Cinema Studies

Major Requirements

Cinema studies majors must complete 56 credits in four categories: fundamentals, production, core courses, and electives. Fundamental courses expose incoming majors to three central approaches to cinema studies: historical, social-institutional, and aesthetic. The production requirement offers majors a chance to learn the basics of media production. The required courses in fundamentals as well as a selection of upper-division core courses strengthen students’ understanding of cinema as a dynamic, multicultural, and transnational phenomenon. Electives allow students to broaden their exposure to cinema and media studies, and are not focused exclusively on cinema but instead study it in relation to other modes of inquiry such as philosophy, literary studies, and sociology.

The major includes the option of graduating with honors. Courses in the major must be taken for a letter grade, and students must earn a grade of mid-C or better for credit toward the major. At least 28 credits must be taken in residence at the University of Oregon.

Requirements

Fundamentals. Four courses (16 credits), completed before entry into production courses: Media and Society (J 201); Media Aesthetics (ENG 260); two from History of the Motion Picture (ENG 265, 266,267)

Production. Two or more courses (8 credits):

• One from Introduction to Documentary Production (J 208), Introduction to Production (ARTD 256), or Introduction to Narrative Cinema Production (ENG 270);
• One from Time-Based Digital Arts (ARTD 251), Interactive Digital Arts (ARTD 252), Digital Video Production (J 331), Introduction to Animation (ARTD 361), Digital Video and Audio (ARTD 395), Dramatic Screenwriting (ENG 411), Experimental Animation (ARTD 412), or Documentary Production (J421)

Core Courses. Six or more courses (24 credits), with at least one from each subcategory:

• Institutions. Film, Media, and History (ENG 380), Issues in Communication Studies: United States Film Industry; Political Economy of the Media (J 412), Television Studies (ENG 485)
• Theory and Criticism. Philosophy of Film (PHIL 332), Introduction to Video Art (ARTD 379), Film, Media, and Culture (ENG 381), Seminar: New Media Digital Discourse (ARH 407), Seminar: The Cinema Effect (ARTD 407), Issues in Communication Studies: Understanding Disney (J 412), Survey of the Documentary (J 416), Issues in International Communication: International Reality TV (J 467), Theories of the Moving Image (ENG 481), New Media and Digital Culture (ENG 486), Race and Representation in Film (ENG 488), Film Directors and Genres: Moviegoing—Exhibition and Reception, History and Theory; Race and the Film Musical (ENG 490), Feminist Film Criticism (ENG 496)
• National, Regional, and Transnational Cinema. Introduction to Japanese Literature (JPN 307), Nordic Cinema (SCAN 315), German Cinema: History, Theory, Practice (GER 355), French Film (FR 362), Seminar: Lenses of Africa (AFR 407), Seminar: Native Americans in Film (ES 407), Seminar: Thai Society through Film (INTL 407), Seminar: Children in Latin American Film (SPAN 407), Issues in Communication Studies: Latin American Film (J 412), Comparative Studies in Cinema (COLT 450), Chinese Film and Theory (CHN 452), Issues in International Communication: Introduction to Japanese and Chinese Media; Latin American Cinema TV (J 467), The Japanese Cinema (JPN 471)
• Electives. At least two courses. Titles will change from year to year; consult an advisor with questions. Choose from the following courses, or any of those listed in the categories above: Introduction to Media Studies (J 314), Women, Minorities, and Media (J 320), Politics and Film (PS 350), Russian Literature and Film (RUSS 351), International Communication (J 396), Special Studies: Modern China in Film (HIST 399), Cyberjournalism (J 465), Film and Folklore (FLR485)

Honors

Students receive honors at graduation if they have a final cumulative GPA of at least 3.50 in cinema studies courses.

For more information, see the departments of the participating faculty.

399 Special Studies: [Topic] (1–5R)

401 Research: [Topic] (1–12R)

404 Internship: [Topic] (1–12R)

405 Reading and Conference: [Topic] (1–5R)

407 Seminar: [Topic] (1–5R)

408 Workshop: [Topic] (1–12R)

410 Experimental Course (1–5R)