ENGL 616A (01) - Studies in Film/Genre

Studies in Film/Genre

Durham Liberal Arts::English
Credits: 4.0
Class Size: 20 
Term:  Spring 2025 - Full Term (01/21/2025 - 05/05/2025)
CRN:  56411
Grade Mode:  Letter Grading
Advanced, focused study of the narrative, dramatic, and poetic practices of cinema, within one of four possible subject areas: A) Genre; B) Authorship; C) Culture and Ideology; D) Narrative and Style. Precise issues and methods may vary, ranging from general and specific considerations of how a given subject area involves film theory, criticism, and history, to its use in diverse analyses of selected national cinemas, periods, movements, and filmmakers. May be repeated for credit barring duplication of topic. Barring duplication of material taken for credit in CMN 650, course may be repeated for credit. Detailed course descriptions available in the English department office.
Registration Approval Required. Contact Instructor or Academic Department for permission then register through Webcat.
Equivalent(s):  AMST 605, ENGL 616
Attributes:  Writing Intensive Course
Instructors:  Delia Konzett

Times & Locations

Start Date End Date Days Time Location
1/21/2025 5/5/2025 TR 3:40pm - 5:00pm HS G35

Additional Course Details:

This course will explore the important concept of genre in film, analyzing its various styles and conventions. We will discuss genre both as a critical term and as a system of classification that defines and characterizes groups of related narrative and cinematic form. Strict genre films (Westerns, war films, comedy, melodrama, horror films, musicals, gangster films, sci-fi films, etc.) as well as sub-genre and crossover films that blend several genres will be discussed. Topics include genre criticism, audience expectations, spectatorship, the tension between genre and auteurism, and genre and its relation to popular culture. Films include The Shining (Kubrick, 1980), Django Unchained (Tarantino, 2012), Eagle vs Sharks (Taika Waititi, 2007), John Wick (Chad Stahelski, 2014), Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels (Ritchie, 1998), Marriage Story (Baumbach, 2019), and Dune: Part One (Villeneuve, 2021). This course requires use of Canvas. No prerequisites.