The Film Studies Minor

The Film Studies Minor comprises 15 credit hours of required courses and 3 credit hours of electives, for a total of 18 hours. Please note that some courses have prerequisites. The requirements are described in detail in the UNC Catalog , and the Film Studies Program has developed a recommendation for completing the program within four years.

The minor in film studies is designed to provide students with an understanding of film as a distinct art form with its own unique history, language, mechanics, and principles of production and reception. The emphasis in this minor is on film reception, as opposed to training in film production. This area of inquiry includes film analysis, film criticism, consideration of the social implications of film, with some attention also to various theories of film reception.

Although many forms of film are considered in this program of study, Western narrative film will receive the greatest emphasis. Students will learn to "read" film and interpret it through an examination of its individual elements as well as by discussing how these parts fit together as a whole. Moreover, students are encouraged through this program of study better to understand the connections between cinema and the general importance of visual representation in contemporary culture. The minor in film studies is an interdisciplinary program, which means that it includes perspectives from a variety of disciplines, consideration of film in various periods of the history of cinema, as well as films produced in various cultures.

 

Requirements: 18 credits total

Required Minor Credits - 15 hours

1. The following four courses are required of all Film Minor students (12)

  • FILM 120: Introduction to Film
  • FILM 310: Film Theory
  • FILM 320: Special Topics in Film Studies
  • FILM 330: Studies in a Genre or Director

2. Students must choose one of the following courses (3)

  • FILM 210: Film History to 1945
  • FILM 211: Film History from 1945

Required Elective Credits - 3 hours

3. Students may choose one course from the following electives (3)

  • THE 225: Theater in Film
  • JMC 390: Impact of Mass Communication on Society
  • FL 400: Traditions in International Film
  • ENG 495: Advanced Cultural Studies
  • FILM 210 or FILM 211 (or any additional variable title course in FILM beyond the required courses listed above)

NOTES:

1. FILM 310: Film Theory has the following prerequisites: FILM 120: Introduction to Film and at least three other credits from courses with a FILM prefix.

2. FILM 320 and FILM 330 can be repeated for an additional 6 hours of elective credit, provided the topics vary.

3. Students may take both FILM 210 and FILM 211, provided that only one course counts toward required credit and the other other counts toward elective credit.

4. ENG 495: Advanced Cultural Studies may be taken as credit toward the minor upon approval by the program director.

5. Any FILM course not taken for required credit may be taken as elective credit.

6. The Film Studies Director may approve other variable title courses as FILM Minor elective credits, provided they exhibit a significant focus on film studies. Courses that sometimes receive approval as Film Minor electives inclcude but are not limited to: AFS 395: Aspects of African American Experience; HIST 430: Topics in American History; HON 200: Honors Connections Seminar II; and JMC 408: Special Topics in Communications.