Summer 2023 Special Topics
Summer A: CCA 394 section A40 – Film Criticism: The course explores the practice of film criticism. It looks at different kinds of films and the questions they raise. It prepares students to craft a compelling, well-structured critical argument that teaches their reader about their interpretations and points of view. While exploring methods and film terminology, the students engage with the art of active viewing and grapple with the challenges of visual narrative.
Summer B: CCA 494/795 section B21 – Film Sound Aesthetics: The purpose of this course is to develop the student’s understanding and appreciation of film sound aesthetics. The course explores the tools/practices that are necessary to develop a filmmaker’s sonic identity and style.
Fall 2023 Special Topics
CCA 394 section 5U – Dangerous Cinema: This course will focus on movies from around the world that generated great controversy at the time of their original release but are now considered to be important touchstones that explored themes previous films hadn’t touched. Each movie will be accompanied by a class presentation that puts each film into the context of the era in which it was made, examines the critical and audience reaction that greeted each title, and explores how with the passage of time, many of the films are now considered classic game-changers that pushed the boundaries of what type of subject matter and themes are acceptable for mainstream audiences.
CCA 494/795 section 1Q – TV History: This course introduces students to histories of television and other digital media that may include specific shows, trends, industry practices, and TV’s greater significance in U.S. society. Students will watch television, read histories of television, and write critical analyses of television that connect programming to aesthetic, economic, and regulatory influences while exploring the overall socio-cultural implications of television.
CCA 494/795 section 5P – Experimental Filmmaking: Through screenings, lectures, discussion, and practice, students will study how filmmakers have experimented with the moving image to push the boundaries of the medium and their perception of the world.
CCA 494/795 section 1F – Directing the Commercial: Directing the Commercial examines the collaborative art and practice of film (video) commercial creation. Students will learn how to direct commercial projects of high production value while gaining a better understanding of professional standards governing commercial production.
CCA 494/795 section 4K – Industry Insider: This course is designed to give a creative and business overview across the wide range of careers that exist in the modern, studio-based and independent entertainment industry via weekly seminars led by invited professionals, project workshops, and presentations.
CCA 494/795 + COM 609 section 4E – Queer Media Studios: Queer Media Studies examines the history and development of U.S. LGBT media by focusing on media production, sociocultural context, media reception, and the texts themselves. This is a discussion-based, writing-intensive course in which you will actively work to improve writing via in-class writing assignments, paper revisions and peer-review. My goal in this course is to have you engage in discussions of the materials we are discussing. To that end, there are several days in which we will have “special guests” who are either the authors of the texts we are reading or are media industry workers.
CCA 494/795 + JMM 356/656 section 5R – Podcasting: Podcast Storytelling affords students the opportunity to develop a new wave of audio content, create virtual gathering spaces and has the potential to create new audiences. Students will produce projects as either stand-alone or episodic and will publish their projects on a hosting site.
