Spring Semester 2008

Introduction to Film
ENGL 3290-904

This course introduces students to the aesthetics of film. After learning the basic concepts of film form and considering the artistic possibilities of film techniques, students analyze specific films, both inside and outside of class, to sharpen their perception of conceptual skills. Although films are primarily analyzed as artworks, attention is paid to film production, including the concept of authorship. This writing-intensive course also surveys the most noteworthy periods and movements in film history. The text we will be using is Bordwell, Film Art: An Introduction (ISBN 0072484551). For more information, contact the instructor, Michael Briggs (Briggsm@etsu.edu).

Film Criticism
ENGL 4320-201

An important component of film studies is the vast scholarship detailing and analyzing the various approaches to film. Serious and specialized writings concerning newer critical methods including structuralism, Marxism, feminism, Freudianism, as well as narrower aims and purposes that focus on genre and auteur theory, all promote understanding of film.

This course seeks to increase for students the possibility of meaning in viewing or thinking about movies. Students progress from the simplest approaches to the most difficult. Works of professional writers enable students to form sounder judgments about films and write about them with greater clarity and skill in their own film criticism.  This course will be taught by Professor Mary Hurd (Hurd@mail.etsu.edu).

Topics in Film: "Fantasy and Myth in Film"
ENGL 4340-201

In this course, we will begin with some of the earliest fantasy films, including George Melies' Voyage Dans La Luna (1902) and Fritz Lang's Metropolis (1921), and move on into more contemporary films, such as Terry Gilliam's Adventures of Baron Munchausen, or The Fisher King and others. We will also view some foreign films, including Luis Bunuel's Belle du Jour, Wim Winders' Wings of Desire, and Guillermo del Toro's Pan's Labyrinth. For more information, contact Professor Mary Hurd (Hurd@mail.etsu.edu).

Topics in Film: "Japanese Literature in Film"
ENGL 4343-202

Japanese films from the 1950s and 1060s include fine works by directors such as Akira Kurosawa, Yasujiro Ozou, and Masaki Kobayashi. In this course, we will study and discuss some examples of films by these directors and others, with particular emphasis on the work of Kurosawa. We will screen films such as Seven Samurai, Ikiru, Tokyo Story, and Harakiri. We will try to understand these films not only as examples of great Japanese film making but also as works which fit into a context of world cinema. This course will be taught by Professor Ken Hall (khall@etsu.edu).