Faculty Advisor: former Lecturer, Stanford University

Research Practicum Introduction

Are you a film lover? Do you like reading about film ratings and critiques? Have you ever written film reviews for fun? Are you curious about the history and development of the entertainment industry? Do you think about making your own films someday? 

This program takes students through an exciting journey of film from an advanced academic level. Students will be introduced to the history of film through the study of different genres and subgenres of film such as action film (spy and espionage film, martial arts film), comic film (black comedy, slapstick comedy), horror film, science fiction film (dystopian film, AI-tech film), animation, the Western, the musical, silent film, and the historical film. 

Students will explore topics related to film narrative, features of different genres, and techniques used in different genres. They will also learn film-related terminology, concepts, and the language of cinema, which will help students to think critically, familiarize themselves with key scholarship on topics in film, and articulate their interpretations and ideas about film within an academic framework. 

Through this program, students will learn how to analyze and write about film by using cinema-specific terminology and language. They will also learn how to appreciate film in ways that focus on techniques, genres, and socio-historical context. The program will also introduce students to academic writing and close-reading of filmic texts through the completion of a final research paper.

Practicum Outcome

Students will focus on individual topics and generate their own academic work products upon completion of the program. Students will also learn general and subject-specific research and academic writing methods used in universities and scholarly publications. At the end of the program, students will have the chance to submit their work for publication and win a letter of recommendation from their Faculty Advisor.

Possible Topics For Final Project:

• If you were to direct a film, which genre of film would you choose to direct? Why would you choose this genre? 

• What would future cinema look like? (Think about what contemporary cinema has to offer and the ways in which it could improve in the future with technological developments).

• What role does the “Western” play in the history of film? 

• Are films like Psycho and Frankenstein merely “horror” films?

• How does the genre of comedy provide a critique of social norms and institutions?

• Using two examples, discuss how the genre of sci-fi film has contributed to the critique of technology.

• Compare and contrast a film from the silent film genre, and a contemporary film taking into consideration technique and visual quality. 

• Choose two key genres of film and provide a comparative analysis of the two genres.

• Or other topics in this subject area that you are interested in, and that your professor approves after discussing it with you.

Program Detail

• Cohort Size: 3-5 students

• Workload: Around 4-5 hours per week (including class time and homework time)

• Target Students: 9-12th grade students interested in Film, Communication, Media Studies, New Media, Literature, Comparative Literature, and/or Social Sciences in general.

• Schedule: TBD. Meetings will take place for around one hour per week, with a weekly meeting day and time to be determined one week prior to the class start date.