CINE 265 Film History 1-The Silent Era to Early Sound

This is the first course in a three-part survey of film history (aesthetic, economic, technological, and cultural). This course explores the evolution of film language from the silent era to WWII, and the various cinematic and artistic movements, as well as the economic context that led to the development of the U.S. Studio System and Classical Hollywood Style. Students will be introduced to the basic elements of film language and tasked with using this vocabulary to analyze cinematic texts. The primary goals of the survey are twofold: to help students recognize and identify particular historical approaches to understanding film; to help students develop a sufficient cinematic vocabulary to identify and analyze cinematic style in and across film texts and within and between film movements. Weekly campus screenings are required, and clips of films are used in class for close analysis and are an integral part of the course.

Credits

4

Prerequisite

Recommended: placement into WR 115 or higher

Course Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to:
1. Develop and use a cinematic vocabulary to analyze individual film texts
2. Use a cinematic vocabulary to identify and analyze film style across texts and within and between film movements
3. Recognize and explain key figures and events of/in international film history: e.g., the significance of national cinemas and modes of production
4. Situate cinematic texts within their historic, cultural, economic, and technological contexts
5. Describe key approaches to film history: historic, aesthetic, technological, and economic analysis
6. Use an inquiry process to develop questions pertinent to the study and analysis of film history