Film Studies Major

The interdisciplinary Film Studies major will help you develop the knowledge and skills to become an adept analyst of film.

You will develop a thorough understanding of the evolution of film, a familiarity with the filmmaking process, and an appreciation for the cultural, political, economic, and aesthetic forces that shape film production. Approaching film from several academic perspectives, you will develop skills in critical thinking, analysis, writing, and communication that will help you prepare for careers in media, entertainment, the arts, public relations, and other fields, or for graduate training in film production.

Majors take film-related courses in at least four separate disciplines and can take courses such as screenwriting, Hispanic film and literature, video production, contemporary art.

Required Course

Required course: 1 unit

ENG 254 Introduction to Film

Major Requirements

10 units are required. In addition to ENG 254, which is required of all Film Studies majors, students must take at least 4 units from Group A and at least 1 unit from Group B. No more than 3 units from Group C may be applied to the major.

Group A

Group A: courses with a primary focus on film (minimum of 4 units)

Students may take a maximum of 2 film-focused Independent Studies (490), Directed Readings (491), or Apprenticeships (495) courses to fulfill this requirement.

CMLT 300 3 Cinemas of the Middle East
CMLT 321 East Asian Film
ENG 100 6 Narratives in Film and Television (.5 unit)
ENG 319 Screenwriting
ENG 300 x Topics in Film (to be proposed)
FREN 300 1 French Language Film (PRE)
GERM 300 1 Landmarks Films of the German Language (PRE)
JOUR 300 5 Video Production
SOAN 365 Ethnographic and Documentary Film and Filmmaking
SPAN 190 5 Through the Spanish Lens: Contemporary Spanish Society and Culture Through Cinema

Group B

Group B: Courses with a significant focus on film or skills relevant to film (minimum of 1 unit)

ART 355 Photography I (PRE)
CMLT 100 1 Space and Place in Literature and Film
CMLT 200 1 Cosmopolitanism in Literature and Film
CMLT 499 C Refiguring the Divide: The Arab Jew in Literature and Film
ENG 480 Advanced Creative Writing (Screenwriting) (PRE)
FREN 300 4 Contemporary Franco-Arab Cultural Exchanges: Exploring the Literature and Film of French Expression from the Maghreb and Mashreq (PRE)
JOUR/WGS 300 2 Women and the Media
PHIL 190 6 Zombie 101
SOAN 117 Social Problems in The Wire
SPAN 300 10 Spanish Crime Fiction: Femmes Fatales, Murderers, and Other Outcasts (PRE)
SPAN 368 Special Topics in Hispanic Film and Literature (COR)
SPAN 370 The Child in Contemporary Latin American Literature and Film (PRE)
THEA 210 Beginning Acting

Group C

Group C: Cognate courses (maximum of 3 units)

ART 111 Survey of Art History
ART 112 Two-Dimensional Design
ART 345 Modern Art (PRE)
ART 347 Contemporary Art (PRE)
ART 353 Computer Imaging I (PRE)
ENG 150 Introduction to Literary Study
MUS 105 Appreciation of Music Literature
THEA 220 Movement (PRE)
THEA 369/ENG 318 Playwriting (PRE)
THEA 126 Introduction to Technical Theatre
THEA 380 Directing for the Stage (PRE)

Topic-dependent courses

Topic-dependent courses when the topic focuses on film. May count as Group A, B, or C, depending on the focus. Counting these courses in the major requires approval from the Film Studies Program Director.

CMLT 499 A The Myths of the “Oriental” Woman
ENG 484 Seminar in British and Postcolonial Literature
ENG 486 Seminar in American Literature
FREN 499 Seminar: Special Topics in French (PRE)
SPAN 499 Seminar: Special Topics in Spanish (PRE)
ENG / BWS 224 African American Images
ENG 226 American Images
ENG / BWS 268 Black Women’s Literary Traditions
ENG / BWS 369 Genre Studies in African American Literature
PHIL 310 Special Topics in Philosophy: Philosophy and Film

Additional:

Students must take courses in a minimum of 4 separate disciplines to complete the major (the “discipline” is denoted by the letters preceding the course number).
At least one course other than ENG 254 should cover non-American or minority American cinema.
A maximum of 3 transfer credits may be applied to the major (Transfer credits may include film production courses. Courses are available at other Ohio Five schools at no additional charge to OWU students; they are also available at the Columbus College of Art and Design.