Courses - Spring 2027
CINE
Cinema and Media Studies
CINE245
Film Form and Culture
Cross-listed with: ENGL245.
Credit only granted for: ENGL245, CINE245 or FILM245.
Formerly: FILM245.
Introduction to film as art form and how films create meaning. Basic film terminology; fundamental principles of film form, film narrative, and film history. Examination of film technique and style over past one hundred years. Social and economic functions of film within broader institutional, economic, and cultural contexts.
CINE280
Cross-listed with: CMLT280.
Credit only granted for: CINE280, FILM298D or CMLT280.
Formerly: FILM298D.
Comparative study of a variety of film traditions from around the world, including cinema from Hollywood, Europe, Asia and developing countries, with a stress on different cultural contexts for film-making and viewing.
CINE282
Cross-listed with: AMST213.
Credit only granted for: AMST213, HONR219F, or CINE282.
Formerly: HONR219F.
We will examine the complex, changing, and ever-present representations of heroes and villains in American film. Beginning with a foundational understanding of how heroes and, conversely, villains have been defined through classic Hollywood film, we will explore how these definitions have shifted throughout the 20th and 21st century in various narrative genres, including westerns, war films, film noir, fantasy, science fiction, and, of course, superhero movies. In particular, we will be focusing on how the hero and villain maintain or disrupt specific cultural ideologies concerning race/ethnicity, gender, sexuality, and ability. This course will examine how these various ideologies have evolved throughout the 20th and 21st century, impacting the ways in which heroes and villains are both represented in American film and perceived by diverse audiences. Finally, we will examine our own complicated and sometimes troubling identification with these heroes, even when they might stand in stark contrast to our cultural values and identities.
CINE298B
Special Topics in International Film Studies; Bollywood, Muslims, and Urdu
Credits:
3
Grad Meth:
Reg, P-F
Cross-listed with SLLC287. Credit only granted for SLLC287 or CINE298B
Muslims and Urdu feature prominently in the Hindi cinema of Bollywood, which is centered in the cosmopolitan, coastal city of Mumbai, India. Urdu is Bollywood s preferred language of love, duty, and sacrifice, butit is also closely associated with India's minority Muslim community--the world s largest--and with the conventions of a feudal past. This course introduces students to scholarly methods used to understand how films have represented the nation and its minorities, paying close attention to visual and sonic aesthetics. Upon completion, students will have mastered basic terms and vocabulary of cinematic analysis, studied key concepts from Indian and South Asian Studies needed to contextualize thefilms culturally and historically, and applied concepts from CulturalStudies to critically analyze representations of identity, power, and media.
Muslims and Urdu feature prominently in the Hindi cinema of Bollywood, which is centered in the cosmopolitan, coastal city of Mumbai, India. Urdu is Bollywood s preferred language of love, duty, and sacrifice, butit is also closely associated with India's minority Muslim community--the world s largest--and with the conventions of a feudal past. This course introduces students to scholarly methods used to understand how films have represented the nation and its minorities, paying close attention to visual and sonic aesthetics. Upon completion, students will have mastered basic terms and vocabulary of cinematic analysis, studied key concepts from Indian and South Asian Studies needed to contextualize thefilms culturally and historically, and applied concepts from CulturalStudies to critically analyze representations of identity, power, and media.
CINE302
Cinema History II: The Sound Era
Credits:
3
Grad Meth:
Reg, P-F, Aud
Prerequisite: ENGL245, FILM245, or CINE245.
Restriction: Permission of ARHU-Cinema and Media Studies Program.
Introduction to the international history of cinema from sound around 1930 to the present.
Priority given to majors in Cinema and Media Studies.
CINE310
Introduction to Filmmaking 1
Credits:
3
Grad Meth:
Reg, P-F, Aud
Restriction: Permission of the Cinema and Media Studies program.
Credit only granted for: CINE319M or CINE310.
Formerly: CINE319M.
This practice-based course offers an introduction to the foundational skills, techniques, and principles of filmmaking. Prior film or video production experience is not necessary.
Priority given to Cinema and Media Studies majors.
CINE319A
Special Topics in Documentary, Animation, Experimental Cinema, and Other Visual Media; David Bowie, Film, and Audio-Visual Media
Credits:
3
Grad Meth:
Reg, P-F, Aud
Prerequisite: ENGL245, FILM245,CINE245, FILM283, CINE283 or SLLC283; or permission of instructor. Also offered as ENGL329F. Credit only granted for CINE319A,FILM319A or ENGL329F.
CINE319I
Special Topics in Documentary, Animation, Experimental Cinema, and Other Visual Media; Digital Storyboarding
Credits:
3
Grad Meth:
Reg, P-F, Aud
Students will learn how to break down a scene into actions, build a beatboard, learn basic principles of frame composition, and formulate animage-system to support the film's theme and motifs. They will create storyboards and turn them into video boards. Part of the work will be done on existing written material, and part on materials written by the students. At the end of the course, the participants will be able to storyboard their scenes. Knowledge of drawing and sketching is not a requirement.
Prerequisite: Permission of instructor. Cross-listed with IMDM498J. Credit will be only granted for CINE319I or IMDM498J.
Prerequisite: Permission of instructor. Cross-listed with IMDM498J. Credit will be only granted for CINE319I or IMDM498J.
CINE319P
Special Topics in Documentary, Animation, Experimental Cinema, and Other Visual Media; Sound Design
Credits:
3
Grad Meth:
Reg, P-F, Aud
Prerequisite: THET116 and TDPS201; or permission of ARHU-School of Theatre, Dance & Performance Studies department. Restriction: Sophomore standing or higher. Cross-listed with THET380. Credit only granted for THET380 or CINE319P. Students must pay a $25 lab fee.
CINE329E
Special Topics in National/International Cinemas; Soviet Film: Soviet Cinema and Culture after Stalin
Credits:
3
Grad Meth:
Reg, P-F, Aud
Cross-listed with RUSS398E. Credit only granted for RUSS398F or CINE329E
Provides a survey of post-Stalin Soviet cinema and culture. Examines the complexities of Soviet culture and everyday life, exploring the role of art and culture in an ever-shifting Soviet socialist system, and the place of the individual within that system.
Provides a survey of post-Stalin Soviet cinema and culture. Examines the complexities of Soviet culture and everyday life, exploring the role of art and culture in an ever-shifting Soviet socialist system, and the place of the individual within that system.
CINE329N
Special Topics in National/International Cinemas; Latin American Cinema
Credits:
3
Grad Meth:
Reg, P-F, Aud
Explores the contemporary history of Latin American cinema and the connections between politics and memory from the 1960s to the present and considers the significance of the Cuban Revolution in shaping political filmmaking across Latin America as well as common themes in different national contexts such as revolutions, dictatorship, human rights movements, democratization, neoliberalism, gender roles, and urban and racial inequalities.
CINE329Z
Special Topics in National/International Cinemas; Migration Cinema
Credits:
3
Grad Meth:
Reg, P-F, Aud
Focuses on how cinematic explorations about lived experiences of migrants have illuminated human experiences shaped by domestic and international crossings and the complexities of labor, family migration, and diasporic worlds. At the same time, cinema about migrancy and migration has offered critical perspectives about colonialism, war, and exile, post-Cold War political constellations and post-9/11 borders, hyphenated identities, and neoliberalism.
CINE335
Transnational Chinese Cinema
Cross-listed with: ARTH391.
Credit only granted for: ARTH391 or CINE335.
Chinese cinema has made a big impact on contemporary world film culture. This course will introduce students to the films directed by some of the most representative filmmakers working in different geopolitical locations (mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong) and the Chinese diaspora. The films of these directors, in a spectrum of genres, themes, and styles, have inspired global scholarship, not only in visual culture and cinema, but also in the study of women's issues, gender and ethnic studies, as well as the fields of adaptation and intermedia studies. Students will explore these films in their socio-historical and artistic contexts, considering the influences and innovations that have shaped them and analyzing their reception by audiences and critics. After reading about the films they view, and participating in class discussions, students will be ready to complete their analytical written assignments, for which they will critically examine the films by applying key concepts such as gender, sexuality, race, gaze, style, representation, power, diaspora, etc.
CINE369C
Special Topics in Film Theories; Images of Revolt: Strike, Riot, Uprising
Credits:
3
Grad Meth:
Reg, P-F, Aud
Explores the relationship between images and politics by focusing on representations of three distinct forms of collective action (strike, riot, uprising) across various genres, geographic locations, and historical periods.
CINE369F
Special Topics in Film Theories; Queer Fandom Studies
Credits:
3
Grad Meth:
Reg, P-F, Aud
CINE369K
Special Topics in Film Theories; Who Gets Final Cut: Director's Cuts, Studio Cuts, and Editions Both Special and Otherwise
Credits:
3
Grad Meth:
Reg, P-F, Aud
Prerequisite: ENGL245, FILM245,CINE245, FILM283, CINE283 or SLLC283; or permission of instructor. Also offered as ENGL329K. Credit only granted for CINE369K,FILM369K or ENGL329K.
CINE376
Writing the Feature Film
Credits:
3
Grad Meth:
Reg, P-F
Prerequisite: ENGL275, ARHU275, ARHU375 or THET340; or permission of instructor.
Cross-listed with: ARHU376.
Credit only granted for: ARHU376 or CINE376.
Examines the creative process of developing and writing a feature-length screenplay. Students will experience a collaborative workshop environment, researching stories, pitching feature film ideas, creating a logline, developing a detailed beat sheet and, ultimately, writing a complete first draft of the screenplay.
CINE388
Experiential Learning: Cinema and Media Studies
Credits:
1 - 3
Grad Meth:
Reg, P-F
CINE419E
Special Topics in Documentary, Animation, Experimental Cinema, and Other Media; Digital Storytelling with Archives
Credits:
3
Grad Meth:
Reg, P-F
Cross-listed with MITH498E. Credit only granted for CINE419E or MITH498E.
Explores digital storytelling through the creative reuse of archival media. Students begin by crafting an online media autobiography reflecting on how media shapes identity and memory. Building from this, they create a final project that reimagines archival materials in new contexts. The course combines discussion, screenings, and labs emphasizing nonlinear editing and animated storytelling techniques. Students gain hands-on experience researching, digitizing, and editing 16mm film, VHS, LPs, cassettes, and other media in the MITH Memory Lab. Workshops introduce tools such as Adobe Premiere, After Effects, Descript, and Otter.ai for editing and transcript-based narration. Fieldtrips to local archives and guest speakers highlight diverse approaches to historical and archival storytelling.
Explores digital storytelling through the creative reuse of archival media. Students begin by crafting an online media autobiography reflecting on how media shapes identity and memory. Building from this, they create a final project that reimagines archival materials in new contexts. The course combines discussion, screenings, and labs emphasizing nonlinear editing and animated storytelling techniques. Students gain hands-on experience researching, digitizing, and editing 16mm film, VHS, LPs, cassettes, and other media in the MITH Memory Lab. Workshops introduce tools such as Adobe Premiere, After Effects, Descript, and Otter.ai for editing and transcript-based narration. Fieldtrips to local archives and guest speakers highlight diverse approaches to historical and archival storytelling.
CINE429O
Special Topics in National/International Cinemas; Making Modern China Through Media
Credits:
3
Grad Meth:
Reg, P-F, Aud
Cross-listed with CHIN418O. Credit only granted for CHIN418O or CINE429O.
How have media shaped the making of modern China? This course traces the history of the People s Republic through transformations in media, from posters, photography, radio, film, and television to video games, digital platforms, surveillance technologies, and AI. Moving from the socialist period through the reform era to the present, students will explore how media have transformed everyday life, political participation, labor, memory, and identity, shaping how people see the world and imagine what it means to be modern.
How have media shaped the making of modern China? This course traces the history of the People s Republic through transformations in media, from posters, photography, radio, film, and television to video games, digital platforms, surveillance technologies, and AI. Moving from the socialist period through the reform era to the present, students will explore how media have transformed everyday life, political participation, labor, memory, and identity, shaping how people see the world and imagine what it means to be modern.
CINE459C
Special Topics in Genres/Auteurs/Cinema Movements; Horror, Science Fiction, and Cinema
Credits:
3
Grad Meth:
Reg, P-F, Aud
CINE469Y
Special Topics in Film Theories II; Art, Cinema, Law, Money
Credits:
3
Grad Meth:
Reg, P-F, Aud
Examines the manners in which law and money constrained and directed the creation, circulation, distribution, and exhibition of art and cinema. Themes to be explored may include: cinematic representations of artists, bankers, and lawyers; how artists (such as Picasso and Zhang Daqian) achieved financial success and critical acclaim through courtingof dealers, critics, collectors, and curators; art crimes (forgery, theft, looting, money laundering); how science fiction films were marketed in response to financial pressures; trials in which artists, artworks, and films acted as protagonists; censorship and self-censorship of art and cinema; art as investment and the roles of private banking services in the global art market.
CINE499
Directed Study in Cinema and Media Studies
Credits:
1 - 3
Grad Meth:
Reg, P-F, Aud
Flagship Institution of the University System of Maryland
University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
/
Phone:
301.405.1000
Copyright
© 2026 University of Maryland
/
Privacy /
Web Accessibility
Contact us
with comments, questions and feedback
/