Course Offerings 2012-2013

Note for students entering second year:

• FILM Majors and Medials going into second year should take 250 and four of 206*, 216*, 226*, 236* or 240*, to complete a degree.
• FILM Minors should take 250 and two of 216*, 226*, 236*, or 240*, to complete a degree.
• STSC Majors should take 250 and two of 206*, 216*, 226*, or 236*.
• COCA Majors should take 250 and all of 206*, 216*, 226*, or 236*.
• Ideally, you'd take all of your required 200-level courses in second year. However, you may not be able to schedule all of them in one academic year. If that's the case, you may take them in any order. However, you do need to complete 250 and two of the other 200-level courses marked with a star, by the end of second year in order to be admitted to 300-level courses in your third year.
• See Registration Steps for second-year students.

Note regarding production courses:

• Students are permitted to register in only one of the following production courses: FILM 351*, FILM 352*, FILM 365, FILM 385, IDIS 410*.

Notes: See the Faculty of Arts and Science Calendar for required courses, prerequisites and enrolment priorities.

For further information on course timetable, marks and deadlines, see the University Registrar.

See Registration Steps for upper-year students.

IDIS 210*, STSC 300*, STSC 309*, DEVS 305*, INTS 326*, IDIS 311*, and IDIS 410* may be used as Optional Film units.

Legend: 110/6.0/FW = Film Course Number / Credits / (F)all (W)inter Session.
Course number with * indicates a 3.0 credit course.
 
 
 

FILM 110/6.0/ FW: Film, Culture and Communication Introduction to analysis of film, television, new media and other related forms of contemporary culture. Includes classical and contemporary Hollywood cinema, Canadian film and television, alternatives in international cinema, as well as recent developments on the internet, in gaming, and in social media. Course is in blended model and includes lectures, online learning materials and weekly tutorials. Course requirements include online tests, written work and a digital storytelling project. Instructors: Clarke Mackey, Dorit Naaman
 
 
 

FILM 206*/3.0/F: Research, Writing and Presentation Methods A series of interactive presentations and lectures instructing students in research methods, argumentative writing and the design of effective audio-visual presentations. PREREQUISITE FILM 104* and 106*, or 110. Instructor: Frank Burke

IDIS 210*/3.0/W: Arts in Society Interested in Art? Music? Drama? Film? Looking for a course that breaks out of that same-old same-old lecture format? Want to learn about contemporary arts and get out of the classroom? The new IDIS 210 course "Arts in Society" may be just the course for you! IDIS 210 will provide a broad-ranging introduction to a range of intellectual and social functions the arts continue to play in the early 21st century. Through a series of guest speakers and performers, students will explore topics as wide-ranging as aesthetics, politics, race, representation, critical theory, and identity formation. Attendance at local arts activities such as film screenings, dramatic performances, musical performances, and gallery exhibitions will form part of the course activities. Instructor: TBA

FILM 216*/3.0/F: Historical Inquiry Introduction to historical research and analysis of narrative and other films. Examines works, from a range of periods and settings, and the conditions that shaped their production, distribution and reception. In 2012, the course will focus on films of the silent era. PREREQUISITE FILM 104* and 106*, or 110. EXCLUSIONS FILM 211*, 212*, 215*. Instructor: Peter Baxter

FILM 226*/3.0 /W: Critical Inquiry Textual analysis of narrative and other films, including examination of formal, aesthetic, and narrative techniques and conventions, and their production of meaning in social and political contexts. PREREQUISITE FILM 104* and FILM 106*, or FILM 110, with a minimum grade of 70 per cent. EXCLUSION FILM 225. Instructor: TBA

FILM 236*/3.0/W: Media Studies Introduction to cultural and social theory of film and other media as it relates to the tensions between citizenship and consumerism. Examines roles, functions, and impact of mass media technologies, institutions, and practices in both scholarly and practical forms. PREREQUISITE FILM 104* and 106*, or 110 EXCLUSIONS FILM 221*, 231*, 232* Instructor: Frances Leeming

FILM 240*/3.0/F: Media and Popular Culture Includes lessons on a variety of media and genres (including film, TV, radio, gaming, music, books, magazines, advertising, public relations, broadcast and print news media, social and mobile digital media). Students will study popular culture productions, consumptions, and representations in order to better understand the importance of mass media in shaping our identities, relationships, choices, imaginations, politics, cultural dynamics and futures. Instructor: Sidneyeve Matrix

FILM 250/6.0/ FW: Fundamentals of Production This course provides a grounding in basic filmmaking concepts and techniques, including directing, lighting, sound recording, and editing. It is structured around a series of short narrative and documentary video exercises, done by small groups of students. Each student also writes a script for a short film in the Fall Term, and produces or directs a film in the Winter Term. PREREQUISITE FILM 104* and 106*, or 110. Instructor: Derek Redmond

FILM 260*/3.0/S: Digital Media Theory and Practice FILM 260* is a survey of selected topics in digital media theory and digital culture trends. We'll consider subjects including digital literacy and mobile technologies, viral videos to eReading, Facebook to Foursquare, online footprints and digital reputations to privacy concerns in the age of Google. We'll cover issues and ideas related to eCommerce, geosocial networking, online friendship, educational technology, the app revolution, word-of-mouth social media marketing, and emergent forms of digital creativity. The key themes for this course are: media convergence, virtual identity, digital mobilities, wikinomics, and socialnomics. Instructor: Sidneyeve Matrix
 
 
 

STSC 309*/3.0/F: Special Topics in Stage and Screen A seminar or workshop in selected areas of the curriculum in DRAM and FILM. PREREQUISTIES (12.0 units from DRAM 201/3.0, DRAM 202/3.0, DRAM 205/3.0, DRAM 237/3.0, DRAM 238/3.0, DRAM 251/3.0) or (12.0 units from FILM 206/3.0, FILM 216/3.0, FILM 226/3.0, FILM 236/3.0, FILM 250/6.0) or permission of the Departments of Drama and Film and Media. Instructor: TBA

FILM 303*/3.0/F: National and International Cinema Intermediate examination of a national cinema or the cinemas of more than one nation. Recently this course has looked at Bollywood films from India. Instructor: TBA

FILM 305*/3.0/F: European Narrative. This course will focus on postwar Italian cinema, seeking to use that cinema to explore issues of Italian nationhood and identity over the past fifty plus years. The course has been organized in terms of six crucial moments in postwar Italy: the immediate postwar period; the 1950s, rapid modernization, and the "economic miracle"; the 1960s and unrealized dreams of radical social change; the 1970s as critique of the 1960s (and revisionist critique of Italian history); the 1980s and the entry into late capitalism and postmodernity; 1990s to the present and globalization, immigration to Italy, the death of communism, the era of Silvio Berlusconi, and Italy's crises en route to joining the European Union. Instructor: Frank Burke

DEVS 305/6.0/S: Cuban Culture and Society This course is designed to introduce students to Cuban society and culture. The course will focus especially on the period from the Cuban revolution (1959) to the present. Students will examine some of the main events and highlights of Cuban history, politics and culture in this era. Two weeks of this four-week intensive course will take place at Queen's and two weeks at the University of Havana. NOTES: 1 Students are expected to pay an ancillary fee for travel and accommodation while in Havana. 2 Students must apply to take the course. Applications are available in the DEVS office. 3 Students are expected to attend a pre-departure orientation. 4 Costs and application deadlines will be posted on the DEVS website. PREREQUISITE Level 3 or above and registration in any Arts and Science Plan. Instructor: TBA

IDIS 311*/3.0/F: Sound Production A production class exploring the formal concepts, historical underpinnings, and technical tools used in the production of independent sound works, or in the production of more elaborate sound components for video, film or theatrical projects. PREREQUISTE Level 3 or above. Instructor: Matt Roglasky

FILM 312*/3.0/F: Screenwriting Students will analyze examples from existing works and prepare a ten-minute original screenplay. Assignments include proposal, outline, treatment, dialogue scene, first draft and final manuscript. Each assignment in the screenwriting process will be presented and workshopped by the class. PREREQUISITE FILM 250 unless waived by the instructor. Instructor: Frances Leeming

FILM 320*/0.5/W: Media and the Arts This course will explore contemporary digital culture, including the various ways it has transformed the manner in which art and other cultural forms of expression are made, distributed and received. We will address storytelling, interactivity, the impact on politics, digital aesthetics, and other associated topics. There will be a limited and optional opportunity for students to produce an artwork to fulfill class requirements. Instructor: Gary Kibbins

INTS 326*/3.0/F: Labours of Film in the New Europe In this course, European film is our starting point for investigating the connections between work and art. Topics will include: urban space; (post- and para-) socialist societies; border crossings, especially gendered labour and cultural flows. The new Europe and its film shape each other; in what ways does this matter? Delimiting and unsettling national borders, they also shape and are shaped by the global; why should we care? PREREQUISITES Second year standing or permission of the Department. Instructor: Dr. Jennifer Hosek

FILM 336*/0.5/W: Film and Politics All films are political but some are more political than others. This course will investigate the ways films are political; how they expound, consciously or not, certain political, or perhaps more specifically, ideological positions. We will see dramas, comedies, documentaries, TV reports and even action films. Instructor: TBA

FILM 337*/3.0/W: Cinema and the City An intermediate study of representations of the city in cinema and visual culture, the social histories from which these representations emerge, and the changing environments in which cinema is viewed. PREREQUISITE 18.0 units in FILM or (GPHY 101/3.0 and GPHY 227/3.0 and GPHY 229/3.0 and [GPHY 328/3.0 or 6.0 units in FILM]). Instructor: Susan Lord

FILM 340*/3.0/W: Advertising and Consumer Culture Historical and critical examination of advertising especially television and related print materials, as cultural, economic, and political practices within a continuously changing consumer society. While theories and critiques of advertising will be strongly emphasized, so will the nature and consequences of consumer society. Whereas the former are principally first world phenomena, the latter provoke analysis of globalization and the effects of consumerism on developing nations and on the environment. Assignments will include several group presentations; a final essay; and a final group media project. Instructor: TBA

FILM 351*/3.0/W: Documentary Production The focus of this course will be to create portraits of homes. We will use an array of techniques, primarily from documentary, but also from poetic, experimental, and narrative cinema, to produce short films about home. Conceptually, we will consider the representation of memory, nostalgia, and personal histories, and how to present those in a public forum. PREREQUISITE FILM 250/6.0 and 6.0 units in FILM at the 200-level or above. Instructor: Dorit Naaman

FILM 352*/0.5/F: Production: Issues of Form and Structure Advanced practical course in film and video aesthetics. Starting with the screening and analysis of selected works, each student will script, produce and edit a short video or 16mm work that explores specific formal questions. Emphasis will be placed on unconventional approaches and techniques. Instructor: Gary Kibbins

FILM 365/6.0/FW: Narrative Theory and Practice In this advanced course in narrative film and television we will combine contemporary critical and theoretical approaches with practical experiences. Students will have the opportunity to explore, discuss and write about modern narrative media while producing a short narrative work that incorporates their understandings. The major assignments will be an essay in first term and a group presentation in second term. In addition, working in groups of three or four, students will produce short, professional quality videos (maximum length 8 minutes) for a public screening. Commercial production methods will be explored, including proposal pitches, creative collaboration and meeting strict deadlines. Each student will have significant creative responsibility for their production as one or more of the following: writer, producer, director, videographer, sound designer, or editor. A series of advanced skills workshops and analysis of many existing movies and televisions programs will be featured. This course is particularly well suited to students in the Stage and Screen Program. Instructor: Clarke Mackey

FILM 385/6.0/FW: Animation Theory and Practice A course which combines study of the history and theory of film animation with the production of animated films. Requirements will include both research essays as well as the conceptualization and production of an animated film EXCLUSION: FILM 441* (2006-07), 451* (2004-2007). Instructor: Frances Leeming
 
 
 

Film 435*/3.0/W: Culture and Representation: Special Topic 1 Advanced seminar on relations between societies and their expressions in culture, with particular reference to film, television, and comparable media. Subjects have included interdisciplinary approaches and cultural studies; cinema in the Third World. PREREQUISITE FILM 250/6.0 and 18.0 units in FILM at the 200-level or above and a GPA of 2.70 in 30.0 units from Film. Instructor: TBA

IDIS 410*/3.0/F: Contemporary Cultural Performance in Practice Students in film, visual art, drama and music explore new modes of interdisciplinary performance practice through the creation of a collective work performed for the public. Students will work in at least two disciplines through a series of practical group assignments: visual art, movement, audio, moving images, new media, performance art, etc. Particularly well suited for students in the Stage and Screen program. Prerequisite: Fourth year standing in your own concentration. Instructors: Dorit Naaman, Matt Rogalsky

FILM 415*/3.0/F:Contemporary Theory: Special Topic This course will explore the relationship between images and language. Historically it was thought that language has priority over the image, but recent critical thinking has challenged that assumption. As images have become ubiquitous, efforts to understand how people receive language and images, process information and interpret culturally expressive work has changed accordingly. We will investigate the implications of these changes while studying and interpreting literary and visual artworks. Instructor: Gary Kibbins

FILM 425*/3.0/W: Advanced Film Criticism Research seminar that draws on students' previous work to enhance advanced writing and research in film criticism. Topics from theory, criticism, and history will be addressed to suit individual students' projects. Prerequisite: Fourth year standing, or permission from the instructor. Instructor: Frank Burke

FILM 445*/3.0/W: Narrative Film: Special Topic I This course will explore "sword-and-sandal" films of the 1950s and early 1960s, focusing both on schlock Italian products such as the Steve Reeves Hercules "Hercules" films that enjoyed surprising economic success and the more "serious" Hollywood epics of the same period, many of which were shot in Italy. Neither the Hollywood nor the Italian versions would have been possible without the strong interpenetration of Hollywood and Italian film, practically and economically, during the 1950s.

The focus will not be so much on the history of a genre as on the analysis of a significant moment in the postwar history of media and representation. The western world was, in the late 1950s, beginning to undergo the transformation in capitalism, media (with the emergence of television), and cultural signification that has now acquired the label "postmodernity." The sword-and-sandal epic in terms of both production modes and signification provides a great deal of insight into this transformation. In relation to the Italian films, we will also examine the "seriousness" of seemingly airhead cinema, exploring how mass entertainment, seemingly empty of serious intent or meaning, and intended only to reap profit can become, through its popularity and "timeliness," a bearer of major social meaning. Other issues to be discussed in relation to the sword and sandal film will be melodrama, spectacle vs. narrative, camp, and kitsch. Assignments will include group presentations, brief bi-weekly individual assignments on screenings and readings, a group Mystery Science Theatre 3000 overdub, and a 15-page final essay. Instructor: Frank Burke

FILM 446*/3.0/F: Narrative Film Special Topic II The topic of FILM 446 will be the love story in contemporary French cinema. Nowhere is French cinema more distinctive than in its portrayal of human desire and the range of its attendant emotions. This course will explore some of the films through which French cinema over the past ten years or so has offered a variety of perspectives on the experience of love--its pleasures and pains--in a time of social change and uncertain values. Instructor: Peter Baxter

FILM 450*/3.0/F: Production: Special Topic: The Business of Media Covers the major financial aspects of media production: budgeting, raising money - private and public, production management, distribution and marketing. Course also looks at how emerging technologies are rapidly changing how things are done, and how media producers will be working in the future. Instructor: TBA
 
 
 

FILM 500/ 6.0, 501*/3.0 Honours Thesis Open to students completing an honours concentration in Film Studies or Stage and Screen Studies. May be an essay or a film or video project. Apply for FILM 500 or 501*, but not both, to the Undergraduate Chair by May 1 of your third year. Prerequisites: an average of at least 75 per cent in Film Studies courses.

FILM 510/6.0, 511*/3.0, 512*/3.0 Directed Studies Open to students completing an honours concentration in film Studies or Stage and Screen Studies. Enables a student to pursue an area of study not covered in regularly offered courses. Applicants must obtain approval of the Undergraduate Coordinator and supervising instructor. Prerequisites: an average of at least 75 per cent in Film Studies courses.
 
 
 

For further information on preregistration, course timetable, marks and deadlines, see the University Registrar.

See the Faculty of Arts and Science Calendar for a full listing of courses, regulations and requirements.

Students with questions or problems regarding courses, registration or timetables should contact the Coordinator of Undergraduate Studies, at (613) 533-2178.