Senior Seminar in Film Studies · Film (Sch Of The Arts)
I really enjoyed this course and think that Professor Insdorf is a really great and supportive instructor. She is very honest in her feedback and genuinely wants her students to do well and write the best thesis they can.
very specific class but really enjoyed the pacing of assignments with the thesis being due months after the semester ended, so you have time to really work on your research and feel good about it instead of frantically writing a 25 page paper in the middle of finals. Really interesting readings as well and Peña is so helpful
I learned new skills in film analysis and how to write a better thesis.
Professor Pena is the best; he's so flexible on your senior thesis topic and is willing to work with you on developing it. He's truly amazing.
In the first half of the semester, we learned how to closely analyze a film by doing several weeks of close analysis of The Unbearable Lightness of Being. The second half of the semester focused on our thesis through group discussion and analysis of former successful thesis projects.
The class overall was instructive on how to build our own thesis arguments for the final thesis assignment. But through the close reading of the film "The Unbearable Lightness of Being" we were able to learn how to deconstruct a film scene by scene while tracing its themes throughout.
This class is a really great opportunity for undergraduate film majors to round out their experience in the major. I really liked the atmosphere of the class and everyone was very supportive of one another, especially Insdorf.
It is a great course for studying film, but is very difficult in terms of grading.
While a thesis isn't an easy thing to do, I think it's a great way to really explore your interest. 1 Columbia University: Arts & Sciences Fall 2021 Course: FILMUN3900_001_2021_3-SENIORSEMINARINFILMSTUDIES : FILMUN3900_001_2021_3 - SENIOR SEMINAR IN FILM STUDIES Instructor: Annette Insdorf
This seminar is designed to help graduating film majors prepare their senior essays. The first part of the course is rooted in close analysis, using "The Unbearable Lightness of Being" as the shared text: Philip Kaufman’s film will be analyzed from a variety of perspectives, complemented by readings from key texts (on Courseworks). In the second half of the course, students make presentations based on their proposed senior essays. These oral reports can include screenings of selected sequences from the films being analyzed.