Film and Television (FITV)

FITV 1501. Understanding Film. (4 Credits)

(Formerly COMM 2471): Examination of the aesthetics of film, its formal language and structure. Screening and analysis of representative films. Study of film theory and criticism. Strongly recommended that students complete this course before other film courses. Lab fee. Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.

Attribute: COLI.

FITV 1601. Understanding Television. (4 Credits)

(Formerly COMM 3332): Critical Analysis of television as a storytelling medium. Study of current approaches to television narrative and style. Screenings and discussion of TV series and news programming. Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.

Attributes: ACUP, AMST, ASLT, COLI, JOUR.

FITV 1999. Tutorial. (1 Credit)

Independent research and readings with supervision from a faculty member.

Attributes: AMST, ASAM.

FITV 2425. Digital Video Production I for FITV. (4 Credits)

(Formerly COMM 2222) This introductory workshop class will teach the fundamentals of digital video production and cinematic storytelling. Students will learn concepts, techniques, and technologies pertaining to digital video and sound through hands-on production and post-production assignments. We will explore the aesthetics and the communicative potential of the medium through screenings, critiques, and exercises.Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.

Attributes: ACUP, AMST, ASAM, DTEM, FIPR, JDPR.

Mutually Exclusive: DTEM 2425.

FITV 2501. History of Film, 1895-1950. (4 Credits)

(Formerly COMM 3422): A survey of film history from 1890 to 1950, looking at industrial practices and stylistic developments. The contribution of major national cinemas is also explored. Lab fee. Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction. Pre-req: FITV 1501 or COMM 2471 OR BY PERMISSION OF THE INSTRUCTOR.

Attributes: ACUP, AMST, ASAM.

Prerequisites: FITV 1501 or COMM 2471.

FITV 2511. Screenwriting I. (4 Credits)

(Formerly COMM 3405): Analyzing and writing screenplays for theatrical motion pictures. Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.

Attributes: ACUP, AMST, ASAM, CVW, ENGL, FIPR.

FITV 2531. Serials, Series, and Franchise Films. (4 Credits)

James Bond, Marvel, Harry Potter: The film series has come to dominate American film production and the box office. By looking at the present through the lens of the past, this course examines how Hollywood has arrived at this current state of franchise mania. We will journey through The Hazards of Helen to The Hunger Games; Flash Gordon to Batman; and Sherlock Holmes to Sherlock, among other films, as we answer the questions: How is it that the serial became the franchise film? Why is it that the movie industry has changed but the stories that they employ remain the same? What can these films tell us about the contexts in which they were made? This course is an elective for the FITV major/minor. Note: Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.

Attributes: ACUP, AMST, ASAM.

FITV 2533. Fashion Costuming in Film. (4 Credits)

Clothing design and its ancillary functions play a central role in film meaning, audience response, and the economics of film industries. With this primary assertion at its center, the course explores the myriad ways fashion operates in film. Students will engage issues of film aesthetics, marketing, fan culture, and stardom within historical and contemporary contexts. In addition to formal analysis and theorization of films, analytic approaches include how the effects of film are felt in larger patterns of consumer behaviors and how film reinforces the branding of fashion houses, designers, and designs. Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.

Attributes: ACUP, AMST, ASAM, FASH, WGSS.

FITV 2601. History of Television. (4 Credits)

(Formerly COMM 3320) This course surveys the aesthetic, technological, and industrial developments of American television. Starting with the foundations of television in radio and in the global developments of television technologies, the course moves through the development of the network era up to the transitional stages between network and post-network eras. Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.

Attributes: ACUP, AMST, APPI, ASAM, ASHS.

Prerequisites: FITV 1601 or COMM 3332 or COMM 2330.

FITV 2611. Television Production I. (4 Credits)

Practical studio management and creative employment of technical facilities for videotaping and studio production of a variety television programming formats. Software and hardware are covered. Lab fee. Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.

Attributes: AMST, ASAM, FIPR.

FITV 2612. Writing Producing Web Series. (4 Credits)

A unique narrative form exploding in popularity, the web series provides young artists a chance to produce their own stories and see their work go viral. In this production workshop class, students will study what goes into creating a successful web series—including techniques for building emotionally engaging stories, three- dimensional characters and a series arc—and then write, shoot, edit and produce the first episode of their own original series. An essential experience for writers, directors, actors or anyone in the creative arts. Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.

Attributes: AMST, ASAM, FIPR, NMAT, NMDD.

Prerequisites: FITV 2511 or COMM 3405 or DTEM 2425 or COMM 2222.

FITV 2670. Television and Social Change. (4 Credits)

This course explores television's complex relationship to social change. While television's commercialism and focus on entertainment may seem antithetical to activist politics, activists used the medium to gain visibility for their causes, demand equitable representation and employment practices, and create programming that spoke back to mainstream TV's reductive and controlling representations. The course engages with scholarly and activist literature on theories of television, representation, and social change as well as case studies of public and commercial television in various national and historical contexts. It also considers the possibilities and limitations for activism via television brought about by transformations in media technology and culture, particularly those related to online distribution, digital media, and globalization. Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.

Attributes: ACUP, ADVD, AMST, ASAM, CELP, FIID.

FITV 2674. Teen Television. (4 Credits)

In this course, we consider global television that represents teens and programs that hailed teen audiences. The concept of the teenager is a relatively recent development in U.S. culture, emerging in the 1920s. From that moment, media has played an important role in the creation, maintenance, and revision of discourses of the teenager. Thus, one goal will be to assess the ways that teenagers have been represented and targeted at different points in time and in different genres of television. Secondly, we will consider whether teen television has developed as its own genre in the last 30 years and how that corresponds to theories about global youth cultures and media. Lastly, we will discuss the ways in which these television representations correspond to teens’ lived experiences and become the vessel for adults’ hopes, anxieties, and nostalgia. Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.

Attributes: ACUP, AMST, ASAM.

FITV 2999. Tutorial. (2 Credits)

Independent research and readings with supervision from a faculty member.

Attributes: AMST, ASAM.

FITV 3425. Digital Video Production II. (4 Credits)

Students will devote the semester to developing a narrative or documentary project of their choosing from concept to post-production. This workshop will allow students to evolve technically and conceptually through screenings, critiques, tutorials, readings, and practice. This is an intermediate class, and students must have taken some sort of introductory film/video production class prior to enrolling, and have some basic familiarity with DV cameras and editing software. Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.

Attributes: AMST, ASAM, DTEM, FIPR, JOUR.

Prerequisites: DTEM 2425 or FITV 2425 or FITV 3512 or VART 1265 or VART 3261 or VART 3262 or COMM 3525.

FITV 3501. Film Theory and Criticism. (4 Credits)

(Formerly COMM 3470) This course is a survey of classical and contemporary film theory. Readings focus on psychological, semiotic, psychoanalytic, feminist, post-colonial and transmedia approaches to the study of film. Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction. Pre-req: FITV 1501 or COMM 2471 OR BY PERMISSION OF THE INSTRUCTOR.

Attributes: ACUP, AMST, ASAM, COLI.

Prerequisites: FITV 1501 or COMM 2471.

FITV 3505. Topics in Film Studies. (4 Credits)

Students will learn about dramatic structure, scene construction, characterization, dialogue, and cinematic storytelling techniques through the analysis of classic and contemporary feature-film screenplays. The focus will be on traditional dramatic narrative, but alternative approaches will also be considered. Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.

Attributes: AMST, ASAM, COLI.

FITV 3511. Screenwriting II. (4 Credits)

Analyzing feature screenplays and working towards production of a feature length screenplay. Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.

Attributes: ACUP, AMST, ASAM, FIPR.

Prerequisites: FITV 2511 or COMM 3405.

FITV 3512. Film/Television: Narrative Basics. (4 Credits)

This class will focus on teaching students the basics of cinematic storytelling: how to conceptualize, direct, shoot and edit a dramatic narrative. Students will receive training on camera and sound equipment and editing software, and will then direct a series of exercises, scenes, and short narratives, while also crewing on their classmates' projects. Student work will be critiqued in group sessions as well as one-on-one meetings with the professor. In addition, scenes from classic and contemporary film will be analyzed and discussed in class. Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.

Attributes: AMST, ASAM, FIPR.

FITV 3525. Writing the Genre Screenplay: Horror, Sci-Fi, and Fantasy. (4 Credits)

Gandalf. The Terminator. Freddy Kreuger. What do they have in common? Join us for this writing workshop to find out! We will focus on creating our own original feature film ideas based in the horror, sci-fi, and fantasy genres—a tried and true commodity of Hollywood. Students will exit this writing workshop with a full outline for a feature, the first 30 or so pages of a screenplay, and a fuller appreciation of genre movie scripts in general. Note: Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.

Attributes: ENGL, FIPR.

FITV 3532. Landmarks, Locations, and Adaption. (4 Credits)

Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.

Attributes: AMST, ASAM.

FITV 3534. Fashion in British Film and Television. (4 Credits)

This course considers the historical and contemporary co-constitution of British fashion, cinema, and television. As a city that generates and is defined by formative industries, cultural institutions, and socio-political movements associated with fashion and media, London plays a crucial role in our explorations. We will analyze historically specific and culturally significant moments when fashion coincided with television and/or film to express the anxieties, pleasures, and investments of British culture(s) on a regional, national, and international scale. To do this, we will study film and television texts that utilize fashion; consider issues of identity politics that include class, sexuality, race, and gender; and explore the industrial and cultural contexts that gave rise to fashion-driven films and television programs. Significant course themes include: war, the monarchy, countercultural movements, empire and imperialism, and the city. Film and television texts are both historical and contemporary and include a wide range of genres and styles. Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.

Attributes: AMST, ASAM, CCUS, COMC, FASH.

FITV 3535. Film Adaptation. (4 Credits)

This course seeks to examine the complex relationship between a cinematic adaptation and the source material from which it is derived. Select essays, novels, plays, comic books and short stories will be studied with regard to the works they inspire, and how narrative changes when works are presented in a new medium. Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.

Attributes: ACUP, AMST, ASAM.

FITV 3544. The Film Director. (4 Credits)

An examination of the tools and techniques of film directing. How do the great directors make full use of the medium’s creative potential? How are stories told and meaning communicated to viewers? What does it mean when we speak of a director’s style or voice? This course will combine close study of classic and contemporary films, lectures and discussions, in-class demonstrations, and individual and group research projects. Topics covered will include the transition from script to screen, camerawork (framing, blocking, movement), lighting, working with actors, editing, sound and music, and more. Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.

Prerequisites: COMM 2471 or FITV 1501.

FITV 3545. Film and Television of Hitchcock. (4 Credits)

(Formerly COMM 3451): A critical examination of Hitchcock's cinema. Students explore Hitchcock's major films, including Rear Window, Vertigo and Psycho from a variety of perspectives, including psychoanalytic, narrative and feminist theory. Emphasis on Hitchcock's role in the British and American studio systeand his mastery of cinematic technique and language. Lab fee. Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.

Attributes: ACUP, AMST, ASAM, COLI.

FITV 3547. The Horror Film. (4 Credits)

A critical examination of cinematic horror. Using theoretical, industrial, and historical frameworks, examines the genre's evolution from its roots in gothic literature and Grand Guignol to the globalized cinematic landscape of the present day, with a particular focus on its complex relationship to cultural anxieties and social formations around race, gender, sexuality, class, dis/ability, nationality, and religion. Note: Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.

Attribute: PLUR.

Prerequisite: FITV 1501.

FITV 3548. Film and Gender. (4 Credits)

This course explores the interrelated nature of gender and film in aesthetics, production, marketing, and reception. To do so, the course focuses on film theory and criticism about representations of femininity and masculinity, which include attendant issues of sexuality, embodiment, race, class and nationality. This approach will be augmented by considerations of historical and cultural contexts, developments within film industries, key figures in film production, and audiences. Films will include mainstream commercial films and filmmakers as well as feminist, avant-garde, and counter-cinemas. Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.

Attributes: ACUP, ADVD, AMST, ASAM, COLI, FIID, WGSS.

FITV 3551. Film History 1950-Present. (4 Credits)

A survey of film history from 1950 to the present, looking at industrial practices, stylistic developments and the impact of new technologies of the film image. The contribution of the major national cinemas will also be explored. Lab fee. Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.

Attributes: ACUP, AMCS, AMST, ASAM, COLI, INST, ISIN.

FITV 3553. Hollywood Genres. (4 Credits)

(Formerly COMM 3401): Cultural, psychological, socioeconomic analyses of theme, plot, characterization, and iconography of popular formula films. Lab fee. Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.

Attributes: ACUP, AMST, ASAM, COLI.

FITV 3554. African American Cinema. (4 Credits)

The success of movies such as Black Panther and the popular recognition of filmmakers like Ava DuVernay and Jordan Peele suggests that we have entered a new era of African American media representation. This class will explore African American cinema from the silent era to the contemporary moment. We will discuss African American participation in the mainstream film industry as well as the robust tradition of black independent cinema. Particular attention will be paid to the intersections of black aesthetics and cultural politics on screen; representations of blackness in relation to gender, sexuality, and class; and issues of spectatorship and identification as well as stardom and performance. Looking at the past and present terrain of African American cinema, we will interrogate the fundamental concept of Black film and imagine what its future holds. Note: Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.

Attributes: AFAM, FIID.

FITV 3555. The City in Film and Television. (4 Credits)

(Formerly COMM 3438): In what way is the "mythical city" of the movies a reflection of the real city in which we live? Indeed, how are issues such as ethnicity and class depicted throughout the mass media? The course will offer an investigation of key films from various genres and eras, including silent films, science fiction films, musicals and documentaries, in order to investigate how environment shapes character in a narrative film. Course offering for Communication & Media Studies, History and American Civilization students Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.

Attributes: ACUP, ADVD, AMST, ASAM.

FITV 3558. Italian Film. (4 Credits)

This course traces the development of Italian film throughout the 20th century. We will study silent cinema, the telefono bianco (white telephone) films of the 1930s, the post-World War II films of Rossellini, De Sica, Visconti, and Fellini, and we will trace the influences of these early films in those of the 1960s and 1970s by Antonioni, Olmi, Pasolini, and Wertmuller. Lab fee. Note: Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.

Attributes: AMST, ASAM, COLI, INST, ISEU.

FITV 3565. The Documentary Idea. (4 Credits)

(Formerly COMM 3408): The history of documentary and the analysis of contemporary works. An examination of the variety of documentary language formats and visual styles and their meaning and impact. Lab fee. Credit will not be given for both this course and FITV 3566. Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.

Attributes: ACUP, AMST, ASAM, CMST, EP3, JOUR.

Mutually Exclusive: FITV 3566.

FITV 3571. Science Fiction in Film and Television. (4 Credits)

Sociological, cultural, and psychoanalytic analysis and criticism of the science fiction genre in cinema, television, radio, print and other media. Lab fee. Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.

Attributes: ACUP, AMST, ASAM, DTEM.

FITV 3578. American Film Comedy. (4 Credits)

The course takes both a theoretical and historical approach to Hollywood film comedy from the silent classics of Sennett, Chaplin, and Keaton to the best of contemporary work in the genre. Lab Fee. Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.

Attributes: ACUP, AMST, ASAM, COLI.

FITV 3579. Movies and American Experience. (4 Credits)

(Formerly COMM 3108): A study of the American character as portrayed in American feature films from the early 20th century to the present. Lab fee Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.

Attributes: ACUP, AMST, ASAM, COLI, PLUR.

FITV 3585. Transnational Asian Media. (4 Credits)

(Formerly COMM 3414): This course explores classic and contemporary films and television/streaming series from a variety of Asian countries. We will survey a broad range of directors, styles, and genres, considering films and TV series as individual works of art but also examining them within their historical, national, and cultural contexts. Note: Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.

Attributes: ACUP, ADVD, AMST, ASAM, COLI, FIID, INST, ISAS.

FITV 3587. United Kingdom and Irish Film. (4 Credits)

This course examines classic English film from the early Hitchcock period through the post-war literary adaptations of David Lean and Laurence Olivier, the Ealing comedies and the social realist films of Tony Richardson and Jack Clayton. Contemporary British film is represented in the work of Mike Leigh and Terrence Davies. Irish film is explored through the work of directors such as Neil Jordan, Jim Sheridan, Pat O'Connor, and others. Lab fee. Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.

Attributes: AMST, ASAM, INST, ISEU.

FITV 3588. Global Cinema. (4 Credits)

(Formerly COMM 3410): A comparative study of films produced by various nationalities and cultures. Analysis of differing cultural, political and economic factors affecting filmmakers as they deal with basic human concerns such as individual self worth, relationships, freedom and conformity and values and moral choice. Lab fee. Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.

Attributes: ACUP, ADVD, AMST, ASAM, CCUS, COLI, COMC, FIID, GLBL, INST, ISIN.

FITV 3601. Television Theory and Criticism. (4 Credits)

This course is a survey of classical and contemporary television theory. It explores multiple theories of television production, consumption, and exhibition as well as the development of television studies as a field. The course considers television as a historical technology situated in social and economic structures and as a multiplicity of technologies in an age of media convergence. Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.

Attributes: ACUP, AMST, ASAM, CCUS.

Prerequisites: FITV 1601 or COMM 3332.

FITV 3604. Critical Production Studies in Film and Television. (4 Credits)

This course examines the complex labors and protocols involved in film and television production. In doing so, the course aims to critically interrogate and de-mythologize what it means to "work in film" or "work in television." Rather than a traditional study of media industries according to their economics and regulations, the course employs humanistic and cultural studies approaches to production studies. These approaches illustrate how the work of film and television production is performed, who performs it, and the implications of labor practices within their historical and contemporary contexts. To illustrate the wide range and types of production workers involved in film and television industries, the course includes highly-visible occupations, such as directors, writers, and actors, as well as less-visible workers, such as costume designers, special effects artists, clerical staff, and production assistants.

Attributes: AMST, ASAM, CCUS, CMST, COMC, FIID.

FITV 3605. Topics in Television and Radio. (4 Credits)

This course takes advantage of the presence in New York of visiting scholars and practitioners. Courses may have a television or radio combined emphasis, with production and/or academic focus, and each will concentrate on a particular field that is under-represented in regular course offerings. (Course may be repeated.) Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.

Attributes: AMST, ASAM, JOUR.

FITV 3624. Writing Television Dramas. (4 Credits)

(Formerly COMM 3305): This course applies traditional principles of dramatic writing to the television genre, including soap operas, pilots, mini-series and docudramas. Students will analyze outstanding examples of the genre and are required to produce professional-level scripts. Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.

Attributes: ACUP, AMST, ASAM, FIPR.

FITV 3626. Writing the Original Television Pilot. (4 Credits)

An immersive writing workshop that covers core concepts on the craft and business of writing for television. Students will create their own original TV series (half-hour comedy or one-hour drama) and write both a complete pilot script and a show bible. This course is a good follow-up or prelude to FITV 3624 Writing the TV Drama, in which students write a spec episode of an existing series. Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.

Attributes: AMST, ASAM, FIPR.

FITV 3635. Science Fiction from Page to Screen. (4 Credits)

This course examines the unique, dynamic relationship between written words published as novels and short stories and their adaptation in TV series and motion pictures, in the genre of science fiction. Issues include the reader’s expectations about screen adaptations, the challenge of visualizing the impossible in science fiction, multiple movies from a single source, and books within books as a literary and cinematic device. The course will focus on a single iconic novel adapted into a multi-season TV series. Note: Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.

FITV 3637. Queer Studies in Film and Television. (4 Credits)

This course examines “queer” independent and mainstream film and television. We will delve into classic Hollywood cinema, “New Queer Cinema,” European cinema, global and “transnational” cinema, as well as U.S. and Canadian TV series. We will apply queer, feminist, film, and television theories to the media in order to more profoundly understand our objects of study—the films and TV series themselves—while simultaneously using our objects to better understand the theories and histories. As we unpack assumptions about sexed bodies, sexual desires, gender identities, and sexual identities, we will examine the ways in which films and TV series uphold and subvert the status quo in regards to gender and sexual norms. Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.

Attributes: ACUP, ADVD, AMST, ASAM, FIID, JOUR, WGSS.

FITV 3638. British Cinema and Television. (4 Credits)

British Heritage Cinema, arguably the most identifiable and lucrative form of British national cinema, emerged in the 1980s and continues to define “Britishness” through its nostalgic and individualized view of the past. In looking at costume dramas, literary adaptations, and biographical films, this course explores Heritage Cinema through its key themes and aesthetics, the cultural context in which it gained and retains popularity, and its material and ideological consequences. Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.

Attributes: AMST, ASAM.

FITV 3639. Quality Television/Cult TV. (4 Credits)

This class examines two key categories for grouping television shows—“quality television” and “cult TV”—and considers the history behind these terms, the technological changes in the industry that brought them about, and the ways in which the two terms have increasingly intersected. These two approaches to TV shows also map out an industrybased approach (the long-standing marketing strategy of “quality television”) and an audience-based approach (the intense fandom that generates a cult TV show), allowing the class to study texts by considering and combining both industrial histories of television and reception theories of television. Bringing the material into the present day, the class also ultimately brings the two terms together, “quality” and “cult,” as new technologies and their attendant media strategies and audience practices have increasingly blurred their distinction—and cult audiences become the arbiters, and marketers, of quality TV. FITV 1601 Understanding Television is recommended as a pre-req Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.

Attributes: ACUP, AMST, ASAM.

FITV 3647. TV, Identity, and Representation. (4 Credits)

This course explores gender, race, and class as intersectional identities that inform and are informed by the aesthetics, production, marketing, and reception of television. To do so, the course focuses on theory and criticism about representations of femininity and masculinity, race and ethnicity, and economics and involves attendant issues of sexuality, embodiment, desire, and identification. This approach will be augmented by considerations of historical and cultural contexts for television texts, developments within television industries, key figures in television production, and audiences. Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.

Attributes: ACUP, ADVD, AMST, ASAM, CCUS, COMC, FIID, JOUR, LALS, LASS, PJMJ, PJST, WGSS.

FITV 3648. Television, Race, and Civil Rights. (4 Credits)

“The Revolution Will Not Be Televised.” This was the rallying cry of Black radicals during times of national unrest, especially associated with the Black Power Movement. This course introduces students to the intersection of television, race, and civil rights broadly. How does U.S. TV engage with racial injustice and the fight for civil rights? How does the mass medium articulate pressing issues concerning the historical struggle for equality for African Americans? Students will engage with concepts in television studies as they connect to representations of racial Blackness on the small screen, paying special attention to TV texts, audiences, and industries. Topics discussed include mediations of protest, violence, and criminality in news media as well as social and political commentary in fictional programming. Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.

Attributes: ACUP, ADVD, AFAM, AMST, APPI, ASAM, FIID, PJRC, PJST, PLUR.

FITV 3658. Italian Americans on Screen. (4 Credits)

What can explain the shocking popularity of Jersey Shore? Where did the controversial images of Italian Americans that the show displays originate? This course proposes an examination of Italian Americans as represented in mainstream and independent American cinema (and later television) from the silent era to the present. Particular attention will be paid to the traditional stereotypes associated with these representations (how they arose and why they continue to exist), two specific genres--the gangster film and the boxing film--and how Italian-American filmmakers respond to and re-vision them. The class will also include field trips to Arthur Avenue and Little Italy. Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.

Attributes: ACUP, ADVD, AMST, ASAM, COLI, FIID, PLUR.

FITV 3678. Television Comedy and American Values. (4 Credits)

(Formerly COMM 3310): An examination of the major genres of American television comedy and their relationship to American culture. The influence of social, artistic and commercial factors on comic patterns and techniques are considered. Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.

Attributes: ACUP, ADVD, AMST, ASAM, CCUS, COMC.

FITV 3688. Global Television. (4 Credits)

This course introduces students to theories of global television studies, including the reception of US TV abroad as well as the circulation of television in a post-network and multi-platform global context. Do you watch Korean TV on Drama Fever? Have you ever wondered what it would be like to watch The Fresh Prince of Bel Air in South Africa? Or are you also enchanted by The Great British Bake Off on PBS? We will explore questions and case studies like these in detail to consider how they impact our understanding of the television industry across cultures and language as well as television’s potential to unite and/or divide communities. Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.

Attributes: AMST, ASAM, CMST, FIID, GLBL, LALS, LASS.

FITV 3999. Tutorial. (3 Credits)

Independent research and readings with supervision from a faculty member.

Attributes: AMST, ASAM.

FITV 4554. Black Experimental and Art Cinema. (4 Credits)

Since the 1960s and ’70s, Black filmmakers have contributed to the body of experimental and artistic filmmaking practice. This course explores some of this early history in this archive alongside dynamic contemporary figures. It will expose students to ways of thinking about filmmaking as artmaking and the impact of the digital age and technology on Black filmmaking practice. Note: Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.

Attributes: AFAM, FIID.

FITV 4570. Films of Moral Struggle. (4 Credits)

(Formerly COMM 4001): The course studies the portrayal of human values and moral choices both in the narrative content and the cinematic technique of outstanding films. Class discussion tends to explore ethical aspects of each film's issues, while numerous critical analyses of the films are offered to develop the student's appreciation of the film's artistic achievements. Lab fee. Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.

Attributes: ACUP, AMST, ASAM, ASRP, BEHR, BEVL, CELP, COLI, EP4, FIID, PJMJ, PJST, REST, VAL.

FITV 4625. Writing Television Sitcoms. (4 Credits)

(Formerly COMM 4708): Sitcoms are shot by multiple cameras which limit the action to one or two sets. This practically eliminates all action lines in a sitcom screenplay, leaving behind mostly dialogue. This class teaches that behind that wall of sitcom dialogue , sophisticated writers have meticulously developed an invisible scaffolding of comedic tension which requires as much or even more effort than coming up with clever one-liners. This course teaches students to integrate “comedic tension” into all levels of work- from episode premise, to sequence, to scene. TV sitcom writing is performed in teams. Therefore students will write episodes together, and learn skills required to be a comedy staff writer- including originality, creativity, humor and supporting classmates with their scripts. Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.

Attributes: ACUP, AMST, ASAM, FIPR.

FITV 4626. Writing For Animation. (4 Credits)

As the great Bugs Bunny himself said, “Anything is possible in an animated cartoon.” This course endeavors to loosen the grip of naturalism on the student’s imagination and craft. This is a screenwriting workshop course that unlocks word-based writing and finds greater storytelling expression in the limitless possibilities of an unrestricted animated world and in doing so, unleashes visual joy.

Attribute: FIPR.

Prerequisites: FITV 2511 and FITV 3511 (may be taken concurrently) or FITV 3626 (may be taken concurrently) or FITV 3624 (may be taken concurrently) or FITV 4625 (may be taken concurrently).

FITV 4660. Ethics of Reality Television. (4 Credits)

Reality TV is a vast genre that has had an immense impact on society. This course will engage with the long history of reality programming in news, magazine shows, documentaries, talk shows, game shows, and what we now commonly understand as popular reality TV series. The course will focus on the ethics of producing, appearing on, and watching different forms of reality television. Students will examine issues concerning surveillance and voyeurism, governmentality and citizenship, crisis and scandal, tabloid and spectacle, exploitation, and issues concerning race, class, gender, sexuality, disability, and religion. The course will explore how television helps define our mediated reality and the values that underpin such representation. Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.

Attributes: ACUP, ADVD, AMST, ASAM, ASRP, CCUS, CELP, EP4, FIID, JOUR, VAL.

FITV 4676. Television and Society. (4 Credits)

A problem-based and issue-oriented analysis of the medium as it affects basic social institutions and values. Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.

Attributes: ACUP, ADVD, AMST, ASAM, SOCI.

FITV 4999. Tutorial. (4 Credits)

Independent research and readings with supervision from a faculty member.

Attributes: AMST, ASAM.