Summer 2025 Undergraduate Courses

Sidney Gottlieb
Mondays & Wednesdays, 6:00-10:00pm
Room 674
CINE-GT 1205 / Class # 3912
4 points

This course will focus on representative films from all stages of Hitchcock’s career as a director, including his work in the silent era, his sextet of thrillers in the 1930s, his early films in Hollywood, and the films of his "major phase" in the 1950s and ‘60s, including his television work. I’ll try to balance new looks at some of his films that everyone has probably seen (e.g., The 39 Steps, Vertigo, Psycho) with what may be first looks at some of his films that have been overlooked or under-appreciated (e.g., The Pleasure Garden, I Confess, The Wrong Man). Recurrent topics of discussion will include Hitchcock’s visual style; analysis and presentation of human weakness, wickedness, and sexuality as well as his critical examination of social institutions and political issues; representations of women; and reflections on the act of watching and the art of cinema. We will also examine Hitchcock’s place in film history, discussing films he was influenced by and those he influenced, and his role in critical history.

Anna McCarthy
Mondays-Thursdays, 12:30-4:30pm
Room 670
CINE-GT 1202 / Class # 3913
4 points

Mike Leigh (b. 1943) is considered notable among British filmmakers. His working method is unique and highly collaborative. His directorial vision, remarkably consistent across genres and media, is grounded in a deep understanding of the dramatic potential of ordinary, everyday lives. His subjects range from famous historical figures to middle class individuals to people on the margins of society, each film inviting the viewer to speculate on the human condition. This course's deep dive into one director's oeuvre is an opportunity to explore the nuances of craft, collaboration, and authorship through close analysis and discussion.

Julian Cornell
Mondays-Thursdays, 12:30-4:30pm
Room 674
CINE-GT 1204 / Class # 3934
4 points

Walt Disney and Hayao Miyazaki are, arguably, the two best-known and widely acclaimed artists in the history of animated cinema.  Despite obvious differences in style, themes, politics and approach to the animated form, what unites the oeuvres of Disney and Miyazaki is their indelible influence on the aesthetics, narratives, and cultural significance of animated film and films for children. Founders of two of the most successful independent production houses in cinematic history – the Walt Disney entertainment conglomerate and Studio Ghibli, their films provide insight into the role of autonomous studios in both domestic and global contexts. While Disney’s company has produced innovative films of high aesthetic quality, stunning animation and hegemonic values, Studio Ghibli has managed to equal those lofty artistic standards while crafting complex tales that question the very foundations of the culture from which they emerge.  This course will examine the works of these two artists, producers and production houses in the light of auteur and animation scholarship to interrogate how their respective filmic productions both exemplify and problematize the issue of cinematic authorship and illustrate the cultural function of animation.  Films to be screened will include Snow White, Fantasia, Pinnochio, Alice in Wonderland, Aladdin, Encanto, My Neighbor Totoro, Kiki’s Delivery Service, Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away, The Wind Rises and The Boy and The Heron.

Da Ye Kim
Tuesdays & Thursdays, 12:30-4:30pm
Room 674
CINE-UT 232 / Class # 4311
4 points

This course aims to study the idea of the city through various audio-visual media, using Seoul as the main case study. Seoul, the capital of South Korea, has garnered international attention as both the site of economic and cultural “miracles” since the 1970s and a city marked by ongoing political and social conflicts. Going beyond viewing the city as a central location for popular media production, exhibition, distribution, and consumption, this course considers Seoul as a microcosm of South Korea’s post/modern and post-colonial history and politics. The course explores the city's reflexive and reflective relationship with diverse media, spanning from newspapers and silent cinema in the early 20th century to contemporary “new” media such as VR/AR/XR, K-pop music videos, YouTube media, social media content, and more. Furthermore, this course encourages students to see, analyze, and experience their own cities in new ways.

Andrea Avidad
Mondays & Wednesdays, 12:30-4:30pm
Room 670
CINE-UT 320 / Class # 4310
4 points

In this course, we examine the genre of horror film through the ear, as well as through analysis of image/sound relationships. We will look –and listen—to the aesthetics of horror films, analyzing techniques such as the exploitation of offscreen sound, acousmatic sound, and nonlinguistic sounds, music and silence in the fabric of the horror genre. We will track various modalities of cinematic listening associated with horror cinema, examining the manners in which this genre activates a specific intermodal sensorial experience for the spectator. We will ask: what differentiates uses of cinematic sound in horror from other filmic genres? How have filmmakers developed a cinematic sonic language in order to create affects of fear, jump scares, and the like? What does the genre of horror reveal about the phenomenology of sound? We will give critical attention to the temporalization of the image by sound, following the work of scholars such as Michel Chion. We will also scrutinize the spatial relations of the image, its composition, mise-en-scène, and setting, tracking the ways in which sound contributes or pushes against a cohesive or heterogeneous filmic body made up by image and sound.

CINE-UT 900 / Class # 2670      1-4 points variable

A student wishing to conduct independent research for credit must obtain approval from a full-time faculty member in the Department of Cinema Studies who will supervise an independent study for up to 4 credits. This semester-long study is a project of special interest to the student who, with the supervising faculty member, agrees on a course of study and requirements. The proposed topic for an Independent Study project should not duplicate topics taught in departmental courses. This is an opportunity to develop or work on a thesis project.

To register, you must submit an Independent Study Form. Once the information from your form is verified by your faculty supervisor, you will receive a permission code.

CINE-UT 950 / Class # 2631      1-4 points variable

A student wishing to pursue an internship must obtain the internship and submit the Learning Contract before receiving a permission code. All internship grades will be pass/fail.