Film and Television Major
The film and television major takes a critical and practical approach to the study of media in their shared and distinctive artistic and industrial elements. It draws from a broad tradition of historical, theoretical, and creative practices to best prepare students with the skills they need in the rapidly evolving media landscape.
Fordham’s location in New York City and Jesuit mission makes the University uniquely positioned to offer students cultural and career opportunities in film and television as well as a curriculum that trains them in ethical approaches to media studies and practice.
The major offers a concentration in either film or television, with courses designed uniquely for each concentration and with courses that bridge both tracks. It also offers flexibility for those students wishing to focus on film and/or television writing and production, and those wishing to concentrate on critical, historical, and theoretical concerns.
Learning Outcomes
Upon graduation from the film and television major or minor, students will have achieved the following curricular goals:
- Develop a critically-informed understanding of film and television as a set of industries and institutions, forms of aesthetic expression, sites of cultural contestation, modes of representation, spaces of creative production, and evolving political-economic ecosystems.
- Be conversant in the multiple histories and theories of cinema and/or television, and be able to connect those histories and theories to current and emerging screen-based media forms.
- Be able to frame cinematic and televisual production, distribution and consumption within the context of regulatory, economic and policy parameters, as well as social norms and systemic and institutional exclusions.
- Be able to articulate the role that film and television play in the development of identities, cultures, and beliefs on local, national, and global scales.
- Cultivate skills necessary to ethically create and engage in varying forms of film and television writing, production, and reception, and thus develop a holistic appreciation of film and television cultures.
CIP Code
50.0601 - Film/Cinema/Media Studies.
You can use the CIP code to learn more about career paths associated with this field of study and, for international students, possible post-graduation visa extensions. Learn more about CIP codes and other information resources.
The film and television (FITV) major requires eleven (11) courses.
Students must declare a concentration in film or television. The required courses for the major are:
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| COMM 1000 | Fundamentals of Communication and Media Studies 1 | 3 |
| Select one of the following tracks: | 12 | |
| Film | ||
| Understanding Film | ||
| History of Film, 1895-1950 | ||
| Film Theory and Criticism | ||
| Television | ||
| Understanding Television | ||
| History of Television | ||
| Television Theory and Criticism | ||
| One Production course | 4 | |
| Two FITV courses at the 3000/4000 level (excluding production courses) 2 | 8 | |
| Three additional electives 2 | 12 | |
| One Film, Television, Identity and Difference course (normally taken during the senior year) 3 | 4 | |
- 1
COMM 1010 Introduction to Communication and Media Studies may be substituted if taken prior to Spring 2017.
- 2
Any course with the FITV subject code or the FITV attribute code may fulfill this requirement.
- 3
Any course with the FIID attribute code may fulfill this requirement (see list below).
Production Courses
Any FITV course numbered xx1x or xx2x—i.e., courses whose third digit is 1 or 2) may fulfill this requirement.
Courses in this group have the FIPR attribute.
A course in film and TV production is required for students majoring in film and television. These courses focus on the development of technical and creative skills that include screenwriting and digital video production.
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| DTEM 2425 | Digital Video Production I for DTEM | 4 |
| DTEM 3423 | Projects in Digital Video | 4 |
| DTEM 3425 | Digital Video Production II | 4 |
| FITV 2425 | Digital Video Production I for FITV | 4 |
| FITV 2511 | Screenwriting I | 4 |
| FITV 2611 | Television Production I | 4 |
| FITV 2612 | Writing Producing Web Series | 4 |
| FITV 3425 | Digital Video Production II | 4 |
| FITV 3511 | Screenwriting II | 4 |
| FITV 3512 | Film/Television: Narrative Basics | 4 |
| FITV 3525 | Writing the Genre Screenplay: Horror, Sci-Fi, and Fantasy | 4 |
| FITV 3624 | Writing Television Dramas | 4 |
| FITV 3626 | Writing the Original Television Pilot | 4 |
| FITV 4625 | Writing Television Sitcoms | 4 |
| FITV 4626 | Writing For Animation | 4 |
| JOUR 4789 | Sports Television Production: Theory and Practice | 4 |
| VART 1265 | Film/Video I | 4 |
| VART 2265 | Film/Video II | 4 |
| VART 3251 | Film Video Postproduction | 4 |
| VART 3261 | Documentary Film/Video Production | 4 |
| VART 3262 | Narrative Film/Video Production | 4 |
Film, Television, Identity, and Difference courses
Courses in this group have the FIID attribute.
These courses explore film and television from minority, ethnic, diasporic, postcolonial, colonial, indigenous, global, feminist, and queer traditions. They center on how race, gender, ethnicity, sexuality, nationality, and disability shape the aesthetics, politics, and ethics of film and television. Fundamentally, they are attentive to the importance of intersectionality as well as social justice in theory and practice.
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| COMC 2277 | Media and Sexuality | 4 |
| COMC 3240 | Photography, Identity, Power | 4 |
| FITV 2670 | Television and Social Change | 4 |
| FITV 3536 | Film and the American South | 4 |
| FITV 3548 | Film and Gender | 4 |
| FITV 3554 | African American Cinema | 4 |
| FITV 3585 | Transnational Asian Media | 4 |
| FITV 3588 | Global Cinema | 4 |
| FITV 3604 | Critical Production Studies in Film and Television | 4 |
| FITV 3637 | Queer Studies in Film and Television | 4 |
| FITV 3647 | TV, Identity, and Representation | 4 |
| FITV 3648 | Television, Race, and Civil Rights | 4 |
| FITV 3658 | Italian Americans on Screen | 4 |
| FITV 3688 | Global Television | 4 |
| FITV 4554 | Black Experimental and Art Cinema | 4 |
| FITV 4570 | Films of Moral Struggle | 4 |
| FITV 4660 | Ethics of Reality Television | 4 |
Availability
The major in film and television is available at Fordham College at Rose Hill (FCRH) and Fordham College at Lincoln Center (FCLC). Students in Fordham's School of Professional and Continuing Studies may major in film and television only if they receive the approval of their advising dean and/or department, and their schedules are sufficiently flexible to permit them to take day courses at the Rose Hill or Lincoln Center campuses. Such students must provide the Communication and Media Studies Associate Chair at their home campus a statement confirming they are able to take day classes in order to fulfill their major requirements.
Fordham College at Rose Hill students: The requirements above are in addition to those of the Core Curriculum.
Fordham College at Lincoln Center students: The requirements above are in addition to those of the Core Curriculum.