About

The Department of English & Comparative Literature is a central hub for the study of cinema at UNC-Chapel Hill. We are the only department on campus where students can take all ten of their major courses in film. We also administer the popular Global Cinema Minor in close coordination with other units, including Art & Art History, Asian Studies, American Studies, Communication, Romance Studies, and German & Slavic Languages & Literatures. We program many exciting film-related events on campus each year, including film series (the Ackland Film Forum), lecture series with artists and scholars (the Triangle Film Salon), and collaborations with student groups.

The newly designed Film Studies Concentration focuses on the history, theory, analysis, and politics of cinema in a global context. Students become conversant with the evolution of film genres, styles, and traditions, while exploring relationships between film and other artistic forms, including literature, painting, photography, television, and digital media. Students gain a nuanced understanding of technology, aesthetics, history, and politics, while learning practical skills that translate to a wide array of possible careers:  

Film/Media Journalism

Film/Media Library and Archive Work

Museum Curatorship

Film Festival Programming

Academic Scholarship and Teaching

Publishing

Advertising

Law (Entertainment Law and Beyond)

Public Relations

The mission of this concentration is to equip students with the combined skills of critical thinking, articulate written and vocal expression, and audiovisual literacy — skills that are increasingly vital to navigating the many screens of our media-saturated, multicultural world.