About the Class

Fall 2023 | Wednesdays 3:30 to 6:30pm | Van Pelt #626 (Kislak Center)

ARTH 5933 | CIMS 5933 | COMML 5940 | ENGL 5933 | GSWS 5933

Shannon Mattern | scmatter@sas.upenn.edu 
schedule a half-hour on-campus meeting | schedule a Zoom meeting
(I unfortunately don’t have a functional office on campus, so I’m typically there only on my teaching and meeting-intensive days. I’m also happy to meet you by appointment in Center City; please email me regarding off-campus meeting options.)

Modified Course Description for Cinema + Media Studies Methods

This proseminar will introduce a range of theoretical frameworks and methodological approaches (and some debates about them) informing the somewhat sprawling interdisciplinary field of Cinema and Media Studies. It aims to equip students with a diverse—though not comprehensive—toolbox with which to begin conducting research in this field; an historical framework for understanding current theories and methods in context; and a space for reflecting on how theories, methods, ideologies, and epistemologies inform one another – as well as how to choose appropriate theories and methods for various research projects. Students in this class will also engage scholars participating in the Cinema and Media Studies colloquium series in practical discussions about their theoretical and methodological choices. The course’s assignments will provide students with opportunities to explore a set of theories and methods  in some depth through a variety of lenses that might include pedagogy, the conference presentation, grant applications, the written essay, or an essay in an alternative format, such as the graphic or video essay. Throughout, we will aim to develop practical skills for the academic profession. Although our readings engage a variety of cinema and media objects, this course will be textually based. No prior experience is needed.

Last Year’s Course Description for CIMS 5933

This proseminar will introduce a range of methodological approaches (and some debates about them) informing the somewhat sprawling interdisciplinary field of Cinema and Media Studies. It aims to equip students with a diverse—though not comprehensive—toolbox with which to begin conducting research in this field; an historical framework for understanding current methods in context; and a space for reflecting on both how to develop rigorous methodologies for emerging questions and how methods interact with disciplines, ideologies, and theories. Students in this class will also engage scholars participating in the Cinema and Media Studies colloquium series in practical discussions about their methodological choices. The course’s assignments will provide students with opportunities to explore a particular methodology in some depth through a variety of lenses that might include pedagogy, the conference presentation, grant applications, the written essay, or an essay in an alternative format, such as the graphic or video essay. Throughout, we will be trying to develop practical skills for the academic profession. Although our readings engage a variety of cinema and media objects, this course will be textually based. No prior experience needed. The course is open to upper-level undergraduates with relevant coursework in the field by permission of instructor only. Course Requirements: Complete assigned readings and actively participate in class discussion: 20%; Reading responses: 10%; Annotated bibliography or course syllabus on a particular methodology: 20%; SCMS methodology-focused conference paper proposal according to SCMS format: 10%; Research paper, grant proposal, or essay in an alternative format using the methodology explored in the syllabus or bibliography: 40%.