Major

The major in Film Studies offers an integrated, interdisciplinary approach to the study of moving images. Above all, the major offers an integrated approach to the development of critical skills for film analysis and hands-on practical skills for production. Majors learn how to make sense of films by making them, and learn how to make films by learning how to think critically about them. Through a wide range of courses and activities, offered by core faculty in Film Studies and faculty from multiple disciplines, students will gain an understanding of the history and theory of film as well as an appreciation of cinema as a medium for the expression of ideas and culture. The course of study culminates in the two-semester capstone sequence, during which seniors develop and present both a research paper that demonstrates their critical and analytical skills and a creative project that reflects their mastery of film production techniques.

Film Studies is an excellent field for those who wish to pursue careers in film, television, radio, online media, or other arts; who wish to pursue graduate studies in the humanities or the arts; or who wish to pursue other careers that require creativity, intelligence and adaptability, and the ability to think, write, and collaborate effectively about moving images and texts in general.

The Film Studies major consists of a minimum of thirteen courses, including:

Core courses (3)

  • Introductory course: FI 200 Elements of Film
  • An introductory film production course: FI 210A Introduction to Filmmaking
  • Theory and Criticism course: FI 306H Theories of Film

Breadth requirements (8):

  • A film history course (1): FI 224G International Cinema or AM 310H American Cinema
  • An intermediate film production course (1): FI 301 Documentary Filmmaking or FI 302 Narrative Filmmaking
  • A film genre, auteur, or topics in critical studies course (1): FI 204A The Horror Film; FI 206H Film Genres; FI 230H Film & Identity; FI 308H Hitchcock: Master of Suspense; FI 310H Major Directors; other courses as approved by the discipline coordinator
  • A topics in film production course (1): e.g. AR 345 Motion Graphics/Special Effects; AR 348 Experimental Film and Video; CW 236 Introduction to Screenwriting; CW 336 Screenwriting; CW 436 Screenwriting; FI 303 Film Technique; IA 240A Sound Design; TH 235A Acting for the Camera; TH 372 Directing; other courses as approved by the discipline coordinator
  • Two interdisciplinary film courses (2): AM 319E Environmental Film Colloquium; CL 261H Greek Tragedy in Modern Film & Literature; CL 262H Ancient Comedy in Modern Film and Literature; CN 228G Chinese Martial Arts in Literature and Film; CN 302H East Meets West: Chinese Cinema; FR 250/FR 450 French Cinema; FR 307H Literature and Film in Postwar France; IT 306H Italian Film and Literature; JA 270E Japanese Cinema: Images of Nature; LI 244H Drama: Screen & Stage; LI 314G Caribbean Literature and Film; LI 331H Adaptation: Literature & Film; LI 348H Lit/Film After Auschwitz; PL 246H Philosophy and Film; RE 324H Religion and Film; RE 345H Jesus in Ancient and Modern Media; RU 282G Russian Society through Cinema; SP 304H Spain’s Culture in Film; SP 308H Film and Literature: Spanish Civil War; SP 309H Film and Literature: Hispanics in the U.S.; SP 310H Literature, Film and Art: Lorca, Bunuel, Dali; SP 312H Latin American Culture in Film; TH 280A Animals in Performance; other courses as approved by the discipline coordinator
  • Two electives (with one at the 300 or 400 level) (2): Film history, production, genre/auteur/topics or interdisciplinary film courses not taken to satisfy the requirements above

Capstone requirements (2):

  • FI 498 Methods and Issues in Film Studies
  • FI 410 Film Production Seminar

Students majoring in film studies will take core courses in critical analysis and production that consider the nature of film and its relationship to shaping perspectives on other disciplines and on the world, and will have the flexibility to design, in consultation with their mentors, a course of study that focuses on their particular passions and interests. What follows is a recommended sequence of courses. It is understood that some students will discover and declare the major after the first year. The following recommended course sequence can easily be adapted for such students in consultation with their mentor.

First Year

  • FI 200 Elements of Film
  • FI 210A Introduction to Filmmaking
  • Film history requirement (either FI 224G International Cinema or AM 310H American Cinema) and/or Genre, auteur, or topics in critical studies course

Second Year

  • Intermediate film production requirement (FI 301 Documentary Filmmaking or FI 302 Narrative Filmmaking)
  • Genre, auteur, or topics in critical studies course and/or Film history requirement (either FI 224G International Cinema or AM 310H American Cinema)
  • Interdisciplinary film course
  • Topics in film production course

Third Year

  • FI 306H Theories of Film
  • Interdisciplinary film course
  • Elective
  • Elective

Fourth Year

  • FI 498 Methods and Issues in Film Studies
  • FI 410 Film Production Seminar

The Film Studies minor draws upon the wide range of film-related activities and resources available at Eckerd College, provides a strong complement to several major fields of study in the humanities and the arts, and offers an excellent opportunity for majors in the natural and social sciences to complement their focus with studies that emphasize creativity, interpretation and humanistic studies. It requires six courses, including two core courses, one genre/auteur/topics in Film Studies course, one interdisciplinary course, and two electives, developed in consultation with mentors and subject to approval by the Film Studies discipline coordinator.

The minor requirements are as follows:

Core courses (2):

  • Introductory course: FI 200 Elements of Film
  • History course: FI 224G International Cinema or AM 310H American Cinema

Genre, auteur, or topics in Film Studies course (1):

  • FI 204A The Horror Film
  • FI 206H Film Genres (May be repeated with different genres)
  • FI 230H Film & Identity
  • FI 308H Hitchcock: Master of Suspense
  • Other courses as approved by the discipline coordinator

Interdisciplinary courses (2)

  • AM 319E Environmental Film Colloquium
  • CN 228G Chinese Martial Arts in Literature and Film
  • CN 302H East Meets West: Chinese Cinema
  • FR 250/FR 450 French Cinema
  • FR 307H Literature and Film in Postwar France
  • IT 306H Italian Film and Literature
  • LI 314G Caribbean Literature and Film
  • LI 244H Drama: Stage and Screen
  • PL 246H Philosophy and Film
  • RE 220H Bible and Culture: American Film
  • RE 345H Jesus in Ancient and Modern Media
  • RU 282G Russian Society through Cinema
  • SP 308H Film and Literature: Spanish Civil War
  • SP 309H Film and Literature: Hispanics in the U.S.
  • SP 310H Literature, Film and Art: Lorca, Bunuel, Dali
  • SP 312H Latin American Culture in Film
  • Winter Term offerings as approved by the discipline coordinator

Electives (2)

  • History, Production, Genre/Auteur/Topics or Interdisciplinary courses not taken to satisfy the requirement above.