Film studies has been a part of higher education curricula in the United States almost since the development of the medium. Although the study of film is dispersed across a range of academic departments, programs, and scholarly organizations, film studies has come to be recognized as a field in its own right. In an era when teaching and scholarship are increasingly interdisciplinary, film studies continues to expand and thrive, attracting new scholars and fresh ideas, direction, and research. Given the dynamism of the field, experienced and beginning instructors alike need resources for bringing the study of film into the classroom. This volume will help instructors conceptualize contemporary film studies in pedagogical terms. The first part of the volume features essays on theory and on representation, including gender, race, and sexuality. Contributors then examine the geographies of cinema and offer practical suggestions for structuring courses on national, regional, and transnational film. Several essays focus on interdisciplinary approaches, while others describe courses designed around genre (film noir, the musical), mode (animation, documentary, avant-garde film), or the formal elements of film, such as sound, music, and mise-en-scène. The volume closes with a section on film and media in the digital age, in which contributors discuss the opportunities and challenges presented by access to resources, media convergence, and technological developments in the field.

In a culture increasingly focused on visual media, students have learned not only to embrace multimedia presentations in the classroom, but to expect them. Such expectations are perhaps more prevalent in a field as dynamic and cross-disciplinary as religious studies, but the practice nevertheless poses some difficult educational issues -- the use of movies in academic coursework has far outpaced the scholarship on teaching religion and film. What does it mean to utilize film in religious studies, and what are the best ways to do it? In Teaching Religion and Film, an interdisciplinary team of scholars thinks about the theoretical and pedagogical concerns involved with the intersection of film and religion in the classroom. They examine the use of film to teach specific religious traditions, religious theories, and perspectives on fundamental human values. Some instructors already teach some version of a film-and-religion course, and many have integrated film as an ancillary to achieving central course goals. This collection of essays helps them understand the field better and draws the sharp distinction between merely "watching movies" in the classroom and comprehending film in an informed and critical way.

Offers a fresh overview of teaching with film to effectively enhance social studies instruction.

Teaching Difficult History through Film explores the potential of film to engage young people in controversial or contested histories and how they are represented, ranging from gender and sexuality, to colonialism and slavery. Adding to the education literature of how to teach and learn difficult histories, contributors apply their theoretical and pedagogical expertise and experiences to a variety of historical topics to show the ways that film can create opportunities for challenging conversations in the classroom and attempts to recognize the perspectives of historically marginalized groups. Chapters focus on translating research into practice by applying theoretical frameworks such as critical race theory, auto-ethnography or cultural studies, as well as more practical pedagogical models with film. Each chapter also includes applicable pedagogical considerations, such as how to help students approach difficult topics, model questions or strategies for engaging students, and examples from the authors’ own experiences in teaching with film or in leading students to develop counter-narratives through filmmaking. These discussions of the real considerations facing classroom teachers and professors are sure to appeal to experienced secondary teachers, pre-service teacher education programs, graduate students, and academic audiences within education, history, and film studies. Part and chapter discussion guides, full references of the films included in the book, and resources for teachers are available on the book’s companion website www.teachingdifficulthistory.com.

Looks at the movies of Native American filmmakers and explores how they have used their works to leave behind the stereotypical Native American characters of old.

Costanzo combines a love of film viewing with the practical side of expressing film study to students, including the art of transforming fiction into film, history and business of the industry, and film genres. He also includes study guides for fourteen films, including "To Kill a Mockingbird," "Romeo and Juliet," "Mississippi Masala," "Schindler's List," "The Shawshank Redemption," "Run Lola Run," "The Matrix," and "Bend It Like Beckham."