MH with a concentration in Film Studies

Teaching College Art (ART515) - This course investigates the practical issues and challenges of teaching art in a college setting, including teaching studio art, art appreciation and art history. Students will learn to develop effective syllabi, identify and articulate learning objectives, design effective projects, teach with artifacts and objects, facilitate engaging discussions and methods of assessment in the arts and the critique process. Students will develop a portfolio that includes a teaching philosophy, syllabi and sample lesson plans. Problem solving on the individual and group level will be stressed. Note: This course will require several scheduled Live Chat sessions.

Cult and Independent Film (ART530) - This course examines various cult films and the cult film phenomenon. From the definition (or designation) of “cult” to the unusual yet vital role in society this non-genre fills, the cult film does not fit into traditional critical rhetoric. Instead, by being a marginalized area of film, the cult film and the audiences of this phenomenon deconstruct mainstream film entertainment and analysis.

Film Censorships (ART533) - This course focuses on social and cultural aspects of film censorship while in its examination of key issues and events in the history of film censorship in the United States. Film clips and images will be available for viewing on the course site, but members of the class may be required to view several full-length feature films on their own. These films are readily available in the United States for purchase, rental on DVD, or rental through an online streaming service such as provided by Netflix and Blockbuster. If some titles are not available to some students, alternative titles will be offered.

Third Cinema (ART534)  - This course surveys the history and theory of what is currently understood as “Third Cinema.” This course will concentrate on films and filmmakers from Africa, Latin America (Central and South America), the Indian Subcontinent, the Middle East, East and Southeast Asia and Turkey. “Third Cinema” can be thought of in a number of ways, and its definition, like the world, is changing rapidly. Therefore, part of the task of this course is to critically and thoughtfully negotiate the slippery terrain of what “Third Cinema” might be. Briefly, broadly, and as a starting point, Third Cinema can be thought of as cinema produced in what is sometimes referred to as the “Third World”: films that are politically or socially conscious (though not always) from these regions and countries; and/or a type of cinema from these regions or countries that is neither a Hollywood style entertainment cinema (“first cinema”) or European style Art Cinema (“second cinema”). Film clips and images will be available for viewing on the course site, but members of the class may be required to view some full-length feature films on their own. These films are readily available in the United States for purchase, rental on DVD, or rental through an online streaming service such as provided by Netflix and Blockbuster. If some titles are not available to some students, alternative titles will be offered.

Classic Hollywood Cinema (ART535) - This course explores the popular reception, historical and technological advents, and narrative, aesthetic and cultural aspects of the “Golden Age” of cinema as it developed in the United States. The time period is roughly 1929-1945, though some consider it to extend through 1950 and even 1960. Film clips and images will be available for viewing on the course site, but members of the class may be required to view some full-length feature films on their own. These films are readily available in the United States for purchase, rental on DVD, or rental through an online streaming service such as provided by Netflix and Blockbuster. If some titles are not available to some students, alternative titles will be offered.