Faculty of Arts

Film Studies Courses

FS101 Film and the Literary Text 0.5

A study of selected films (in English or with English subtitles) in relation to literature, including drama, and related forms of expression. Course topics will range from adaptations of texts to the use of captions, from problems of narrative perspective to the creation of the audience.

3 lecture/tutorial hours, 2 film-viewing hours

FS102 Film and the Photographic Image 0.5

An introductory study of selected films (in English or with English subtitles) in relation to their cultural contexts and to other forms of representation, particularly photography.

3 lecture/tutorial hours, 2 film-viewing hours

Exclusion: FS100.

FS240 Film History 1895-1939 0.5

A study of themes and techniques of selected films (in English or with English subtitles) from the silent and early sound period, in relation to their cultural, social and political contexts.†

3 lecture/tutorial hours, 2 film-viewing hours

FS242 Film History 1939-1969 0.5

A study of themes, techniques and influences of Italian "neo-realist", French "new wave" and other films (in English or with English subtitles) by major directors, in relation to their cultural, social and political contexts.†

3 lecture/tutorial hours, 2 film-viewing hours

FS243 The Film–Director as Artist 0.5

A study of the development of the themes and techniques in the work (in English or with English subtitles) of at least one major film director.†

3 lecture/tutorial hours, 2 film-viewing hours

FS244 Canadian Film 0.5

A study of Canadian film, from 1895 to the present, based on the screening and analysis of selected films (in English or with English subtitles).†

3 lecture/tutorial hours, 2 film-viewing hours

FS245 Documentary Film 0.5

A study of the documentary film as art, as propaganda, as social document, as instrument for social change (in English or with English subtitles).†

3 lecture/tutorial hours, 2 film-viewing hours

FS246 German Film 0.5

A study of major works (with English subtitles) of the German cinema, from the silent period to the present. (Cross-listed as GM246.)†

3 lecture/tutorial hours, 2 film-viewing hours

FS247 Film History since 1969 0.5

A study of significant films (in English or with English subtitles) by major directors.

Exclusion: FS342.

3 lecture/tutorial hours, 2 film-viewing hours

FS248 British Film 0.5

A study of major works of the British cinema, from the early sound period to the present.†

3 lecture/tutorial hours, 2 film-viewing hours

FS249 Hollywood Detective Film 0.5

A study of the Hollywood detective film genre from the silent era to today. A selection of Hollywood detective films will be screened and analysed in relation to their socio-historical context. Course topics will address the definition of the genre as well as questions of gender, class, race, law and crime.

FS251 Film Comedy 0.5

A study of film comedies and comedy genres (in English or with English subtitles) in the silent and sound eras, with special attention to American and European cinemas.

Exclusion: FS351.

3 lecture/tutorial hours, 2 film-viewing hours

FS252 Film Noir 0.5

A study of film noir of the 1940s-50s, with attention also to its antecedents, and to more recent neo-noir variations.

Exclusion: FS352.

3 lecture/tutorial hours, 2 film-viewing hours

FS253 The Gangster 0.5

A study of the development of themes and techniques in the gangster genre since 1930, with special attention to its cultural, social and political contexts.

Exclusion: FS353.

3 lecture/tutorial hours, 2 film-viewing hours

FS300 Themes in European Cinema 0.5

(Cross-listed as LL300.)

FS331 Script Reading and Writing 0.5

A study of film scripts and the techniques used by contemporary screenwriters.

Prerequisite: 1.0 credit from 100 and/or 200 level FS courses, or permission of the department.

FS335 Aesthetic Practices of Spanish and Latin American Filmmakers 0.5

(Cross-listed as SP335.)

FS341 Film Theory and Criticism 0.5

Historical development of theoretical and critical writing on the film.†

Prerequisite: 1.0 credit from 100 and/or 200 level FS courses, or permission of the department.

3 lecture/tutorial hours, 2 film-viewing hours

FS343 Special Topics in Film Studies 0.5

Prerequisite: 1.0 credit from 100 and/or 200 level FS courses, or permission of the department.

Irregular course

3 lecture/tutorial hours, 2 film-viewing hours

FS344 American Film since 1969 0.5

A study of popular American film, with attention to its social, political and other cultural contexts.

Prerequisite: 1.0 credit from 100 and/or 200 level FS courses, or permission of the department.

3 lecture/tutorial hours, 2 film-viewing hours

FS347 Film Theory and Genre 0.5

A historical and theoretical study of film genre, based on a survey of various genres, with emphasis on the American cinema before 1969.†

Prerequisite: 1.0 credit from 100 and/or 200 level FS courses, or permission of the department.

Exclusion: FS241.

3 lecture/tutorial hours, 2 film-viewing hours

FS349 Film Theory and Melodrama 0.5

A study of film theory and criticism in relation to melodrama as both a film genre and a cultural mode.

Prerequisite: 1.0 credit from 100 and/or 200 level FS courses, or permission of the department.

FS350 Film Musical/Musical Film 0.5

A study of the film musical as a genre of contesting themes, such as utopianism, technology, romance, domesticity and the family, gender, sexuality, Hollywoodism, nationalism and race. Related topics addressing these themes might include film adaptations of stage musicals, music videos, the influence of music and musical forms on film narrative.

3 lecture/tutorial hours, 2 film-viewing hours

Prerequisite: 1.0 credit from 100 and/or 200 level FS courses, or permission of the department.

FS360 Postcolonialism and Film 0.5

A study of the intersections between postcolonial/multicultural theories and film representations of race, class and gender. Attention may be given to such genres as the adventure narrative, documentary, animation, fantasy and science fiction.

Prerequisite: 1.0 credit from 100 and/or 200 level FS courses, or permission of the department.

Exclusion: FS343f.

3 lecture/tutorial hours, 2 film-viewing hours

FS361 Reading Gothic Film 0.5

A study of gothic/horror films as part of a genre or cultural narrative that both supports and subverts various political, economic, social and sexual hierarchies. Texts may be approached from a number of critical perspectives, including psychoanalytic, feminist and cultural theories.

Prerequisite: 1.0 credit from 100 and/or 200 level FS courses, or permission of the department.

Exclusion: FS343g.

3 lecture/tutorial hours, 2 film-viewing hours

FS362 Gender and Film 0.5

A study of Hollywood and European cinemas in light of feminist film theory, with emphasis on constructions of spectatorship, genres and femininities/masculinities.

Prerequisite: 1.0 credit from 100 and/or 200 level FS courses, or permission of the department.

3 lecture/tutorial hours, 2 film-viewing hours