The Film Experience OpenCourseWare: A Free Online Undergraduate Narrative Film Course by MIT

Published Feb 23, 2009

RSS Feed

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) offers an OpenCourseWare project on 'The Film Experience.' The course explores films as historical artifacts and helps students hone their analytic skills. If you're interested in pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in Literature, this course may be of particular interest to you.

The Film Experience: Course Specifics

Degree Level Free Audio Video Downloads
Undergraduate Yes No Yes Yes

Lectures/Notes Study Materials Tests/Quizzes
Yes Yes No

The Film Experience: Course Description

Films often serve as cultural relics, representing the standards and ideals of their targeted societies. This course, from MIT's literature department, explores the significance of films as such, focusing on their historical value and chronological evolution. Participants analyze the unique artistic qualities of specific films and examine the distinctive properties of movie theaters and motion picture cameras. Professor David Thorburn designed this course, using a series of lectures, readings and films. Examples of movies utilized in 'The Film Experience' include 'Modern Times,' 'Singin' in the Rain' and 'It Happened One Night.' The course focuses primarily on American cinema history, but some examples are drawn from international films.

'The Film Experience' consists of a series of lecture notes and sample video lectures, an image gallery, a list of public domain films and a film and reading list, which includes some online material. To access this free online course, visit MIT's OpenCourseWare page on film.

Featured School Choices: