American Studies
The compact course Post-Cinema explores the current state of US American cinema and its relations to and differences from 20th-century film. We focus on the recent shift from analog to digital and algorithmic media in order to think about the larger stakes of theorizing moving images as technological and cultural media. We consider the impact of digital technologies on film, think about the cultural contexts and aesthetic practices of contemporary motion pictures, and try to understand the experiential dimensions of spectatorship in today's altered viewing conditions.
In addition to viewing a range of recent and contemporary films and artworks, we also engage more directly and materially with post-cinematic moving images: we experiment with scholarly and experimental uses of non-linear video editing for the purposes of film analysis, cinemetrics, and a variety of academic and creative responses to moving image media.
The course addresses key issues in recent film and media theory and, especially in its hands-on components, encourages experimentation with methods of digital humanities, computational media art, and other creative practices.
Prof. Denson has written a book on the very topic of the course he will be teaching in Frankfurt: Post-Cinema: Theorizing 21st-Century Film (2016). He is also the author and editor of Post-Cinematic Bodies (2023), Discorrelated Images (2020), Transnational Perspectives on Graphic Narratives (2013), and Postnaturalism: Frankenstein, Film, and the Anthropotechnical Interface (2014).
His websites are https://shanedenson.com/ and https://art.stanford.edu/people/shane-denson
If you are interested in taking this class, please register by May 2 by sending an email to paula.hoehn@stud.uni-frankfurt.de, the student assistant of Prof. Heike Schaefer. Please put the course title Post-Cinema in the email's subject line. Please list your name, course of study, semester, and matriculation number in the email. You will receive an email that confirms your enrollment and provides more information about the course after the registration deadline.
Please note that BA students who wish to enroll in this course must have completed the Basisphase (first and second semester) of their studies and should have an affinity for theory-driven class discussions.
Have a good start into the semester!
Best wishes,
Heike Schaefer
American Studies
Cas 1.812
Award-winning poet and novelist Phillip B. Williams will give an author talk as part of Dr. Cameron Seglias’s seminar, “The Queer Century"
In addition to the many awards he has received for his poetry, Phillip B. Williams is also currently Picador Guest Professor for Literature, hosted by the American Studies department at Leipzig University. His recent novel Ours (2024) is out now in English and German.
All are cordially invited to attend!
American Studies
Hörsaalzentrum HZ 8, Campus Westend
Im Namen der Abteilung Amerikanistik laden wir Sie herzlich zu unserer Informationsveranstaltung über den Studiengang „BA American Studies“ ein. Diese wird am Donnerstag, den 05. Juni 2025, von 12 – 14 Uhr am Campus Westend stattfinden.
Auf dieser Veranstaltung stellen unsere Lehrenden den Studiengang sowie die Abteilung vor und beantworten in kleinen Runden die Fragen der Schüler*innen. Neben Studieninhalten und -struktur geht es auch darum, welche Berufsaussichten ein Studium der Amerikanistik eröffnet. Absolvent*innen berichten hierfür von ihrem Weg in die Berufswelt. Bei einer abschließenden Campus-Führung erhalten die Schüler*innen einen Eindruck davon, wie sich das Studentenleben am Campus Westend anfühlt.
Die Veranstaltung eignet sich insbesondere für Schüler*innen der Oberstufe, die Teil eines Leistungskurses sind und/oder sich für ein englischsprachiges Studium interessieren. Weitere Informationen finden sich auf dem Flyer, den Sie oben herunterladen können.
Um das Event zu organisieren, bitten wir um Anmeldung mittels des kurzen Formulars, das Sie hier herunterladen können.
American Studies