Film History Seminar: The National Film Registry and the Question of History

This seminar will focus on the U.S. National Film Registry. Run collaboratively, in student participation-oriented way, the course will cover the origin and development of legislation that was introduced to protect, promote, and celebrate American-made films. And it will submit that legislation to scrutiny by looking at the nomination process, selection process, and the balance of titles on the registry to date. While the seminar will have access only to the public record of the Registry, one of our goals will be to seek out members of the National Film Preservation Board and the National Film Preservation Foundation for input and conversation. Individual projects emerging from this seminar will develop research and writing related to films already named to the registry or deserving films as yet unnamed. Other products of this seminar might include works on video pertaining to the Registry. If travel to California film archives is of interest, it may be arranged during the course of the seminar. Readings for this seminar will be drawn from scholarship on the practice of film history, film and media preservation and restoration, film curation and exhibition.