winter 2025
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Prerequisite(s): Permission of the World Cinemas Program Chair.
Restriction(s): Open to U2 and U3 B.A. students in World Cinemas after completing 30 credits of a 90 credit program or 45 credits of a 96-120 credit program, a minimum CGPA of 3.2.
This course will normally not fulfill program requirements for seminar or 400-level courses. Students register in the Fall semester for Summer internships.
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FREN 310 Cinéma français (3 credits)
Overview
French (Arts) : Étude d’oeuvres ou de courants du cinéma français.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
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FREN 311 Cinéma francophone (3 credits)
Overview
French (Arts) : Étude d’oeuvres ou de courants du cinéma francophone.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
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FREN 315 Cinéma québécois (3 credits)
Overview
French (Arts) : Étude thématique du cinéma québécois à travers ses principaux films.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
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GERM 357 German Culture in European Context (3 credits)
Overview
German (Arts) : A comparative examination of selected moments in German literary, artistic and cultural history in relation to broader European movements; focus on influences, exchanges and dialogues across national boundaries.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Fall
Course given in English
Prerequisite: A culture or literature course at the 200 or 300 level
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GERM 369 The German Novel (3 credits)
Overview
German (Arts) : Sustained engagement with the major texts of the German novel from Grimmelshausen to the present.
Terms: Winter 2025
Instructors: Bauer, Karin (Winter)
Given in German
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GERM 370 Special Topics in German Film (3 credits)
Overview
German (Arts) : Intensive study of selected topics and periods in German film history.
Terms: Winter 2025
Instructors: Sauvé, Benjamin (Winter)
Fall
Given in English
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GERM 373 Weimar German Cinema (3 credits)
Overview
German (Arts) : Weimar Cinema brought to the screen a world populated by monsters, lunatics, workers, vamps, strangers, and doubles. These figures embodied the tensions and fears of the Weimar period (1919-1933) in a manner that continues to attract audiences today. This course explores the cultural and political history of the Weimar period through Weimar cinema. It aims to introduce the student to the fundamentals of film analysis, especially formal analysis and textual analysis.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
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HISP 340 Latin American Cinema (3 credits)
Overview
Hispanic Studies (Arts) : A study of representative films, directors and movements of the region. Topic specified by instructor.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
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HISP 341 Spanish Cinema (3 credits)
Overview
Hispanic Studies (Arts) : A study of representative films, directors and movements of the region. Topic specified by instructor.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
- HIST 435 Topics in South Asian History (3 credits)
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ITAL 329 Italian Cinematic Tradition (3 credits)
Overview
Italian (Arts) : Italian films in original language. Films are examined from a wide historical and cultural perspective. Introduction to issues and preoccupations central to the Italian cultural tradition.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Fall
Prerequisite: ITAL250 or above, from amongst courses taught in Italian or permission of Department.
Note: Course taught in Italian
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ITAL 374 Classics of Italian Cinema (3 credits)
Overview
Italian (Arts) : Key works in the history of Italian cinema; an in-depth analysis of a few exceptional works; emphasis on the complex web of relationship connecting each work to a wide range of cultural products and expressions, from literature to popular culture, in Italy and internationally.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Fall
Note: Course taught in English.
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ITAL 375 Cinema and Society in Modern Italy (3 credits)
Overview
Italian (Arts) : A survey of the most important trends in post-war Italian cinema seen in the context of the rapidly and dramatically evolving society of modern Italy.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Fall
Given in English
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ITAL 477 Italian Cinema and Video (3 credits)
Overview
Italian (Arts) : Different Italian film maker or videomaker every year, presenting a selection of his/her significant works. Discussions will include script analysis, interviews, articles and books by the director in focus, in addition to theoretical and critical statements by scholars. Established and new directors will be considered alternately.
Terms: Winter 2025
Instructors: Carnemolla, Cristina (Winter)
Winter
Given in English
Restriction: Not open to students who have taken ITAL 377
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LLCU 200 Topics in Film (3 credits)
Overview
LLCU : This seminar focuses on a special topic in European and/or transatlantic film and visual culture.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
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LLCU 300 Cinema and the Visual (3 credits)
Overview
LLCU : This seminar examines topics in European and/or transatlantic cinema and visual culture, including film theory, aesthetics and historiography; media archeology; cinema and the digital; film and philosophy; cultural histories of the cinema; and approaches to moving images.
Terms: Winter 2025
Instructors: Holmes, Amanda (Winter)
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MUHL 330 Music and Film (3 credits)
Overview
Music History and Literature : The modern genre of music for films, and its changing styles (symphonic, jazz, pop compilation) from the silent era to today. Includes study of major film composers in North America and other traditions; analysis of the role of music in cinematic narrative, expression and symbolism.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
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PLAI 500 Advanced Interdisciplinary Humanities Seminar (3 credits)
Overview
PLAI : Co-taught seminar will use and explore a range of theoretical and methodological approaches to interdisciplinary research in the humanities in the study of a selected cultural problem or topic, text, artwork, aesthetic or medium.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Prerequisite: Minimum U3 status with a background in humanities scholarship
See for details on current teaching faculty and course topics.
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RUSS 213 Introduction to Soviet Film (3 credits)
Overview
Russian (Arts) : This course aims to familiarize undergraduates with the topics, figures, and concerns of Soviet film history. Students will watch and analyze films by Soviet directors including Sergei Eisenstein, Dziga Vertov, Andrei Tarkovsky, Sergei Parajanov, Kira Muratova, Larisa Shepitko, and many others in the context of their historical periods, movements, and writings. Students will learn to analyze images and cinematic techniques, as well as assess their historical, ideological, and cultural significance.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Offered in English.
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RUSS 395 Soviet Cinema: Art and Politics (3 credits)
Overview
Russian (Arts) : This course explores the relationship between art and politics in the cinema of the Soviet Union. Students taking this course will gain a familiarity with the films and writings of Soviet directors. They will also learn the basics of formal, textual, and historical film analysis.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
