The Program

About the Program

The Film Studies Program teaches students to appreciate and to contribute to a cultural sphere increasingly shaped by moving pictures. Students learn to analyze and create moving images, to appreciate visual art, and to participate in film research. Through courses that focus on film history, technology, and aesthetics, the Film Studies curriculum provides students with an understanding of cinema’s role in the growth and expansion of visual culture.

The main mission of the Film Studies Program is to offer excellent undergraduate teaching of cinema and its social and cultural significance. Through both critical studies and cultural events the program fosters faculty and student scholarship, research, and creative work. With its line-up of film scholars from different departments across campus, the program includes courses on many areas of world cinema and fosters interdisciplinary perspectives on the culture of cinema.

The Film Studies curriculum serves the university's liberal arts mission and provides students with a solid foundation for professions within and outside the film industry or for graduate study in cinema studies, film production, and other fields. Students in the program develop knowledge and skills in film research and analysis, critical thinking, persuasive and creative writing, visual design, and film production. The program utilizes the resources of the university and a fast-growing local community of independent filmmakers and film professionals to offer a rich and varied introduction into the world of cinema.

Major

The proposal for a B.A. in Film Studies has received final approval from the University of Missouri system and is awaiting posting on the Coordinating Board for Higher Education (CBHE) website.The major is expected to become official in early 2010.

If you would like to request an Emphasis in Film Production, please contact us.

Minor

Requirements for a Minor in Film Studies

1. Total Credit Hours (15 hours)
Students minoring in Film Studies must take fifteen hours of undergraduate credit:

• 6 hours in required courses
• 9 of elective courses
• at least two of the elective courses must be at the 3000-level or above
• students must also take courses from at least three different departments
  

2. Specific Requirements

1) Required Courses (6 hours)

The two required courses are prerequisites that must be completed before the elective courses can count toward the Minor.

1st Required Course

• Film Studies 2810, "Introduction to Film Analysis.". It must be completed first, followed by one of the courses that counts as the second required course. Film Studies 2810 is the same as German 2810 or Romance Languages 2810.
  

2nd Required Course (from one of the following—with FS 2810 as prerequisite)

• Film Studies 2820, "Trends in World Cinema" (same as German 2820 and Romance Languages 2820)
• English 1810, "Introduction to Film: The Beginnings to 1945"
• English 1820, "Introduction to Film: 1945-Present"

2) Electives (9 hours)

After taking the two required courses as prerequisites, students may choose from the following elective courses, listed by department.
Note: Prerequisites may be waived for students who entered MU before Fall Semester 2001.

English

• Topics Courses:
  • For list of recently taught Topics courses go to Courses page
• 2830, American Film in an International Context, Beginnings to 1950
• 2840, American Film in an International Context, 1950 to Present
• 4060, Film Theory in History and Practice
• 4109, Film Genres: History, Criticism, Culture
• 4169, Major Filmmakers
• 4180, Major Women Writers: Fiction to Film
• 4240 (or taught as 8240), The Eighteenth Century on Screen

German and Russian Studies

• Topics Courses:
  • For list of recently taught Topics courses go to Courses page
• German 3830, History of German Cinema
• German 3840, German Film After 1945
  

Romance Languages and Literatures

• Topics Courses:
  • For list of recently taught Topics courses go to Courses page
• French 3001, Post-Colonial Cinema
• Italian 2850, Italian Cinema
• Spanish 4963, Latin American Film
  

Theatre

• 1150, African-American Cinema
• 3005, Screenwriting for Television and Film

Contact Us

For information about the program contact:

Roger Cook
Director, Film Studies Program
449 Strickland Hall
tel: 573-882-9452
email: CookRF@missouri.edu

Jordanya McGrew
Film Studies Staff
448 Strickland Hall
tel: 573-882-1915
email: jimb8d@mail.missouri.edu

Film Studies: 449 Strickland Hall | 573-882-9452 | filmstud@missouri.edu

Film Studies Program | College of Arts and Science | University of Missouri
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