This is a COAS Intensive Writing (IW) class
Fulfills COAS A & H distribution requirement
A portion of this course reserved for majors

How do you identify the narrative and stylistic elements that
characterize a film and bring it to life? How do you write about a
film’s meaning in an informed and persuasive way? This course
introduces students to major approaches in film criticism in the
field of Film Studies today. We will consider what the most
influential schools of criticism have been and what particular ways
of interpreting films currently dominate analysis. At the same time,
students will learn how to refine their writing skills and develop
their abilities to comprehend and interpret the visual media that
surround them in everyday life.

We will begin by examining key early trends in film criticism
focused on the study of adaptation, national cinemas, directors, and
genres, reading essays both by critics who have made these types of
criticism foundations of the discipline and who have revitalized
them within contemporary perspectives. We will also examine recent
developments in criticism affected by gender and race studies,
postcolonial studies, cultural studies, and other influential
approaches.

While there will be other assignments, C306 counts as an intensive
writing course. Students will thus write a number of papers from
different critical perspectives with an emphasis on mastering
cinematic vocabulary, enhancing skills of perception and
interpretation of the visual arts, and sharpening powers of critical
thinking. In addition, during weekly screenings, we will watch a
variety of films from Hollywood, as well as other national cinemas.