Mission Statement

Mission Statement: World cinema is a massive industrial force, a major vehicle for intercultural understanding, and an art form with vast social significance.

The Film Studies Program at Queens College is grounded in several convictions: that every cultivated person shares the heritage of world cinema as much as of the other arts; that "literacy" in cinema is a prerequisite to a richer understanding of films and the diverse cultures they reflect as well as shape; and that knowledge of the theoretical and critical discourses about films is a vital aspect of contemporary study in the Humanities and Social Sciences.

The Program in Film Studies will provide students with the critical skills and knowledge needed to comprehend cinema as a discrete discipline with its own methodology as well as an art form engaged in complex interactions with various modes of production. The required courses are designed to provide historical, theoretical, and critical perspectives on the cinema derived from a variety of disciplines. A wide range of electives will allow students to pursue topics of special interest to them.