Minor in Cinema Studies

Overview

The Cinema Studies Minor is for students who want to gain an understanding of film from a humanities perspective. Emphasizing interpretation, theory, history, and cultures of film across the world, it’s a perfect complement for Film/Video majors or other majors who want to build a knowledge base about film. The minor involves a required course (Intensive Film Theory) and four electives. It may be declared at any time. Please contact Liberal Arts Advisor Erich Kuersten for more information ([email protected]).

How to Minor in Cinema Studies

The Minor in Cinema Studies includes one required course: "Intensive Film Theory," which provides students a crash course in film theory and philosophy. Students then choose four electives, which should include one that covers material from before the contemporary period (that is, any course that focuses on film prior to about 1970) and one focused on non-western Cinema. Cinema Studies related electives from the Social Science and Cultural Studies Department, as well as from History of Art and Design and other departments, will generally count towards the minor (with approval).

You may register for the minor at any point during your undergraduate career at Pratt, and courses you’ve already taken can be counted towards it. Since declared minors are guaranteed registration in the relevant courses, it is to your advantage to declare the minor early on. If you register for the minor and decide later to opt out, there is no penalty. Please see Liberal Arts Advisor to declare the minor.

Completing the minor means submitting a Qualifying Paper/Project—generally a paper or project you’ve done for one of the classes that count towards the minor, which you feel represents your best work. The faculty member serving as Minor Coordinator will advise on any recommended revisions if necessary. You may submit a qualifying paper/project at any time, before or after you’ve completed the coursework for the minor.

For a list of courses that count toward the minor, please see below. If you believe that another course not listed here should count, please see Liberal Arts Advisor. Relevant Independent Study courses (of one, two, or three credits) can count toward the minor with approval of the Minor Coordinator. For example, a one-credit Independent Study course may be a good option if the student is only one credit short of completing the required 15 credits.

Required Course

HMS-440J Intensive Film Theory (3 cr.)

This course provides an intensive introduction to film theory and philosophy, contextualized in relation to movements in international film history. Topics likely to include approaches to the cinematic apparatus, montage and mise-en-scene, gaze and spectatorship theory, and approaches drawn from media studies, sound studies, psychoanalysis, semiotics, feminist, queer, and post-colonial studies. The course is required for the Cinema Studies minor but is open to non-minors as well.

Minor

Cinema Studies Minor