School for Studies in Art and Culture
(Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences)
Film Studies (FILM) Courses
Introduction to Film Studies
Introduction to the study of film that emphasizes problems and methods of film analysis through the study of various types of films. Topics relating to the filmmaker, film genre, and film history are covered through a focus on questions of style and technique.
Lecture and screening three hours a week, discussion one hour a week.
Seminar in Film Studies
A seminar in the study of film that emphasizes problems and methods of film analysis through the study of a variety of types of films.
Prerequisite(s): enrolment in a Film Studies major.
Lecture and screening three hours a week, discussion one hour a week.
Film Theory and Analysis I
Introduction to major film theories and analytical practices. The objective of this course is to familiarize students with the main theories and methods of analysis that have been developed for the study of film.
Prerequisite(s): FILM 1101 or FILM 1120 and second-year standing; or permission of the Discipline.
Lecture and screening three hours a week, seminar one hour a week.
Film Theory and Analysis II
Building on the skills acquired in FILM 2001, this course considers specific debates in film theory, and provides students with advanced methods for film analysis.
Prerequisite(s): FILM 1101 or FILM 1120, and FILM 2001, and second-year standing; or permission of the Discipline.
Lecture and screening three hours a week, seminar one hour a week.
The Film Industry
The organization of the production, distribution and exhibition practices of various film industries. May include an examination of the relationship between a national film industry and its television industry.
Lecture and screening three hours a week, lecture one hour a week.
The Documentary
An examination of the work of individual filmmakers, of documentary styles and of organizations and institutions in the context of the history of documentary film making, including documentaries made for television. Non-fiction films other than documentaries may be considered.
Precludes additional credit for FILM 2105 (no longer offered), JOUR 2105 (no longer offered).
Prerequisite(s): FILM 1101 or FILM 1120, or second-year standing, or permission of the Discipline.
Lecture and screening three hours a week, lecture one hour a week.
National Cinema
This course examines the film production of specific countries in order to determine the themes, the styles, and the character of a national cinema.
Lecture and screening three hours a week, lecture one hour a week.
Japanese Cinema
Various practices and movements in the history of Japanese cinema, ranging from the silent era to the current digital age.
Lecture and screening three hours a week, lecture one hour a week.
Scandinavian Cinema
The development of cinema culture and film production in the Scandinavian countries, from the golden age of Scandinavian silent cinema to contemporary Nordic noir.
Lecture and screening three hours a week, lecture one hour a week.
Indigenous Cinema and Media
A critical examination of films and other audiovisual media created by Indigenous artists, such as independent films, genre films, documentaries, web series, installations, and video games.
Lecture and screening three hours a week, lecture one hour a week.
Canadian Cinema
A critical examination of Canadian cinema and media and how it relates to other aspects of Canadian culture.
Prerequisite(s): FILM 1101 or FILM 1120 or second-year standing; or permission of the Discipline.
Lecture and screening three hours a week, seminar one hour a week.
Authorship in Film and Media
A detailed study of the themes, the characteristic style, development and influence of one or more directors.
Lecture and screening three hours a week, lecture one hour a week.
Film Genres
This course examines questions of generic form, drawing examples from world cinema.
Lecture and screening three hours a week, lecture one hour a week.
History of World Cinema I
Historical survey of world cinema primarily from 1895 to 1945, examining the forms, structures and stylistic conventions of various periods and nations.
Precludes additional credit for FILM 2608 and ENGL 2608 (no longer offered).
Prerequisite(s): FILM 1101 or FILM 1120, and second-year standing, or permission of the discipline.
Lecture and screening three hours a week, lecture one hour a week.
History of World Cinema II
Historical survey of world cinema primarily since 1945, examining the forms, structures and stylistic conventions of various periods and nations.
Precludes additional credit for FILM 2608 and ENGL 2608 (no longer offered).
Prerequisite(s): FILM 2606 or ENGL 2600 or permission of the discipline.
Lecture and screening three hours a week, lecture one hour a week.
Film and Media Practice I
Introduction to the basic principles of film and media practice. Emphasis may change from year to year, focusing alternately on narrative, experimental, animation or documentary techniques. This course is intended for Film Studies majors only.
Prerequisite(s): FILM 1101 or FILM 1120.
Lecture/workshops four hours a week.
The Video Game
Introduction to the video game as a popular media form, an emerging aesthetic, and a social and cultural practice. Topics include: history of video games; game form; game industry; narrative; art and design; interactivity; theories of play.
Lecture and screening three hours a week, lecture one hour a week.
Questions of Documentary Practice
Theoretical implications of documentary film and documentary television practice.
Prerequisite(s): 1.0 credit in FILM at the 2000-level and third-year standing, or permission of the Discipline.
Lecture and screening three hours a week, lecture one hour a week.
Topics in American Cinema
Studies in various aspects of American cinema with emphasis on historical and critical issues.
Lecture and screening three hours a week, lecture one hour a week.
Topics in Canadian Cinema
Studies in various aspects of Canadian cinema. Topics may vary from year to year.
Lecture and screening three hours a week, lecture one hour a week.
Topics in Cinema, Gender, and Sexuality
A study of selected topics in gender and cinema with emphasis on critical and historical questions.
Lecture and screening three hours a week, lecture one hour a week.
Film Music
The use of music in film, from the silent era to the present day. Techniques, styles and theory of film music through the examination of selected scenes.
Topics in Film Theory
Building on the skills acquired in FILM 2000, this course provides a critical study of advanced film theories. Topics may include aesthetics, ideological criticism, film and philosophy, and theories of technology and historiography.
Prerequisite(s): FILM 2001 and FILM 2002 and third-year standing; or permission of the Discipline.
Lecture and screening three hours a week, lecture one hour a week.
Contemporary Québec Cinema
Critical reflection on notable filmmakers, formal and thematic trends, dominant social and political issues, and diverse cultural perspectives in Québec cinema during the 21stcentury, including the film movement known as the Québec New Wave (Renouveau du cinéma québécois). French language ability not required.
Lecture and screening three hours a week, lecture one hour a week.
Topics in Film History
Studies of aspects of the history of world cinema. Topics will vary from year to year and may include the examination of film movements, styles and genres, and/or comparative study of national, regional and/or world-wide trends.
Lecture and screening three hours a week, lecture one hour a week.
African Cinema
Major figures and movements in African cinema around such categories as the colonial, the anti-colonial, the postcolonial, the diasporic, the continental, race, Afro-futurism, and world cinema, interrogating in the process the very category of “African cinema”.
Prerequisite(s): 1.0 credit in FILM and third year standing or permission of instructor.
Lecture and screening three hours a week, lecture one hour a week.
Topics in Animation, Video, and Experimental Film
A study of selected topics in animation, video or experimental film.
Lecture and screening three hours a week, lecture one hour a week.
Film/Video Archival or Curatorial Practice
Consideration of topics in film/video archival or curatorial practice, including questions related to cultural policy, exhibition, conservation, and interrelationship of media. Students are expected to bear all travel and other costs arising from required visits to local facilities.
Precludes additional credit for FILM 4800 (no longer offered).
Prerequisite(s): FILM 1101 or FILM 1120, 1.0 credit in FILM at the 2000 level, and third-year standing, or permission of the Discipline.
Lecture and screening three hours a week, lecture one hour a week.
Film and Media Practice II
Practical and conceptual approaches to film studies from the point of view of film and media practice. Emphasis may change from year to year, focusing alternately on narrative, experimental, animation or documentary techniques.
Prerequisite(s): FILM 2001 and FILM 2801.
Lecture/workshops four hours a week.
Cinema and Technology
The technological development of cinema. Topics may include advances in sound and colour processes, digital effects, exhibition technologies and new media.
Lecture and screening three hours a week, lecture one hour a week.
Analyzing Digital Media
History, aesthetics, and theories of digital media and culture. Key concepts in digital media studies, including: digital cinema, interactive documentaries, viral videos, web series, emerging immersive platforms.
Lecture and screening three hours a week, lecture one hour a week.
Sound in Film and Media
Questions related to sound in film and media such as: how is sound used to create narratives and emotions? How does sound affect our experience of actual and fictional worlds?.
Lecture and screening three hours a week, lecture one hour a week.
Topics in Film Studies
Selected topics and issues not ordinarily treated in the third-year course program.
Lecture and screening three hours a week, lecture one hour a week.
Screenwriting Workshop
An intermediate workshop involving regular assignments in writing for film.
Also listed as ENGL 3902.
Prerequisite(s): a grade of B+ or higher in one of: ENGL 2901, ENGL 2903, ENGL 2915; or departmental permission.
Workshop three hours a week.
Research and Critical Methodologies
Study of various methodologies for critical, theoretical and historical research in film studies.
Prerequisite(s): FILM 2002, 1.0 credit in FILM at the 3000-level, and fourth-year standing, or permission of the Discipline.
Lecture and screening three hours a week, lecture two hours a week.
Topics in Moving Image Culture
Selected aspects of the audio-visual cultures of the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
Seminar three hours a week.
Selected Topics in National Cinemas
A study of a selected topic in national cinema.
Lecture and screening three hours a week, seminar two hours a week.
Film Festivals and World Cinema
Theoretical and critical study of the film festival as a phenomenon shaping our understanding of film culture, institutions, history and forms. Issues examined may include festivals as sites of cultural legitimation; as spectacle; their political economy; curation/programming; case studies of film festivals around the world.
Lecture and screening three hours a week, seminar two hours a week.
Topics in Film and Philosophy
Selected topics in philosophical approaches to the study of film, and an examination of the relations between film theory and philosophical aesthetics.
Also offered at the graduate level, with different requirements, as FILM 5109, for which additional credit is precluded.
Lecture and screening three hours a week, seminar two hours a week.
Selected Topics in Film Authorship
A study of questions of authorship in the cinema, concentrating on one or more filmmakers.
Lecture and screening three hours a week, seminar two hours a week.
Selected Topics in Film Theory
A study of a selected topic in film theory.
Lecture and screening three hours a week, seminar two hours a week.
Practicum in Film and Film Studies
Practical experience through working on specific projects under the supervision of staff at a museum, gallery, archive, or production company in the Ottawa area. A maximum of 0.5 credit Film Studies practica courses may be offered in fulfilment of Film Studies requirements. Graded SAT/UNS.
Prerequisite(s): fourth-year Honours standing in Film Studies, a CGPA of 9.00 or higher in Film Studies, and permission of the Discipline.
Special Topic
Selected topics in film studies not ordinarily available in the regular course program. The choice of topic or topics will vary at least every two years and will be announced well in advance of the registration period.
Screening three hours a week, seminar two hours a week.
Independent Study
For students who wish to study a specific topic. Proposed projects must be approved by the Program Committee. Written request outlining the project must be submitted by the first day of the term. An essay is the usual assignment.
Prerequisite(s): fourth-year Honours standing in Film Studies and a CGPA of 10.00 or higher in Film Studies.
Unscheduled.
Note: Not all courses listed are offered in a given year. For an up-to-date statement of course offerings for the current session and to determine the term of offering, consult the class schedule at central.carleton.ca.
Summer session: some of the courses listed in this Calendar are offered during the summer. Hours and scheduling for summer session courses will differ significantly from those reported in the fall/winter Calendar. To determine the scheduling and hours for summer session classes, consult the class schedule at central.carleton.ca