Global Studies Minor

In order to declare your major/minor, you MUST attend the fall declaration event. The date will be announced early fall term.


The Department of Screen Arts & Cultures now has a minor available to students interested in the study of film and electronically based visual media as national, regional, and global phenomena. This course of study is intended to aid students in obtaining culturally specific as well as cross-cultural understanding of the global impact of moving image media. The minor contributes to an understanding of the unique qualities of textual expression derived from specific cultural and historical contexts as well as to effects of more globalized developments in media technology, narrative and stylistic forms. Students will have the opportunity to study specific cultural modes of media production and reception including, but not limited to the familiar U.S. cultural/industrial model. The coursework in this minor provides students with the opportunity to reflect on the expansive geographical scope and cultural diversity of film and moving image electronic media (television, single-camera video, digital).

Students Who May Be Interested In This Minor +

There are many students in LSA, especially in the humanities and social sciences, who may be interested in this minor. Students in the following majors may find this minor particularly compatible with their concentration study:

  • Those in comparative literature who are drawn to the study of film or electronic media
  • Those in art history who wish to study moving image forms in a coherent plan of study emphasizing the international dimension of those forms
  • Those in foreign language and literature departments with a particular interest in film and electronic media
  • Those in social science fields who are interested in international film and electronic moving image media as the subject of humanistic inquiry.

Requirements

The minor consists of a minimum of 16 hours of credit. At least 16 credits and five courses are to be chosen from the following three categories as stated below:

REQUIRED COURSES= Seven credit hours from the following:

SAC 236 The Art of the Film

(4 credits) - SAC 236 is offered every fall and winter semester;

Plus one of the following 3 credit courses: SAC 352: Origins to the French New Wave or 353: Post New Wave.

ELECTIVES, CATEGORY A : MOVING IMAGE MEDIA IN NATIONAL & REGIONAL CONTEXTS = Two courses totaling at least six hours are to be chosen from the following approved electives, with no more than one course centered on U.S. media or in a single, non-U.S. national cinema

Minor Requirements: www.lsa.umich.edu/sac/minors.html

U.S. Media Electives

ALC 351 - Race and American Cinema (3)

SAC 355: Television History (3)

SAC 365: Race and Ethnicity in Contemporary U.S. Television (3)

SAC 366: Topics in Film, Television and Popular Culture (approved topics - please

consult with your advisor in SAC) (3)

SAC 367: Introduction to Digital Media Studies

SAC 368: Topics in Digital Media Studies

SAC 451/AC490: American Film Genres

SAC 460: Technology and the Moving Image

Non U.S. Media Electives

German 172: History of German Cinema (3)

German 330: German Cinema (3)

German 331: Contemporary German Film (3)

SAC 232/AAS232: Survey of African-American Cinema (3)

SAC 245/ALC, Div. 402: Anime (4)

SAC/Polish 314 Polish Cinema

SAC 440/AAS440: African Cinema (3)

SAC 441: National Screens ( May be repeated for a total of six credits, rotating topics ) (3)

SAC 455: Topics in Film Studies (approved topics only) (3)

Slavic 312/RC 312: Central European Cinema (3)

Slavic 313/RC 313: Russian Cinema (3)

SP420/AC420: Latin American & Latino/a Film Studies (4)

Other Courses may be added in this category of offerings. Please consult with your SAC advisor.

ELECTIVES, CATEGORY B: COMPARATIVE MEDIA STUDIES = One course of at least three hours credit to be chosen from among the following approved electives:

ALC 440, Div. 323: National Cinema of Asia (3)

SAC 361/WS361: Women and Film (3)

SAC 366: Topics in Film, Television and Popular Culture (approved topics - please

consult with your advisor in SAC) (3)

SAC 380/AC380: Studies in Transnational Media (3)

SAC 420: Documentary Film (3)

SAC 422: Topics in Avant-Garde Film (3)

SAC 442/AAS442: Third World Cinema (3)

SAC 455: Topics in Film Studies (approved topics) (3)

SAC 470/AAS 470: Cultural Cinema (3)

SAC 485: The Global Screen (3)

PHIL 440 - Philosophy of Film (3)

Courses may be added to the SAC curriculum as an elective in this category. Please check with your advisor in Screen Arts & Cultures.

The minor in Global Media Studies is not open to students with a major in Screen Arts & Cultures. Independent studies (SAC 499) may not be used toward the minor. Students may not use more than one course to satisfy the requirements of both a major and a minor. Students are prohibited in the Category A elective of this minor from taking more than one course grounded in any single national cinema. Students should take at least two of their elective courses at the 300 level or higher.

Students interested in the academic minor in Global Media Studies should develop a specific plan for its completion in consultation with one of Screen Arts & Cultures' designated advisors. Faculty advising appointments are scheduled online.