Program Overview
The Film & Media program at Lawrence combines the critical study of media culture with creative practice in film, video, animation, and new media. Students develop personal engagement with the art of media-making through hands-on experience in all key aspects of production, with unparalleled access to both professional video equipment and analog film. Students also explore history, theory, and curation of the moving image within an interdisciplinary framework, with emphasis on diverse critical and global perspectives. Opportunities for archival research and media production internships help students gain real-world experience. Graduates are prepared for careers in the media industry, archival research, critical writing, curation, and independent artistic practice, as well as graduate study in both MFA and PhD programs.
Program Highlights
Create with Professional Technology
Gain early, hands-on access to cutting-edge digital equipment and analog film through an exceptional equipment-to-student ratio.
Make Media with Purpose
Develop a personal approach to filmmaking and media creation while exploring how your work can shape culture and inspire positive change.
Find Your Creative Community
Build lasting relationships with classmates and professors in a small, collaborative, and supportive program.
Connect Film Across Disciplines
Combine Film and Media Studies with any other Lawrence major to create an academic path shaped around your interests and goals.
Types of Degrees
Students can pursue a Bachelor of Arts in Film & Media, with options to complete a research, curation, or creative capstone. A minor in Film & Media is also available.
Advising
At Lawrence, academic advising helps you shape an educational experience that reflects your interests, goals, and aspirations. Your faculty advisor will support you as you plan your path, connect with campus resources and communities, and make informed decisions that prepare you for a meaningful and fulfilling future.
Faculty
Engage deeply and collaboratively with professors who are experts in their field and committed to supporting your education.
All Faculty
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Alison C. Guenther-Pal (she//sie)
Associate Professor of German
alison.c.guenther-pal@lawrence.edu
Alison Guenther-Pal is chair of German Studies and affiliated faculty in Film Studies and Gender Studies. Like the students at Lawrence University, she is "multi-interested," but her main topics of…
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Angela M. Vanden Elzen (she/her/hers)
Associate Professor and Reference and Learning Technologies Librarian
angela.vandenelzen@lawrence.edu
Contact Angela with questions about: The Lawrence University Makerspace, reference assistance, game studies courses and research, library website, social mediaAcademic Interests: Game culture studies, especially related to gender, identity, and families,…
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John A. Shimon
Associate Professor of Art
John Shimon is a post-media artist known for creating museum installations including mediums such as painting, sculpture, antiquarian photographic processes, 16 mm film, and video. Venues include the Madison Museum…
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Kaitlin Fyfe (she/her)
Instructor of Film Studies
Kaitlin Fyfe focuses on post-production and film history. She has done post-production work on films like Cannon Falls (2009), The Smart Studios Story (2016), Five Down (2018), Angels of Dirt…
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Kate Rennebohm
Jill Beck Professor of Film and Assistant Professor of Film Studies
Kate Rennebohm is the Jill Beck Professor of Film and Assistant Professor of Film Studies at Lawrence University. She completed her Ph.D. in Film and Visual studies at Harvard University,…
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Rosa Tapia (she/ella)
Professor of Spanish
Spanish and Latin American film and 20th-century Spanish literature. National Chief Academic Consultant for AP Spanish. Co-organizer of LULASFF, Latin American and Spanish Film Fest (see 2022 video here). Publications include…
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Victoria Kononova (she/her; она/её)
Associate Professor of Russian
victoria.kononova@lawrence.edu
My specialty is nineteenth-century Russian literature and theater. I love digging into such staples of Russian literature as Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Pushkin, Gogol, and Chekhov. I also teach advanced Russian language…
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Learning Spaces
Film & Media’s campus home is the state-of-the-art Hurvis Center for Film Studies, a welcoming space for students to gain valuable skills and explore their passions. Students have 24/7 keycard access to a top-of-the-line studio with a modern, environmentally sustainable lighting grid. two dedicated digital editing labs, four stop-motion animation suites, a professional audio mixing suite and recording booth, a photo studio, and a 16mm analog film workroom.
A wide range of professional film and video equipment is available for in-class use and checkout, including full fleets of BMPCC 6k Pro, Canon XF605, Super-8, and 16mm Bolex cameras, as well as a Super-16 Arriflex SR3 HS, microphones and audio recorders, light kits, gimbals, lenses, grip equipment, tablets, and animation laptops. We also maintain a selection of still cameras, as well as vintage analog video formats like VHS and Pixelvision for students interested in experimenting with legacy media.
