The Observer, April 11, 2008
Volume XL, Issue 24
Film minor introduced at Case
Humanities majors may rejoice at the announcement of the new film minor to be offered soon at CWRU. Spearheaded by Robert Spadoni, assistant professor in the English department, the process of creating the minor has taken several months, but negotiations and discussions with Undergraduate Studies are finally coming to a close. Hopefully, "all the required approvals will be in place for fall 2008," said Spadoni.
The film minor will mainly be run through the English department, but other film courses from various disciplines will be counted toward the 15 credit hours needed to complete the minor. All students will be required to take ENGL 367, Introduction to Film, but the remainder of the credits may be satisfied by a mix of film classes in English and other departments.
"The bulk of these are 'Topics in Film' courses, and these topics cover a broad range of subjects, genres, national cinemas, and periods," said Spadoni. "Also, up to six credits can be electives, which are film courses that are not cross listed with English. This part of the minor is designed to accommodate a film course not currently offered and that a department might offer some time in the future."
Students, however, must petition the English department to make sure classes in other departments will count toward the minor.
Thus, the minor is rather flexible, allowing students to experience a broad range of courses that deal with all aspects of film studies.
Although the film minor creation is a relatively new effort, Spadoni commented that students in his film classes have shown a great interest in the medium for quite some time.
"Students have been expressing interest in film studies to me since I arrived at Case in 2003," he said.
In order to satisfy these students, the college and English department have previously set forth various options. Currently, students may major in film if they propose a dean's approved second major. Students may also concentrate in film within the English major.
Biology major, Matthew Bates, recently had a proposal for a second major in film approved. Instead of completing the concentration in film through the English department, Bates worked with Spadoni to create his own major.
"One of the reasons I wanted to have an official major is to help bring attention to film at this school and to get people to recognize it as an important subject of study," he said.
But his creation tackles more aspects of film than the typical film major.
"I have included a component in film production, which we do not really have available at this university in great depth. I took screenwriting courses here, as well as photography, but I also got to spend a semester at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts to study hands-on filmmaking, writing, and production," said Bates.
In addition, Bates has worked with filmmakers and students at CIA to gain experience in film production.
"So, my major is focused on both film studies and production, with an emphasis on writing and filmmaking, but with a foundation built on careful study of film form and aesthetics through the film studies department."
While the option for a self-created major in film will still exist, "the minor represents another option for students wishing to formalize their film education at Case," said Spadoni.
"I think it makes the film studies program more accessible to students, giving them the option of pursuing the subject in an official way, and I think it will help more students learn about the department," said Bates. "I think a lot of people don't even know about the options in studying film here, and this will hopefully make them more aware."
Another film studies second major, Samantha Flinn, commented that the new minor is a huge boon for students interested in film because they "don't have to jump through so many hoops" developing a dean's approved major.
"Case needs to emphasize these programs and academic areas if they want to compete with other prestigious colleges and universities, and we are finally semi-compatible with our UAA companions," said Flinn. "A film major will put us on the map nationally, but a minor is a huge stepping-stone to reaching that goal."
With organizations such as the Film Club and the Case Film Initiative on campus, it's no wonder that film is such a popular topic on campus. Flinn began the Case Film Initiative this year in hopes of encouraging "Case students to explore the area of film studies on an academic level, [introducing] the campus to the Cleveland community's film culture and augment[ing] that interest with film events and education," said Flinn.
"I think film is becoming a popular and important scholarly topic, and having the minor (and potentially, a major) will broaden the academic breadth of the university," said Bates.
"It's a great medium and art form and an exciting means to explore aesthetic issues, inspire intellectual debate, and ask questions about the world," said Spadoni. "Hopefully students will find the minor an attractive option as it becomes part of the film culture on campus."
But the long-term goal of the organization is to encourage the development of a full-fledged film studies department and major in the university.
"It's important that we keep in mind that adding an entirely new major/department of study is a process, and a minor is the first step in doing so," said Flinn.
