Film & Media Studies

This issue-driven course discusses both the theories and practices regarding social networking and converged/integrated communication via social media today. This course also examines interrelationships among media, communication, politics, economy, technology, business, social institutions, and individuals, as well as a variety of issues concerning the role and influence of social media and social networking in the society as a whole.

The International Internship course develops vital business skills employers are actively seeking in job candidates. This course is comprised of two parts: an internship, and a hybrid academic seminar. Students are placed in an internship within a sector related to their professional ambitions. The hybrid academic seminar, conducted both online and in-person, analyzes and evaluates the workplace culture and the daily working environment students experience. The course is divided into eight career readiness competency modules as set out by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), which guide the course’s learning objectives. During the academic seminar, students reflect weekly on their internship experience within the context of their host culture by comparing and contrasting their experiences with their global internship placement with that of their home culture. Students reflect on their experiences in their internship, the role they have played in the evolution of their experience in their internship placement, and the experiences of their peers in their internship placements. Students develop a greater awareness of their strengths relative to the career readiness competencies, the subtleties and complexities of integrating into a cross-cultural work environment, and how to build and maintain a career search portfolio.

This course offers a study of Spanish history and culture through various films from the post-war era to the present. The selected films and directors are representative of the different periods of recent Spanish history and explore the country's main political, economic, social, and cultural aspects. Topics include: marginal visions of Spain; patriarchy and religion; films of the democratic transition; postmodern Spain; magical realism; Spanish cinema in a global world.

This course explores developments in the Hollywood film industry from the 1960s to the present. Students examine some of the key issues of this period, including the focus on modernist strategies, revisionist approaches, allusionism, and the new generation of Hollywood film school "auteurs." The course also examines the interconnection between entertainment industries, and the emergence and significance of "high concept" as a production and marketing strategy.

This course studies examples of successful imagined worlds (Zelda: Breath of the Wild), powerful storytelling (The Last of Us), literary games (Kentucky Route Zero), indie games (Braid), micro-Indies (Problem Attic), and classic adventure games (Monkey Island). Students explore the possibilities of play, world-building, narrative, character-design, game mechanics, and game dynamics. Technical understanding of the medium provides students with an array of opportunities for writing and imagining video games: composing narratives and shooting-scripts, creating avatars, and developing fictional worlds. The course introduces students to game development software, though it is not designed as a coding course. It is ideal for students looking beyond the surface of video games, wanting to engage with thoughtful critique of an emerging industry. The course reflects on the social implications of game design, taking into account discourses around gender, race, and sexuality.

The course examines the relationship between literature and cinema, focusing on narration, intertextuality, dialogism, and adaptation. Students analyze a selection of authors and their works alongside film adaptations, exploring the creative and critical interplay between text and screen. To be best prepared for the material, it is recommended to have completed a course in Nineteenth-Century British Fiction.