Cinema and Media

Geoffrey B. Pingree, Professor of Cinema and Media and English; chair

Grace An, Associate Professor of Cinema and Media and French
Elizabeth (Rian) U. Brown-Orso, Professor of Cinema and Media
William Patrick Day, Professor of Cinema and Media and English
David M. Gutherz, Lecturer of Cinema and Media
Jay Johnson, Instructor of Cinema and Media
Jeffrey S. Pence, Associate Professor of Cinema and Media and English
Joseph E. Rizzolo, Instructor of Cinema and Media and Media Engineer
Joshua D. Sperling, Assistant Professor of Cinema and Media and Creative Media Director of Arts and Sciences

Affiliated Faculty/Staff
Hsiu-Chuang Deppman, Professor of East Asian Studies

Visit the department web page for up-to-date information on department faculty, visiting lecturers, and special events.

The Department of Cinema and Media at Oberlin College offers courses in filmmaking, screenwriting, and critical studies. Our department deals with cinema as an artistic practice and as a dynamic part of cultural and social history, placing cinema in the contexts of other media as well as viewing it through the perspective of a global network of the moving image.

As a department in a liberal arts college, we believe that studying cinema and making movies is an important way of learning about the world and how we live and act in it today. The moving image in all its forms and manifestations-from traditional theatrical movies and television to digital streaming platforms-represents, mediates, and shapes our understanding of the world, our own experience, and our experience of others. Studying and creating cinema enhances our vision-in every sense of the term-of our world.

See information about Research, Internships, Study Away, and Experiential Learning (RISE).

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Departmental Policies

Transfer of Credit for Content Taught by the Department

For approval of transfer credit toward meeting prerequisites for upper-level courses, students should consult with the department chair, preferably with syllabi in hand.

Majors, Minors, and Integrative Concentrations

Cinema and Media Major

Curriculum

Cinema and media courses at the 100- and 200-level cover critical studies topics and are open without prerequisites and available to students regardless of major.

First-Year Seminar Program

Although first-year seminars (FYSP) do not count toward the major, FYSP related to cinema and media are regularly taught by department faculty. These small, intensive courses provide one means of preparation for the study of cinema, and are invaluable to first-year students in the college as they develop skills in critical and creative thinking, reading, viewing, analysis, writing, and discussion.

Production Courses

Students in production courses are required to purchase their own external hard drives and A/V supplies, including memory cards, DVDs, and Blu-ray discs. Production courses require a lab fee. In addition, students must sign and abide by a Facilities Use Contract to gain access to cinema and media production facilities.