Courses NOW AVAILABLE for Spring 2012
MACS Course Topics
- Multicultural and global issues in popular culture, media, and film
- Political implications of global multimedia conglomerates
- Girls and youth in film, television, and new media
- Impact of digital technology on news and entertainment
- Growth and development of the art of media and film from the point of view of aesthetics, narrative and ideology
- The importance of culture and identity in US film and media — for example, films and media produced by, for, and about African Americans, Asian Americans, Latina/os, and Jewish Americans
- The rise of national cinemas and their relation to Hollywood
- Understanding sexuality and LGBTQ issues through film and media
Courses and Programs of Study
The department offers a B.S. in Media and Cinema Studies (with two concentration options: Media Studies or Cinema Studies), an Undergraduate Minor in Cinema Studies, and a Graduate Minor in Cinema Studies.
Course catalogs:
Currently scheduled courses:
Media and Cinema Studies Major (B.S.)
This major provides students with an interdisciplinary understanding of media and cinema. Students explore the theory and history behind contemporary media and their origins, as well as their structures and implications for our society. The development of all mediated forms is considered in relation to issues such as technology, culture, society, and politics.
Once in the major, students choose to concentrate in either media studies or cinema studies. Regardless of their concentration, however, all students take courses in both areas. Students are required to take approximately half of their College of Media courses within their concentration area, while the remainder of their College of Media courses come from any area: Media Studies, Cinema Studies, Advertising, or Journalism. The major thus emphasizes the relation between cinema and other media and addresses the intersection of media studies and cinema studies as academic fields. More information...
Media Studies Concentration
The media studies concentration examines and responds to pressing concerns about the power of the media, information and persuasion; the need for critical analysis of discourses of gender, race and ethnicity, and sexuality; the politics of popular culture; the need for ethical and reasoned policies guiding the development of media industries and the work of individual communicators; the rising influence of “new” media and possibilities for greater democratic production that these allow; and the need to ensure democratic access for all citizens. Media industries, technologies, producers, and audiences are global and transnational in character, making international perspectives of particular importance.
Cinema Studies Concentration
The cinema studies concentration offers an in-depth look at film and related screen media from a variety of perspectives, including audience, industry, history, narrative, representation, entertainment, art, and politics. Placing cinema in its wider context as a dominant and global art form of the twentieth and twenty-first century, the concentration addresses issues such as nationalities and national cinemas; the transnational flow and production of film; culture, identity, and politics, in particular in relation to gender, race, ethnicity, and sexuality; the complexity and diversity of audiences' engagement with screen media; various histories of film, including Hollywood and the studio system, political movements such as new Latin American cinema, and the role of media convergence (e.g., kinetoscope, vaudeville, recorded sound, still photography) in film's early history; as well as the present and future of cinema in the context of multimedia convergence in the 21st century.
Graduating with a Media and Cinema Studies Major
This major prepares students for many different types of career opportunities, in large part by developing the flexible writing and analytical skills so widely prized by employers in today’s competitive job market. Graduates in media studies and cinema studies have found careers in production, distribution, and exhibition in public broadcasting, media research and production, public relations, music, film, television, and internet industries. They have successfully pursued graduate degrees (M.A., M.F.A., Ph.D., J.D.) in various fields, including law, the social sciences, humanities, and media arts. In addition, their preparation in critical thinking and writing has allowed them to go on to successful careers in a variety of aspects of both public service and business. Given that today’s graduates will have many jobs and careers in their lifetime, a major that enables flexibility is particularly valuable.
Undergraduate Minor in Cinema Studies
The Minor in Cinema Studies provides undergraduate students from outside the College of Media with both core courses in the discipline and the freedom to explore the various approaches to cinema studies offered by different departments around campus. Students take a minimum of seven courses for the minor. Students study the history of World Cinema over two semesters, choose one course from a variety offered on Non-U.S. Cinema, choose one course from a variety offered on Cinema and Culture, Identity, and Politics, and choose one course from the Media Studies Concentration core. In addition, students take two more courses on topics of their choice related to cinema studies and offered by or approved through the Department of Media and Cinema Studies. More information...
Graduate Minor in Cinema Studies
The Graduate Minor in Cinema Studies promotes the graduate-level study of cinema and related screen media and their cultural and institutional contexts. The Minor offers formal recognition of such work, undertaken alongside and in conjunction with the graduate student’s primary field of study. Students take four courses: CINE 503 (Historiography of Cinema), CINE 504 (Theories of Cinema), and two additional 400- or 500-level courses of their choice, related to cinema studies and approved by the department. Additionally, a portion of students' exams and/or theses (M.A. or Ph.D.) must include cinema studies. More information...
Former version of Media Studies Major (prior to August 2009)
If you entered the College of Media prior to August 2009, you are registered in the older version of the Media Studies major. You can choose to complete this version or change to the current version of the Media and Cinema Studies major. For advising, contact Student Services.
More information on the older version of the Media Studies major...
Former version of Cinema Studies Major and Minor (LAS)
Prior to August 2009, the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences offered a Cinema Studies Concentration through the Interdisciplinary Major and a Cinema Studies minor. Students who entered the University prior to August 2009 may be registered for this version of the Cinema Studies major or this version of the minor. For advising, contact Associate Head for Cinema Studies, Sarah Projansky or at 333-1549.
More information on the LAS Cinema Studies major...
More information on the LAS Cinema Studies minor...