MCLA students at Mass Moca

Film & Visual Culture Concentration

The Film & Visual Culture concentration is an expansive and cross-disciplinary area of study that takes the visual as an entry point to exploring storytelling and meaning-making. From courses like “Film & the Creative Writer” to “MASS MoCA Immersion,” students learn to investigate the social and political role of visuality, evaluate power structures of looking, and examine the aesthetic value of images. Students analyze different media—such as film, painting, photography, digital media, architecture, advertising, and design—in a variety of contexts (screens, literature, museums, galleries, and more). Building upon the English major, students learn how our encounters with images profoundly impact our experiences of the world.  

Through interactive programming and curriculum, this concentration draws on the internationally-recognized arts and cultural resources of the Berkshires region – like our neighboring museums, MASS MoCA and The Clark Art Institute. Special events, like the Global Film Series, give students the opportunity to build community around common interests. 

Concentration Breakdown

Everyone takes:

  • COMM 211 Introduction to Mass Media
  • ENGL 210 Essentials of Film
  • ENGL 364 MASS MoCA Immersion

Take one of the following:

  • ENGL 209 Writing & the Visual 
  • ENGL 394 Film & the Creative Writer 
  • ENGL 397 Special Topics in Visual Culture

Take one of the following:

  • ENGL 216 Coming of Age in Lit & Film 
  • ENGL 388 Visions & Voices: American Ethnic Lit & Art 
  • ENGL 402 Special Topics in Visual Culture

Take one of the following:

  • ENGL 397 Special Topics in Film
  • ENGL 412 Films & Filmmakers
  • COMM 410 From Semiotics to Signification