UNA ENGLISH DEPARTMENT UNVEILS NEW FILM STUDIES MINOR
By Eric Hanback
UNA Student Writer
November 21, 2008
FLORENCE, Ala. — The University of North Alabama Department of English is bringing in a new film studies minor with the 2009-10 UNA Undergraduate Catalog.
Dr. William Verrone, assistant professor of English, has already been teaching several courses that will officially become part of the 18-hour minor.
He said that one of the most important things he hopes students learn from the minor is “how to analyze film in different ways, instead of just saying ‘I liked it’ or ‘It was cool.’”
Verrone said that students have gotten a leg up by completing some of the courses early, but hopes to see a greater influx of interested students once the minor is in print.
He also said he’d like to get a film club started on campus to help promote film studies in general.
No great fan of current big-budget Hollywood productions, Verrone said that students should not expect to watch the latest releases. Rather, they will be introduced to a wide variety of films – domestic, foreign, silent and modern, he plans to hit them all.
“It has qualities of a novel,” he said, but was quick to point out that film is obviously a “very different medium” from literature and that the films that will be focused on will not necessarily stem from literature.
Verrone said anyone could benefit from the minor because it encompasses interdisciplinary skills. And he’s quick to point out one of the minor’s greatest perks: “It’s fun,” he said. “You can’t beat going to class, watching a movie and talking about it.”
