Mississippi State students now can earn a minor in film studies through a new and flexible university curriculum.
A collaborative, interdisciplinary effort of two academic colleges and the Judy and Bobby Shackouls Honors College, the undergraduate minor is available through the College of Arts and Sciences and the College of Architecture, Art and Design.
Housed in the English department, the defined program of study requires students to enroll in Introduction to Film and fulfill an additional 15 credit hours from electives such as Film Theory, Art and Film, Race and the Media, and Literature and Film. Production courses include Acting for the Camera, Directing, Video Art, and Screenwriting.
Students can work with faculty advisers to create specific, tailored departmental electives and/or special-topics courses focusing on film studies.
“We began conversations about the minor as we were finalizing film selections for the Gender Studies annual Feminist Film Festival in 2014,” said Andrea Spain, associate professor of English and adviser and chair of the interdisciplinary film studies committee.
“Impressed with the film expertise of Mississippi State’s faculty, we started the discussions on how to formalize film studies and design its core courses,” she said.
Spain explained that, “Students will learn to see how images make meaning, how the very subtle and deliberate choices of filmmakers and artists affect us, and how powerful working and thinking in images can be.”
She said the film studies courses will help students discover how film techniques transform stories told on various platforms, from video games, websites and social media to novels or films.
“The structure is intentionally adaptable, allowing students to choose from categories of classes that best relate to their interests and major field of study,” said Melanie Loehwing, associate professor in the Department of Communication, another department involved in the collaboration.
In addition to this, MSU students interested in filmmaking have the option to join a new student organization, “The Scene,” which teaches students about the filmmaking process.
For additional information on the minor in film studies or The Scene, contact Loehwing at 662-325-5805 or [email protected].
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 36 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.