Program Overview

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Introduction to Film and Media Studies

The major in Film and Media Studies focuses on the history, theory, criticism, and production of cinema and other moving-image media. Courses examine cinema and the broader landscape of audiovisual media as significant modern art forms, and the contributions of moving-image media as cultural and communicative practices of enduring social significance.

Program Overview

Film and Media Studies is an interdisciplinary liberal arts program that aims to develop critical and creative minds that can astutely view, analyze, and conceptually think about cinema within history and society. Majors complete required courses that introduce the breadth of film studies and pursue a concentration of courses in film studies or production leading up to the senior essay or project, which can include a film or a screenplay.

Requirements of the Major

The Film and Media Studies major consists of twelve term courses, including the senior requirement. Students are required to take:

• FILM 1501
• FILM 1601
• FILM 3201
• One upper-level course in the study of representative films from a non-American national cinema
• One upper-level course in critical studies
• At least one course on the creative process in film, designated by the attribute YC FILM Production in Yale Course Search

Senior Requirement

During the senior year, each student takes one or two senior-level seminars or the equivalent and submits a senior essay or senior project, which should represent a culmination of work in the major and in Yale College. The senior requirement requires both critical writing and writing in images.

Senior Essay

For the student writing a senior essay, several options are possible:

• Enroll in two terms of relevant senior-level seminars and write a substantial term paper of twenty-five pages, double-spaced, for one of these courses.
• Do independent research on a yearlong senior essay, which receives two terms of credit and results in a work of at least fifty pages.
• Combine one single-term senior-level seminar with one term of an independent research project, resulting in a paper of thirty-five pages.

Senior Project

Students who wish to complete a senior project as an alternative to an essay must petition the Film and Media Studies Committee for approval of their project at the end of the junior year. Projects might include writing a screenplay in Advanced Screenwriting or producing a video.

Intensive Major

The intensive major in Film and Media Studies is intended for students who are not pursuing two majors. Students in the intensive major complete a senior project in production and also write a senior essay.

Advising

Study of relevant languages is urged for all Film and Media Studies majors. Students considering graduate work should become proficient in French or another modern language.

Faculty

The program is associated with a diverse group of faculty members from various departments, including:

• Professors:
  • Marijeta Bozovic
  • Francesco Casetti
  • Marta Figlerowicz
  • Aaron Gerow
  • Brian Kane
  • John MacKay
  • Millicent Marcus
  • Charles Musser
  • Fatima Naqvi
  • John Durham Peters
  • Katie Trumpener
  • Laura Wexler
  • R. John Williams
• Associate Professors:
  • Moira Fradinger
  • Zareena Grewal
• Assistant Professor:
  • Neta Alexander
• Professor in the Practice:
  • Thomas Allen Harris
• Senior Lecturer:
  • Camille Thomasson
• Lecturers:
  • Jonathan Andrews
  • Shakti Bhagchandani
  • Oksana Chefranova
  • Claire Demoulin
  • Wanda Strauven
• Senior Lector:
  • Krystyna Illakowicz
• Visiting Professor:
  • Leighton Pierce

Program Resources

Yale has a vibrant film culture, with resources including the Film Studies Center, the Whitney Humanities Center, and the Center for Collaborative Arts and Media (CCAM). The department also regularly helps majors find internships and provides opportunities to network with alumni.