Welcome to the University College! Thanks for your interest in this course, a rigorous exploration throughout the cinematic landscape. I guarantee that by the end of my course you will never watch movies in the same way again - which serves as a warning, perhaps, that if you like the way you watch movies now, perhaps this may not be the course for you. (That said, trust me when I say that change can be very good.)

Students who have taken this course tend to like movies a lot and I have had my share of students who have already taken many film courses and/or know everything about movies. I wish to assure you, however, that this course is not designed only for those people; in fact, you will get even more from this class if you know very little about cinema and are simply itching for more. By its very nature, film studies is wonderfully interdisciplinary, so fear not if your primary interests seem to lie far from the cinematic.

This syllabus is exactly what I handed out on the first day last year for my UC version of this course. The version for Fall 2009 will be somewhat similar, but the one caveat I will offer you is that the list of actual movies we will be watching will surely be different. I have never programmed the same list of films twice and, if I repeat films from last year, nearly all of them will appear in a different order. This list should give you an idea, however, of the range of films we'll be watching throughout the semester. (I should note in passing that, unlike the other UC courses, this one has an additional block time for weekly screenings, which your programming assistant will lead. As you develop your schedule, be aware that these screenings are mandatory but lead to very rich results).

My contact information can be found on the syllabus. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or concerns beforehand and I'll be happy to answer them. I look forward to meeting you in the fall.

Sincerely,
Jeffrey Middents R.
Assistant Professor of Literature