Thomas Harriot College of Arts and Sciences


Film Studies (Minor)

Program Purpose


The minor in film studies provides students with an opportunity to study the history, theory, criticism, cultural uses, aesthetics, and production practices of cinema. The courses are designed to help students meet the new challenges they will encounter as citizens and workers in the information age and to learn how to analyze and engage critically with the visual media that has become a fixture of contemporary life.


Learning Outcomes


Cinema/Society Relationship

Students demonstrate knowledge of film as a framework for analyzing the political, social, and cultural history of American and international cultures and of contemporary world events.

Facility with Cinematic Language

Students demonstrate cinematic literacy by identifying formal aspects of mise-en-scene, cinematography, editing, and sound in film texts.

Research Methodology in Film Studies

Students can synthesize film theory, history, and criticism.