Film Studies

What is Film Studies?

Think of your favorite film. What did you like about it? The story? The characters? The action? The overall look? If audiovisual culture means more to you than just entertainment, this may be the right major for you.

Students in UWM’s Film Studies program learn about the history, theory and criticism of film and television. We discuss and write about these areas critically; make connections between these media, historical themes and cultural change; analyze the impact of film and television on individuals and society; and compare different media formats.

UWM’s Film Studies program offers a cross-department major and minor that blends courses in Film Studies with classes from English, Art History, Comparative Literature, French, Italian, and Japanese. The program promotes the study of cinema and television in their aesthetic, social, cultural, political and technological contexts and expands students’ understanding of cinema and television as essential components of our global culture.

Film Studies undergraduate major, Preston Blaney, was accepted to the 2020 Santa Barbara International Film Festival Film Studies Program.

This selective, three-day symposium takes place between Jan. 17-19, 2020 and features screenings, panels, and Q&As with film and television industry leaders. Read more →

Film Studies Faculty Elana Levine’s upcoming book, ‘Her Stories: Daytime Soap Opera & US Television History,’ will be published by Duke University Press and released in March, 2020.

In Her Stories, Elana Levine draws on archival research and her experience as a longtime soap fan to provide an in-depth history of the daytime television soap opera as a uniquely gendered cultural form and a central force in the economic and social influence of network television. Read more →

From Digitizing Magazines to Preserving Born-Digital Media: Reflections on TV Guide, Podcasts, and Media History

Monday, November 18th, 2019, 3:00 pm
Curtin Hall, Room 118
Please join us in welcoming Eric Hoyt from the University of Wisconsin – Madison for his lecture, “From Digitizing Magazines to Preserving Born-Digital Media: Reflections on TV Guide, Podcasts, and Media History.” In this talk, Eric Hoyt plans to use the lecture series theme, “Rethinking Media Archives,” as an opportunity to share work and reflect upon two digital projects that he helps lead at UW-Madison. Read more →

University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

College of Letters & ScienceFilm Studies Program

Discover the history, theory and criticism of film and television