The College’s Winter Cinema and Media Studies program in Paris provides undergraduate students with an opportunity to explore the study of film and related media at the University of Chicago’s Center in Paris.
This program is open to students of all majors and includes two courses that can be used to satisfy the general education arts requirement (arts core)*. Any student with an interest in film, particularly French cinema, is encouraged to apply. The program courses will make use of the rich cultural resources of Paris and the French film-making tradition to enhance the educational experience of learning to analyze and interpret films as works of art. Program participants will also take a French language course, which runs at a normal pace through the quarter and is designed to help students connect with French (and Parisian) culture.
Apart from classroom work, the program offers a series of excursions to sites of artistic and historic interest within and in the vicinity of Paris - with its wealth of cinemas, museums, libraries and theaters, its lively art, film, and literary scene, its rich traditions of creation and critique, the city plays a central role in the program and students will be expected to make full use of its cultural resources.
*The first two courses may also be eligible for credit within the Cinema and Media Studies major if the general education requirement in the arts has already been fulfilled and with approval from the Director of Undergraduate Studies in Cinema and Media Studies.
Winter 2026
African American Expatriates in Paris, Allyson Nadia Field
This course explores the lives and creative work of African Americans in Paris from the 1920s to the 1960s. With a focus on musicians, writers, and filmmakers, we will discover what drew Black artists to Paris, examine their practices, and consider the impact that the city of Paris had on their creative development and on their reception in the United States. Artists include: Charlie Parker, Josephine Baker, Richard Wright, James Baldwin, Chester Himes, Melvin Van Peebles.
French and Francophone Cinema, Dan Morgan
This class is a survey of French and Francophone Cinema from the first years of cinema to the contemporary moment. In it, we will focus on three distinct moments: the idea of a “poetic” cinema in the 1920s that saw a heightened emphasis experiences unique to cinema; the rise of the “nouvelle vague” (New Wave) in the 1960s and the growth of cinephilia and art cinema; and the emergence of a “banlieue” or “beur” cinema of the 1990s and 2000s that focused on immigrant communities surrounding Paris. Our discussions will engage the formal developments of French and Francophone cinema, the history of film culture, and the historical discourse of national cinema that negotiates the politics of immigration, urbanization, and globalization
Media Arts and Design Practice, Jon Satrom
This studio-based course explores the practice, conventions, and boundaries of contemporary media art and design. This can encompass areas as diverse as interactive installation, app design, and the Internet meme. Through projects and critical discussion, students engage with the problems and opportunities of digitally driven content creation. Fundamental elements of digital production are introduced, including basic properties of image, video, and the global network. Further topics as varied as--though not limited to--web production, digital fabrication, interfaces, the glitch, and gaming may be considered. Sections will vary based on the instructor's fields of expertise. This course meets the general education requirement in the arts. This course may not double count for general education requirements and the Media Arts and Design minor. However, it is a great way for students to explore a potential interest in these areas.