TO ALL STUDENTS INTERESTED IN A FILM STUDIES MAJOR:
Effective Fall 2021, if you are interested in Film Studies you should declare a major in the new B.A. in Applied Theatre, Film, and Television (ATFT), with your choice of a concentration in Film and Television Studies or Integrated Film and Television Studies/Production.
Important: Current students who are finishing Film Studies concentrations in English will complete those concentrations as they declared them. The Department of English is no longer accepting new majors in English with Film Studies Concentration.
The Department of English does welcome Film Studies Minors
Film Studies courses examine the following aspects of film:
- Aesthetics
- History
- Theory
- Genre (film noir, horror, biopics, musicals)
- Directors (ex. Alfred Hitchcock, Stanley Kubrick, Martin Scorsese, etc.)
- Special Topics (such as Women and Film and African Americans and Film)
Film studies courses examine films the way that Literature courses study literature, considering:
- How film uses a language of its own to create an experience for the spectator
- How to understand that experience in all its dimensions
- How film is influenced by culture, other arts, and the industries and personalities that produce it
Our track also offers a world film history sequence, a course on film and literature, and courses on decades and eras in American film history. Graduate students may take courses for graduate credit, as well as develop Master’s Theses on film-related topics.
Students who wish to pursue their interest in film outside of class are encouraged to participate in the Film Studies Club.
For more information, contact:
Dennis Bingham
Director of the Film Studies Program
dbingham@iupui.edu
CA 501V
317-274-9825
Film Studies Requirements:
English majors must take at least 15 hours of 300/400 level courses in the major. A minimum grade of C is required in each course in this concentration.
Gateway Course (3 credits)
- FILM-C 292: Introduction to Film Studies
Concentration Core (18 credits)
- FILM-C 391: Film Theory and Aesthetics (3 credits)
Culture and Film History Courses (6 credits) Choose two of the following:
- FILM-C 380: French Cinema
- FILM-C 390: The Film and Society: Topics
American Film Decades (Others are taught as variable C390 titles)
- FILM-C 361: Hollywood Studio Era 1930-1949
- FILM-C 362: Hollywood in the 1950s
- FILM-C 393: History of European and American Films I
- FILM-C 394: History of European and American Films II
Genres and Authorship Courses (6 credits) Choose from the following:
- FILM-C 350: Film Noir
- FILM-C 351: Musicals
- FILM-C 352: Biopics
- FILM-C 392: Genres: Variable Titles (may be repeated once with different topic)
- FILM-C 491: Authorship: Variable Titles (may be repeated once with different topic)
Film, Writing, and Literature Courses (3 credits) Choose from the following:
- ENG-W 260: Film Criticism
- ENG-W 302: Screenwriting
- FILM-C 493: Film Adaptations of Literature
English Experience (9 credits)
One 3-credit course each, at the 200 level or above, in linguistics (including ENG W310 Language and Study of Writing), literature, and writing or creative writing (excluding ENG W260 Film Criticism, ENG W302 Screenwriting, ENG W396 Writing Fellows Training Seminar, and ENG E398 Internship in English).
- Capstone (3 credits): Scroll to the bottom of page for list of options.
ENGLISH CAPSTONE COURSE OPTIONS (3 credits):
- ENG-E 398: Internships in English
- ENG-E 450: Capstone Seminar
- ENG-W 426: Writing Nonfiction: Popular and Professional Publication
- ENG-W 496: Writing Tutor Training Seminar
- ENG-L 440: Senior Seminar in English and American Literature
- ENG-L 433: Conversations with Shakespeare
- Concentration in Linguistics may also use ENG-Z 405: Topics in the Study of Language as a capstone option (recommended).
- Concentration in Literature: ENG-L 440 and ENG-L 433 (recommended).
- Concentration in Writing and Literacy: ENG-E 398, ENG-E 450, and ENG-W 426 (recommended options).
The Film Society at IUPUI
The Film Society at IUPUI provides camaraderie and scheduled group screenings followed by discussion. For more information, contact:
Dennis Bingham, Professor of English
Phone: 317-274-9825
Email: dbingham@iupui.edu
A number of careers are possible for a Film Studies major:
- Film editor
- Critic
- Scriptwriter
- Cinema/Theater manager
- Arts Administrator
- University professor
- Script supervisor
- Curator
- Film preservationist
- High School teacher