BA in Studies in Cinema & Media Culture

Studies in Cinema and Media Culture (SCMC) examines cinema by emphasizing its location within the intricate social, historical, and cultural matrix of audiovisual forms and practices. Core courses and electives are offered not only in the Department of Cultural Studies and Comparative Literature (CSCL), but also in a number of other contributing departments, including Asian languages and literatures; gender, women, and sexuality studies; art; and journalism. Although the major includes a production component, its principal focus is on cultural contexts, history, and theory.

Students in our major will:

  • Develop the ability to read the production and circulation of meaning in cinema, especially as it arises and circulates within the institutions and practices of mass culture.
  • Examine the history of cinema cultures.
  • Engage the cross-cultural and global dynamics of cinema production and reception.
  • Explore the theoretical models that have shaped thinking about the cinema and its relations to other media.