Film and Media Studies (ENFS)
Film and media have become major cultural forms in the 21st century and their study is now an important part of a modern humanities education. The Film/Media Studies major teaches students to critically engage, understand, and produce moving images. Courses challenge students to think historically, theoretically, and analytically about a wide range of audiovisual media including cinema, radio, television, and new media. The Film/Media Studies major also encourages students to apply their knowledge by producing creative work in media production courses. Film/Media Studies is partnered with Lewisburg’s Campus Theatre for classroom screenings and also uses the Marts Film/Media Production Studio for production classes.
Courses in the Film/Media Studies major provide disciplinary depth through: 1. Skills in writing. Students majoring in Film/Media Studies perform significant written analysis of film and media texts. 2. Skills in formal presentation. Several courses in Film/Media Studies require dynamic and persuasive oral presentations. These courses cultivate presentation skills through practicing presentational strategies and integrating multimedia content to support student ideas and arguments. 3. Information literacy. Film/Media majors learn how to research and evaluate primary and secondary sources through written and visual work plus in-class discussion.
Students may take the English or elective course and one Group One course in an adviser-approved, off-campus study program. Further course transfers to the major from off-campus programs require specific adviser approval.
Students taking the major are encouraged to start with ENFS 130 Introduction to Film/Media Studies. All declared ENFS majors are required to attend at least three Tuesday screenings at the Campus Theatre per semester. All majors must also serve as a crew member on a senior ENFS major’s film project in their sophomore or junior year.
Beyond ENFS 130, the major requires a minimum of nine additional courses as described below:
Core classes:
| ENFS 130 | Introduction to Film/Media Studies | 1 |
| One 199-level or above ENLS course | 1 | |
| One 200-level or above course from the English department | 1 | |
| One course from inside or outside the English department, approved by the student's adviser | 1 | |
| ENFS 242 | Film and Media History | 1 |
| ENFS 337 | Seminar in Film Theory | 1 |
Students choose two courses from each group below:
Group 1:
| ENFS 234 | National Cinemas | 1 |
| ENFS 235 | Gender and Film | 1 |
| ENFS 238 | Special Topics in Film Studies | 1 |
| ENFS 244 | Race and Film | 1 |
| ENFS 245 | Televisual Culture | 1 |
| ENFS 246 | Documentary & Avant-Garde Cinema | 1 |
| ENFS 247 | Film/Media Genres and Auteurs | 1 |
| ENFS 338 | Seminar in Film and Digital Media Studies | 1 |
Group 2:
| ENCW 205 | Screenwriting Workshop | 1 |
| ENFS 253 | Introduction to Film/Media Production | 1 |
| ENFS 254 | Film Exhibition and Programming | 1 |
| ENFS 256 | Writing about Film/Media | 1 |
| ENFS 335 | Special Topics in Film/Media Production | 1 |
| ENFS 339 | Film/Video Production | 1 |
An approved Culminating Experience.1
Seniors majoring in Film/Media Studies must successfully complete ONE of the following options for fulfilling the Culminating Experience requirement:
- successfully defend an honors thesis in film/media studies;
- complete a one-semester ENFS independent study project in either semester of the senior year. This project may be critical or creative;
- create a three to five-minute film according to parameters available from their adviser, on the program website, or from the program director before the specified deadline;
- write an original work of film criticism, analysis, theory, or history in the form of a six to 10-page essay on one film that screened at the Campus Theatre to be published on the Bucknell Film Review’s webpage. The selected film may not be a screening for a course in which the student is enrolled. Further guidelines are available from the student’s adviser, the program director, or on the program website.
Film and Media have become major cultural forms in the 21st century and their study is now an important part of a modern humanities education. The Film/Media Studies minor teaches students to critically engage with, understand, and produce moving images. Courses challenge students to think historically, theoretically, and analytically about a wide range of audiovisual media including cinema, radio, television, and new media. The Film/Media Studies minor also encourages students to apply their knowledge by producing creative work in media production courses. Film/Media Studies is partnered with the Campus Theatre for classroom screenings and also uses the Marts Film/Media Production Studio for production classes.
The minor in Film/Media Studies requires five courses:
| ENFS 130 | Introduction to Film/Media Studies | 1 |
| Three 200-level courses in Film/Media Studies with at least one course from Group 1 and Group 2 below. | 3 | |
| One 300-level seminar in Film/Media Studies from Group 3 below. | 1 | |
Group 1:
| ENFS 234 | National Cinemas | 1 |
| ENFS 235 | Gender and Film | 1 |
| ENFS 238 | Special Topics in Film Studies | 1 |
| ENFS 245 | Televisual Culture | 1 |
| ENFS 246 | Documentary & Avant-Garde Cinema | 1 |
| ENFS 247 | Film/Media Genres and Auteurs | 1 |
Group 2:
| ENFS 253 | Introduction to Film/Media Production | 1 |
| ENCW 205 | Screenwriting Workshop | 1 |
| ENFS 254 | Film Exhibition and Programming | 1 |
| ENFS 256 | Writing about Film/Media | 1 |
Students may also propose a relevant course from outside the Film/Media Studies Program to fulfill the 200-level course requirement. Students should consult with the minor’s coordinator for course approvals.
Group 3:
| ENFS 335 | Special Topics in Film/Media Production | 1 |
| ENFS 337 | Seminar in Film Theory | 1 |
| ENFS 338 | Seminar in Film and Digital Media Studies | 1 |
| ENFS 339 | Film/Video Production | 1 |
Program Learning Goals and Outcomes
Numbers in parentheses reflect related Educational Goals.
Students will learn:
1. About the surprising array of divergences and convergences in the vast international history of film, broadcast, and digital media.
Outcome: They will be able to locate film/media artifacts across historical and international contexts. (1, 9)
2. To analyze film, broadcast, and digital media through a vocabulary of key formal techniques, patterns, and styles in film, broadcast, and digital media and to analyze those elements within various theoretical frameworks.
Outcome: They will analyze formal and theoretical elements in film, broadcast, and digital media. (1, 9)
3. The technical skills required to produce original and thoughtful work and how to develop an artistic vision that applies an understanding of the aesthetics, theory, and history of moving image and other media practices.
Outcome: They will produce creative media informed by the study of that practice. (1, 2)
4. How media have both encoded and resisted culturally dominant ideas and forms in production, distribution, and reception.
Outcome: They will recognize the dominant and alternative cultural codes in film, broadcast, and digital media. (3, 5, 9)
5. To effectively research film and media through scholarly and archival sources and then elegantly present arguments, new ideas, and analysis in written and/or multimedia essays.
Outcome: They will be able to conduct original research and persuasively present their findings. (6, 7, 8)
Courses
ENFS 130. Introduction to Film/Media Studies. 1 Credit.
Offered Either Fall or Spring; Lecture hours:3
Introduction to film grammar, history, genres, and movements using theoretical text and primary source films. Emphasis on critical thinking skills through video essay projects.
ENFS 1NT. Film/Media Studies Non-traditional Study. .25-1 Credits.
Offered Fall, Spring, Summer; Lecture hours:Varies,Other:Varies
Non-traditional study in Film/Media Studies. Prerequisite: permission of the instructor.
ENFS 234. National Cinemas. 1 Credit.
Offered Either Fall or Spring; Lecture hours:3; Repeatable
Concentration on the history and style of a particular national cinema. Weekly screenings.
ENFS 235. Gender and Film. 1 Credit.
Offered Either Fall or Spring; Lecture hours:3; Repeatable
Current debates about gender and American film, from WW II to the present. Diverse critical approaches for interpreting film within the broad context of gender studies.
ENFS 238. Special Topics in Film Studies. 1 Credit.
Offered Either Fall or Spring; Lecture hours:3; Repeatable
Examination of a specialized topic in film studies. Weekly screenings.
ENFS 242. Film and Media History. 1 Credit.
Offered Either Fall or Spring; Lecture hours:3
This course examines major industrial, technical, and cultural milestones in the history of the cinema, radio, television, and new media industries. Weekly screenings.
ENFS 244. Race and Film. 1 Credit.
Offered Either Fall or Spring; Lecture hours:3,Other:3
This course explores the representation of race in American cinema. Special attention is paid to Race Films, independent all-black productions made from 1918-1948, and to the issue of Migrating to the Movies.
ENFS 245. Televisual Culture. 1 Credit.
Offered Either Fall or Spring; Lecture hours:3
This course focuses on non-cinematic moving image culture including the television industry, video art, and new media technologies. The course examines the subject from a variety of theoretical viewpoints—industrial practices, stylistic modes, and audience reception.
ENFS 246. Documentary & Avant-Garde Cinema. 1 Credit.
Offered Either Fall or Spring; Lecture hours:3,Other:3
Examines the history and style of non-fiction and experimental cinema in order to explore the importance of recording the world in the most direct and the most abstract fashion. Weekly screenings.
ENFS 247. Film/Media Genres and Auteurs. 1 Credit.
Offered Either Fall or Spring; Lecture hours:3,Other:3; Repeatable
Examination of a particular film/media genre (film noir, melodrama, Hong Kong action movies, Westerns, etc.) or a close examination of a particular director, cinematographer, screenwriter, or producer’s oeuvre. Weekly screenings.
ENFS 248. Intermediality: Italy, Film, and the Arts. 1 Credit.
Offered Either Fall or Spring; Lecture hours:3,Other:3
This IP course will focus on intermediality, film, and Italy. It seeks to examine the relationships of cinema with the other arts, in particular the arts of Italy. Crosslisted as ITAL 248 and UNIV 248.
ENFS 253. Introduction to Film/Media Production. 1 Credit.
Offered Either Fall or Spring; Lecture hours:3
An introductory level, studio-based course covering the basics of moving image practice, from pre-visualization to principles and techniques of cinematography, editing, lighting and sound. Students produce individual projects, developing both technical skills and personal vision. In-class screenings further students’ awareness of cinema’s expressive potential. Prerequisite: ENFS 130.
ENFS 254. Film Exhibition and Programming. 1 Credit.
Offered Either Fall or Spring; Lecture hours:3
This course provides a historical and practical perspective on various strategies for independent and alternative film programming and exhibition. Coursework culminates in the production of the Bucknell University Short Film Festival, held annually at the Campus Theatre. Class participants curate the programs and organize all aspects of the festival.
ENFS 256. Writing about Film/Media. 1 Credit.
Offered Either Fall or Spring; Lecture hours:3
This course examines various approaches to writing film criticism, scholarly analysis, and industry-oriented copywriting. Students will practice these approaches by developing their writing and argumentation skills, prose style, and critical thinking abilities using films as a subject.
ENFS 2NT. Film/Media Studies Non-traditional Study. .25-1 Credits.
Offered Fall, Spring, Summer; Lecture hours:Varies,Other:3; Repeatable
Non-traditional study in Film/Media Studies. Prerequisite: permission of the instructor.
ENFS 319. Individual Projects in Film/Media Studies. .5-1 Credits.
Offered Either Fall or Spring; Lecture hours:Varies,Other:Varies; Repeatable
Individual special projects supervised by instructor; honors thesis. Prerequisite: permission of the instructor.
ENFS 335. Special Topics in Film/Media Production. 1 Credit.
Offered Either Fall or Spring; Lecture hours:3; Repeatable
This advanced seminar focuses on specific production (lighting, cinematography) and post-production (sound design, color grading) areas to provide students with an in-depth knowledge of specialized production skills. Prerequisite: ENFS 238 or ENFS 253 or ENFS 254.
ENFS 336. Seminar in Film Genres/Auteurs. 1 Credit.
Offered Either Fall or Spring; Lecture hours:3; Repeatable
Examination of a particular genre (film noir, Hong Kong action movies, Westerns, etc.), director, cinematographer, screenwriter, or producer. Weekly screenings. Prerequisite: permission of the instructor.
ENFS 337. Seminar in Film Theory. 1 Credit.
Offered Either Fall or Spring; Lecture hours:3; Repeatable
Survey of approaches to film analysis and critique, ranging from realist/formalist debates to psychoanalytic, feminist, and semiotics approaches. Weekly screenings. Prerequisites: ENFS 130 and permission of the instructor.
ENFS 338. Seminar in Film and Digital Media Studies. 1 Credit.
Offered Either Fall or Spring; Lecture hours:3; Repeatable
A seminar in film and digital media studies. Topics may include the history of digital media, their relation to other media forms, the relations between critical reflection and media practice/production, and other relevant topics. Prerequisite: ENFS 130 or permission of the instructor. Crosslisted as HUMN 338.
ENFS 339. Film/Video Production. 1 Credit.
Offered Either Fall or Spring; Lecture hours:3; Repeatable
This course applies film theory concepts to advanced video/audio production through a range of hands-on production assignments. Prerequisites: ENFS 253 and permission of the instructor.
ENFS 340. Film/Media Production Practicum. .5-1 Credits.
Offered Either Fall or Spring; Lecture hours:Varies,Other:Varies; Repeatable
The Film/Media Production Practicum provides students with advanced and specialized study in a particular area of Film/Media production. Possible practicum topics might include advanced sound design, color grading, visual effects works, or specialized cinematography techniques.
ENFS 379. Senior Thesis. 1 Credit.
Offered Spring Semester Only; Lecture hours:Varies,Other:3; Repeatable
The writing of a scholarly or creative departmental senior thesis. Students must confer with and submit a proposal to an adviser prior to registering for the thesis. Prerequisite: permission of the instructor.
ENFS 380. Honors Thesis. 1 Credit.
Offered Either Fall or Spring; Lecture hours:Varies,Other:3; Repeatable
The writing of a scholarly or creative honors thesis. Students must confer with and submit a proposal to a departmental adviser and to the University Honors Council for approval. Prerequisites: senior status and permission of the instructor.
ENFS 3NT. Film/Media Studies Non-traditional Study. .25-1 Credits.
Offered Fall, Spring, Summer; Lecture hours:Varies,Other:Varies
Non-traditional study in Film/Media Studies. Prerequisite: permission of the instructor.