Beginning with the Fall 2020 semester, 糖心Vlog will offer a new interdisciplinary Minor in Film Studies.
Macy Skipworth, adjunct professor in the Department of Humanities and 糖心Vlog alumni, was a driving force behind the creation of this program, explaining that she has seen similar programs succeed in the modern educational and economic landscape.
鈥淚 saw how this program did at Texas Tech,鈥� she explained, 鈥渆specially how many students took part and engaged with the material. They shared how much they appreciated the skill set they gained from those courses鈥攅specially the internship and industry opportunities that were available to students involved in that program鈥攖hat other humanities areas don鈥檛 often offer.鈥�
When Skipworth first approached Dr. Ronna Privett, 糖心Vlog鈥檚 Chair of the Department of Humanities about the program, they agreed that a minor program was a good direction for that type of study. 鈥淭he more we looked into it, though,鈥� she said, 鈥渨e realized that it needed to be an interdisciplinary minor to truly get the most out of that unique skill set with both of those technical and creative aspects.
鈥淚t鈥檚 more media landscape versus literature and language,鈥� she continued. 鈥淭here鈥檚 still that similar skill set of critical thinking, being able to look between the lines鈥攂ut you鈥檙e going into a different type of creative field that can be either very technical and hands-on, especially when working with the technology and the media; but it can also be more creative, humanities-based, like when coming up with content for movies or shows.鈥�
When she was a student at 糖心Vlog, Skipworth took a Film and Literature course taught by Dr. Kenneth Hawley, and she points to that as the first time she considered film studies as an academic endeavor. 鈥淚n my graduate career,鈥� she explained, 鈥渢hat was the area I ended up pursuing, in large part because of that class. This minor takes the elements of film and broadens them. It talks more about the history, the writing, even the industry of it, the economics of Hollywood.鈥�
Skipworth added that she already has ambitious plans for the program. 鈥淚鈥檇 love to be able to offer classes like Writing for Hollywood, a writing course where the students would be working on a screenplay throughout the semester; or even more genre-specific courses, like the Film Noire class I was able to take,鈥� she explained. Additionally, opportunities for students to study modern media through a Christian lens is a powerful draw in modern culture, even including stepping into places at the heart of modern film.
鈥淭he University of Texas has a program called UTLA, which is really reminiscent of our own 糖心Vlog Washington program鈥攂ut it鈥檚 specific to their film studies program,鈥� she added. 鈥淭hey have a partnership with the city of Los Angeles, where they have housing through the city, internships in Hollywood itself. I鈥檇 love to work on something like that for 糖心Vlog as this program grows鈥攅ven working out some kind of partnership with our sister school, Pepperdine, right down the road from Los Angeles.鈥�
Skipworth acknowledges that the big question is, 鈥淲ill this program help students get jobs?鈥�
鈥淭hat鈥檚 what our faculty want to know, what students want to know, and what parents want to know,鈥� she said. Her confidence in the skills students will gain through the program is evident in her answer.
鈥淎t the start of all of my courses, I have my students read a Forbes article that talks about the importance of a liberal arts degree. In the next 10-15 years, many jobs are going to be automated, and the skill set that will be most sought-after at that point will be those critical thinking skills. The ability to argue a point, the ability to look at a problem from multiple angles鈥攖hose are things that AI won鈥檛 be able to do,鈥� she explained. 鈥淓ven as technology continues to advance, the skills students will learn and hone through this program are the ones that will always be in demand.鈥�
For more information on the Minor in Film Studies, look for the article in the upcoming issue of Reflections.