In response to increasing interest and demand in courses related to film and media in Asia and its diaspora, the new minor allows students to focus on and pursue in depth studies of both historical and contemporary formations of Asian film and media.
The current BA in Cinema Studies introduces students to the history, theory, and aesthetics of film and the moving image. Though the existing curriculum is generally international in scope, there is no identifiable focus on the Asia-Pacific region and the Asian diaspora. The new program will complement the existing Cinema Studies BA major and minor.
There is no other school or department that currently offers a comparable program. By consolidating faculty resources and relevant course offerings in TSOA and NYU as a whole, the new minor will attract students from other schools and departments to gain exposure to cinema and media studies through a focused study of Asia and its diaspora. Cinema Studies majors may elect to focus on this area of studies as an informal concentration.
The program, an integral part of the Asian Film and Media Initiative involving teaching, learning, research and public outreach, will contribute to the consolidation and expansion of the community of NYU faculty and students interested in Asian film and media. The program faculty include full-time tenured and tenure-track faculty from TSOA, Steinhardt, and CAS, and more will join as the program evolves and grows.
Course requirements, sequencing, credits
Four courses including one introductory film course (Language of Film, Expressive Culture: Film or Intro to Film) and one core Asian Film and Media course are required, 16 credits in total. The introductory film course is the prerequisite to all other courses. The core course should be taken the first year the minor is declared.
Sample courses
Asian Film History and Historiography (core);
Asian Media and Popular Culture (core);
Indian Cinemas; Korean Cinema;
Asian-American Cinema;
Chinese Cinemas
Japanese Anime and New Media;
South Asian Media Cultures.