“The public response to ‘Get Out’ was such a powerful example of the timely cultural work popular cinema can do,” Burns says, “and I was particularly struck by Peele’s playfully allusive style.”

Noting the writer-director’s tendency to wear his influences on his sleeve, including Alfred Hitchcock, Stanley Kubrick and other ambitious 20th-century directors, Burns also designed the course to expose students to an earlier chapter in film history.

“This ‘throwback feel’ associated with Peele’s style rewards student participation — an opportunity to make connections and share those discoveries with their fellow viewers,” Burns says.

Through this course, students explore the genre’s rhetorical and discursive power in suspense-driven allegories on diversity, equity, inclusion, belonging and social justice. The hybrid nature of the course is one of the core elements of the new global film & cultures minor, which Burns coordinates with Kai Swanson, assistant professor of cinema & television arts.

“The minor’s curricular goals are primarily collaborative and organizational: to help students identify film studies courses that are already in place across the university curriculum and provide a framework for organizing them,” Burns explains, “whether it’s a Film, Politics & Society course offered by the Department of Political Science & Public Policy or one in Italian Cinema taken through the World Languages & Cultures program.”

Social thrillers like “Get Out” handle complex societal issues masked through film genre conventions. In the 1950s, “social message” or “problem pictures” looked at different subjects through the context of melodrama. In the 1960s, the movie industry began to deal with those issues more explicitly in films such as “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner,” “Night of the Living Dead” and “Rosemary’s Baby.” More modern variants on the genre include “Parasite,” “Promising Young Woman” and the body-horror film “The Substance.”

“In shaping its definition, students compare social thrillers to other, related genres in order to better understand how films like Peele’s separate themselves out through implicit allegorical messaging rather than direct polemic,” Burns says. “In this way, students have a lot of fun defining what the social thriller is — its coherence as a genre — or whether there might be a better way to think about these films.”

The course was taught for the first time during an Elon Winter Term, and the regular semester version has enabled further expansion.

51±ŹÁÏÍű the Professor

Dan Burns is an assistant professor of English whose teaching and research focus on film and media studies, adaptation, the history and theory of the novel, and U.S. literature and culture. He holds a doctorate from UNC-Greensboro and is active in interdisciplinary scholarship and academic leadership, including co-coordinating the global film & cultures minor.

Recommended Materials

• “Get Out: The Annotated Screenplay” by Jordan Peele
• “Rosemary’s Baby” by Ira Levin
• “The Nickel Boys” by Colson Whitehead

On Sept. 24-25, 2025, Chen-LĂłpez’s two-day visit invited students to reflect on their understanding of Latin American identity and migration as he shared his innovative research on the representation of Chinese communities in Latin American literature, cinema, and visual arts, which is a topic that opened new perspectives for students and community members across multiple disciplines.

Chen-LĂłpez’s keynote address, “Affective Mapping: Tracing the Chinese Diaspora in Latin American Literature, Cinema, and Visual Arts,” examined how Chinese identity and history are portrayed in creative works throughout different Latin American countries: Mexico, Costa Rica, and Argentina. His work traces how emotional responses to Chinatowns and Chinese neighborhoods have evolved over time and explores how the very concepts of “China” and “Chineseness” have shifted in response to changing geopolitical dynamics.

The visit extended far beyond a single lecture. Chen-LĂłpez engaged directly with students in various courses in the classrooms and in El Centro, including “Human Migrations”, “Medical Spanish”, “Growing Up in the Spanish Speaking World”, “In Search of Identity, Innovation and Social Protest Theater”, and COR1100. He also met with student members from the Latin American Studies program, the Spanish Club, and the Chinese Club during a community breakfast, fostering cross-cultural dialogue.

For many students, the presentations sparked revelations about migration patterns they had never considered. Anette Cruz ’28, reflected on how the experience transformed their perspective

“Previously when thinking about migration to Latin American countries it never really came to my head to think about countries like China,” said Cruz. “When I would think about migration, I would think it was mostly within Latin American regions. But after learning about the impact Chinese migration has had on countries like Mexico, Costa Rica, and Argentina, it really made me think about the significance of it. I was able to see that through symbolism shown to me in Mexican readings, Argentinian movies and Costa Rican paintings, and to me I found that very interesting because again, I feel as if I would have overlooked that if I was presented with it. Overall Chinese diaspora in Latin American countries shown through historical contexts and symbolism in art is something new that I learned today, something that has opened my eyes a little more when talking about migration to Latin American countries.”

Chen-LĂłpez’s interdisciplinary approach demonstrated how overlooked communities have shaped Latin American culture in profound ways. By examining representations of “China” and “Chineseness” in Latin American art, literature, and film, he sparked a dialogue among students and the broader 51±ŹÁÏÍű community on the importance of interdisciplinary research and looking beyond dominant narratives to discover the multiple histories of a society.

The Latin American Research Series is presented by Latin American Studies and sponsored by the Department of World Languages and Cultures; Peace and Conflict Studies; El Centro; International and Global Studies; Center for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning; Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies; Isabella Cannon Global Education Center; the Department of Philosophy; and Global Films and Cultures.

Students in the CTA 3000: Entertainment Media Business and Practices course spent the spring semester collaborating with acclaimed filmmaker Dan Mirvish, co-founder of the , as part of the early development process for his next feature film.

Mirvish, an independent director and producer known for his inventive approach to storytelling, shared an early draft of a screenplay co-written with Christine Vartoughian and Matthias Jeske. The story – set during the Cold War and centered on a surreal Omaha-based aircraft – served as the foundation for the students’ hands-on experience.

, a cinema and television arts major with an interest in writing and development, appreciated the scope and authenticity of the experience working with Mirvish.

“It’s rare that students get the chance to have real-world experience and have an actual impact on a project of this scale,” Wilkerson said. “We’ve been able to see all the work that goes into a project … and it’s been amazing to be a part of the process of bringing a project to life. I chose Elon’s Communications program because of opportunities to engage with the industry and develop the skills we need to thrive in the film world post-grad, and being able to work with Dan Mirvish has been such a candid insight into the world of indie producing.”

Led by Assistant Professor Kai Swanson, students examined the project from multiple industry perspectives. After signing non-disclosure agreements, they wrote formal script coverage – an essential skill in professional film development – before participating in a live table read. Mirvish joined virtually from Los Angeles to hear the read-through and offer immediate feedback on the script’s progress.

Parker Felumlee ’26, an acting BFA major, found the session both immersive and inspiring.

“Knowing we’re directly involved in the production of a new script resulted in an infectious energy that spread to the whole class during the session,” Felumlee said. “Afterward, we got to talk one-on-one with Dan about the characters we read for and discuss their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, etc. that we saw while reading.”

Mirvish praised the students’ input and noted how impressed he was by their thoughtful participation.

“I’m immensely grateful to Professor Swanson and all the Elon students for workshopping our next film,” Mirvish said. “Their feedback is an invaluable aspect to developing the project, and it’s exciting to work with such smart, talented students. Hopefully, this film will help them as they prepare for their own careers after Elon.”

As the course progressed, students shifted from story development to production planning. Divided into three budget tiers – Microbudget ($300K), Lower-Mid ($600K), and Premium Indie ($2M) – teams are now creating pitch decks, business plans, mood boards, marketing strategies, and production budgets tailored to SAG-AFTRA Low Budget Theatrical contracts. Their work will culminate in final presentations to mock “venture capitalists,” modeled after real-world independent film financiers.

Swanson said the course is designed to bridge the gap between classroom instruction and professional practice.

“Having made my fair share of mistakes on professional sets early in my career, I designed this course to offer students the closest thing to real-world experience in the entertainment industry – but with mentorship and a built-in safety net,” Swanson said. “It’s about helping them develop the confidence, language, and tools they’ll need to thrive.”

Students will receive a special thank-you credit in the final film, making the experience both educational and professionally meaningful. As Mirvish prepares to move the film toward production, CTA 3000 students can take pride in having shaped its early development.

Designed for the next generation of content creators and strategists, the program equips students to manage the full content lifecycle – from creation to distribution and analysis – across platforms like social media, websites, apps and streaming services. With a curriculum that blends analytics, branding, multimedia storytelling, and emerging technologies like AI, students will graduate prepared to navigate the opportunities — and ethical challenges — of today’s digital landscape.

Built on cross-disciplinary collaboration and real-world experience, the major includes a professional internship and a capstone project addressing real industry challenges.

“This program was developed in direct response to the evolving needs of the digital media industry,” said Staci Saltz, chair of the Department of Cinema and Television Arts and co-proposer of the major. “We designed DCM to bridge creative storytelling with strategy and data, empowering students to become thoughtful leaders in the digital space.”

The major draws on existing strengths within the School of Communications and integrates coursework from cinema and television arts, communication design, journalism, media analytics, and strategic communications. Students will take foundational courses in branding, persuasive messaging, and visual storytelling before progressing into specialized courses on digital strategy, audience insights, and multiplatform production.

“Designed with flexibility in mind, the DCM major encourages students to pair it with a double major in any other undergraduate field, including other majors in the School of Communications.”

– Vic Costello, DCM’s program director

The program also introduces two new courses: a gateway class titled Digital Content and the Creator Economy and a senior capstone in which students develop comprehensive digital strategies for real-world clients or projects. Like other School of Communications programs, the major includes an internship requirement to ensure students gain professional experience before graduation.

National labor trends and industry projections reflect rising demand for professionals skilled in digital content creation, strategy and management. A 2023 Goldman Sachs report estimates the creator economy will approach $480 billion by 2027, while LinkedIn lists digital marketing and content strategy among the fastest-growing career paths.

“The DCM major reflects Elon’s forward-thinking approach to education,” said Vic Costello, associate professor of cinema and television arts and director of the school’s curriculum core and minor, who co-proposed the major. “We’re not just preparing students for their first jobs – we’re equipping them with the skills to lead, adapt and thrive in industries that are constantly evolving.”

Costello, who will serve as DCM’s program director, noted that one of the new major’s signature elements is its appeal as a double-major option. Students pursuing this option can apply up to 12 credit hours from their second major toward DCM electives – enabling them to complete the DCM requirements in 45 hours while gaining added depth and specialization in another area of interest.

Students interested in the digital content management major can enroll in the school’s core communications courses immediately, with full implementation of the major in place by fall 2025. The first offering of Digital Content and the Creator Economy is planned for the 2025–26 academic year.

Curriculum overview

• Communications Core Curriculum (17 hours)
• Major Requirements (28 hours)
  • DCM 2500 Digital Content and the Creator Economy
  • CDE 2580 Principles of Communication Design
  • STC 2600 Brand Identity
  • MEA 2800 Data-Driven Strategies for Digital Media
  • COM 3000 Persuasive Messaging
  • CTA 3230 Media Production for Digital Platforms
  • DCM 4970 Digital Content Management Capstone
• Electives (12 hours)

The screening was introduced by Duke University German Studies Professor Mert Reisoglu, whose research centers on Turkish-German Studies, media theory and history and intellectual history. In his opening remarks, Reisoglu noted the film’s historical parallels with the political climate in Germany in the 2010s.

The event was co-moderated by Assistant Professor of English Dan Burns, who assigned the film as part of his Winter Term film studies class, “The Social Thriller.” Eager to explore an international variant of the course’s largely U.S.-themed focus on sociopolitical allegory in suspense and horror narratives, students noted that Reisoglu’s commentary offered an international perspective on the issues explored in American films such as Jordan Peele’s ‘Get Out’ and Nikyatu Jusu’s ‘Nanny.’ Other students appreciated the new exposure to director Fatih Akin’s work, which revolutionized the treatment of migrants in Germany by emphasizing “the pleasures of hybridity” associated with navigating two countries in films like “Head-On” and “The Edge of Heaven.”

Global Neighborhood’s Spring 2025 series continues Feb.18 in Global Commons 103 with filmmaker Frederick Murphy’s “Indelible Appalachia.” Other series titles centering on the neighborhood theme of “Sustainable Futures” this year will include Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s “Evil Does Not Exist” on March 11, Micha Peled’s “Bitter Seeds” on March 25 and Zheng Xu’s “Upstream” on April 15.

Mpasi, who portrayed the younger version of Celie in “The Color Purple,” shared her experiences navigating the entertainment industry, reflecting on her time at Elon, and discussing the challenges and triumphs of bringing Alice Walker’s iconic character to life on screen. The conversation covered a range of topics, including Mpasi’s decision to attend Elon, the audition process, and the differences between preparing for roles in theater versus film.

During the discussion, Mpasi addressed the emotional complexity of playing Celie, a character who endures significant hardships, including intimate partner violence and psychological abuse. Initially hesitant about taking on the role, the Elon alumna ultimately embraced the opportunity following deep personal reflection. She credited her earlier experience with the role in Elon’s 2015 stage production of “The Color Purple” as instrumental in building her confidence.

Her performance garnered widespread acclaim, earning her the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Breakthrough Performance in a Motion Picture, alongside recognition for Best Ensemble. Mpasi also spoke fondly about the friendships she formed with co-stars Halle Bailey and Danielle Brooks, calling the experience life-changing.

In her advice to current students, Mpasi encouraged them to embrace the opportunities that lie ahead, emphasizing the strength of Elon’s industry reputation. “The 51±ŹÁÏÍű brand is a powerful thing,” she declared, revealing the innumerable connections she has made in Los Angeles thanks to her alma mater.

Additionally, Mpasi recalled the deep connections she has forged with faculty and alumni, which included a heartfelt moment during the event when retired dance faculty member Jane Wellford greeted her from the audience. Visibly delighted, Mpasi briefly reminisced about the regular dinner invitations she enjoyed at Wellford’s home during her undergraduate years at Elon.

This warm reunion prompted Mpasi to recall the sense of permanence she and her mother felt at the Williamson-Haggard intersection on her first visit to campus. “I immediately knew this was where I was supposed to be,” she told audience members.

The event was co-organized by Kai Swanson, assistant professor of cinema and television arts, and Lina Kuhn, lecturer in English, on behalf of the Global Film & Cultures minor, an interdisciplinary collaboration between the Department of Cinema and Television Arts and the Department of English. Mpasi’s virtual visit and film screening were made possible thanks to a Fund for Excellence Grant.

Dan Burns, assistant professor of English, contributed to the release.

Building on last year’s success, this year’s gathering – which runs from 4:15 to 5:30 p.m. – will feature a dynamic speed-rotation format, allowing attendees to engage in meaningful discussions at various table topics every 15 minutes. Faculty, staff and students will lead discussions on investigative journalism, strategic communications, diversity in media leadership, health disparities, sports equity, and more. A full listing of the table topics is below.

According to Lorraine Ahearn, assistant professor of journalism and chair of the Inclusive Excellence Committee, this year’s event highlights the growing importance of communicating across differences and provides a platform for students to engage in discipline-specific conversations about diversity and inclusion.

“An emphasis this year is on undergraduate research that advances equity, from influencer marketing representation to the newsroom experiences of neurodiverse journalists,” Ahearn said. “We also have student leaders and faculty sharing real-world applications of DEI in media, health communication and sports.”

Complimentary beverages and snacks will be provided.

For more information regarding the Spotlight on Inclusive Excellence, email Ahearn at lahearn@elon.edu.

Table Topic Discussions and Presenters

1. Student Media Leadership: Using Communications to Promote Campus Diversity – Lilliana Molina ’27, Sarah Moore ’26 & Madison McRainey ’26
2. The Conscience Beat: Investigative Reporting to Advance Equity – Lorraine Ahearn, Assistant Professor of Journalism 
3. Beyond Parachute Storytelling: Understanding Cultures and Mitigating Risks – Alex Luchsinger, Associate Professor of Journalism
4. Alumni Spotlight: Community Organizing Across Difference – Ben Nguyen O’Connor ’22, Carolina Federation
5. Live Oak’s DEI in Action: Strategic Communications in Our Community – Hal Vincent, Senior Lecturer in Strategic Communications and Faculty Director, Live Oak Communications
6. Health Literacy: Why It Matters and What You Can Do 51±ŹÁÏÍű It – Julie Lellis, Professor of Strategic Communications
7. International Student Spotlight: Navigating Across Cultures – Cristy Marine ’25 and Julia Chan ‘28
8. Unity in Communications by and for Students – Taylor Scott ’25 and Karla Estrada Perez
9. WINS: Women Influencers in Sport – Shaina Dabbs, Associate Professor and Chair, Department of Sport Management
10. NIL: Underrepresentation of Women Athletes – Mark Cryan, Assistant Professor of Sport Management
11. Widening the Lens: Experiencing Diverse Culture Through Film – Kai Swanson, Assistant Professor of Cinema and Television Arts
12. Student Research Spotlight:  Newsroom Experiences of Journalists with Autism Spectrum Disorder – Betsy Schlehuber ’25
13. Student Research Spotlight: Lack of Representation in Influencer Marketing – Donelle Leak ’25 

The events, initiatives and workshops funded through Fund For Excellence mini grants will strengthen community outreach, promote deeper understanding of historical and contemporary issues, and support scholarship or enhance existing programs.

The Fund for Excellence advances 51±ŹÁÏÍű’s mission by supporting projects and programs that deepen the values, intellectual community, research, teaching and ways of thinking that are characteristic of the liberal arts and sciences. Faculty, staff and students are eligible to apply for funding, and proposals can be departmental or organizational, as well as interdisciplinary or collaborative across departments, schools and other campus entities.

“The purpose of the Fund for Excellence in the Liberal Arts and Sciences is to support projects that enhance student opportunities to engage with academic exploration, to deepen knowledge in the arts and sciences, and to broaden their perspectives as they prepare to become global citizens. These initiatives meet that mission,” said Nancy Harris, associate dean of Elon College and professor of biology, who coordinates the fund through the Elon College Dean’s Office. “The variety, scope and number of proposals submitted this year reflect the collaborative and innovative approaches to the liberal arts and sciences across 51±ŹÁÏÍű’s faculty, staff and students.”

A record 16 proposals were submitted in spring 2024. Each year, recipients are selected by a committee appointed by the president of Elon’s chapter of Phi Beta Kappa. This year’s committee members were Harris; Heather Lindenman, associate professor of English; Patricia Perkins, associate professor of law; Shannon Tennant, coordinator of library collections and associate librarian; and Karen Yokley, professor of mathematics.

Projects awarded funding for 2024-25 included:

STEM Saturday at Elon

An outreach program for students in the Alamance-Burlington School System to explore studies in science, technology, engineering and mathematics at Elon. The event is led by students in Elon’s STEM clubs.

• Submitted by Anthony Rizutto, associate professor of , and Ahlam Armaly, assistant professor of chemistry.

Making the Invisible Visible: German-Jewish Migration from Nazi Germany to Latin America

Brings scholar Bjorn Siegel, a researcher at the Institute for the History of the German Jews in Hamburg, to Elon to meet with Elon classes and deliver his presentation, “Making the Invisible Visible: German-Jewish Migration from Nazi Germany to Latin America,” aligning with curricula in the Latin American Studies, Jewish Studies, International and Global Studies and Museum Studies and Public History programs.

• Submitted by Andrea Sinn, associate professor of history, and Juan Leal Ugalde, assistant professor of Spanish.

Creative Approaches to Complex Pasts

This project will create a dance film based on one of 10 episodes in 51±ŹÁÏÍű’s 2020 Report from the Committee on Elon History and Memory. Assistant Professor of Dance Keshia Wall will choreograph and direct the film. The spring 2025 screening will be accompanied by a panel discussion including partners and community members.

• Submitted by Keshia Wall, assistant professor of dance; Buffie Longmire-Avital, professor of psychology, faculty administrative fellow, and director of the Black Lumen Project; Evan Gatti, professor of art history; and Amanda Laury Kleintop, assistant professor of history.

African Diasporas in North Carolina: Interdisciplinary Approaches to Understanding the History & Legacies of Enslavement

Provides three opportunities for the Elon community to engage with the history of slavery and the African diaspora in North Carolina during Winter Term. Those include a screening and panel discussion of the documentary “Talking Black in America: Roots,” and visits to the Stagville State Historic Site and Burlington’s African American Cultural Arts and History Center.

• Submitted by Amanda Laury Kleintop, assistant professor of history; Archie Crowley, assistant professor of English; Erin Pearson, assistant professor of English; Keshia Wall, assistant professor of dance; Devin Proctor, assistant professor of anthropology.

Cinematic Bridges

In association with the Global Film and Cultures Minor, this project will bring two international films to campus for discussion; invite screenwriter, filmmaker and co-creator of the Slamdance Film Festival, Dan Mirvish, to Elon as a guest speaker; and include a pre-recorded interview with Phylicia Pearl Mpasi ’15, a star of “The Color Purple,” to accompany that film’s screening.

• Submitted by Kai Swanson, assistant professor of cinema and television arts, and Lina Kuhn, lecturer in English.

Equipping the EcoVillage LLC

This project will provide workshops and guest speakers to lead events at the EcoVillage in its first year, including topics in Afro-Caribbean herbalism, nature drawing and environmental justice.

• Submitted by Jacob Rutz, lecturer in environmental studies; Michael Strickland, lecturer in English and environmental studies; and Ashley Hollan, visiting assistant professor in arts administration.

Alumni Voices: Conversations with Political Insiders on the 2024 Election

This series of events will bring alumni to campus who are working in policy, politics and journalism ahead of the November elections. They include an investigative reporter covering campaign fraud, an advance manager for a governor and a state political director for a presidential campaign who will share their experiences with campus audiences.

• Submitted by Jillian Auditori, lecturer in political science and policy studies, and Israel Balderas, assistant professor of journalism.

Engineering Takes Center Stage: Bridging the Arts and Sciences

An interdisciplinary project between Elon’s Departments of Engineering and Department of Performing Arts for engineering students to program the choreography and design artificial fur for two robot dogs that will perform in scenes of “Legally Blonde: The Musical.”

• Submitted by Courtney Liu, assistant professor of music theatre, and Blake Hament, assistant professor of engineering.

Celebration and Appreciation of Holi

Elon’s Periclean Scholars will enhance the annual Holi event hosted by the Truitt Center for Religious and Spiritual Life in March 2025 by adding traditional music, dance, decoration, Indian food, and cultural crafts like henna.

• Submitted by the Periclean Class of 2026

Stories Beyond Borders

Lula Carballo, a QuĂ©bĂ©cois author of Spanish American descent and Emilie Guerette, a QuĂ©bĂ©cois film director, will visit Elon for guest lectures, readings and a film screening. Their appearances will provide students’ deeper understanding of issues around immigration from their lived experiences and creative works.

• Submitted by Bethany Sudibyo, lecturer in Spanish, Ketevan Kupatadze, senior lecturer in Spanish, and Olivia Choplin, associate professor of French and interim director of the Center for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning.

Climate, Communities and Conversations

Expands the Highway 64 Project, which covers communities across the state, to include issues of climate change and resiliency in North Carolina. It also would connect Elon to communities by hosting virtual roundtable discussions and bringing expert speakers to campus for workshops and lectures.

• Submitted by Michael Strickland, lecturer in English and environmental studies.

Campus Sustainability Week Keynote Speaker

This initiative brings attorney and author Corban Addison to Elon and Elon Law as the keynote speaker of Campus Sustainability Week and to meet with students, faculty and staff. Addison is the author of the international bestseller, “Wastelands: The True Story of Farm Country on Trial,” which tells the story of an eastern North Carolina community’s legal battle for environmental justice against a company in the hog industry.

• Submitted by Kelly Harer, associate director of sustainability for education and outreach, and Eric Townsend, assistant vice president for academic communications.

Analogue Experience in a Digital Age

Develops a philosophy and film course that integrates analog films and student filmmaking into an interdisciplinary study of philosophy. The course would culminate in a symposium and screening.

• Submitted by Nathan L. Smith, assistant professor of philosophy, and Stephen Bloch-Schulman, professor and chair of the Department of Philosophy.

Dan Burns, assistant professor of English, recently presented at the American Comparative Literature Association’s annual meeting, held this year at the Palais des congrùs de Montreal from March 14-17.

Burns, who is co-coordinator of the Global Film & Cultures minor, was a panelist at this year’s American Comparative Literature Association conference—the principal learned society in the United States for cross-cultural literary study and scholars that teach and write across nations, languages, and cultures.

The three-day seminar, titled Writerly Worlds and Worldly Writers: Transcultural Receptions of German Literature, explored how various nations, cultures, translations, and technologies shape the reception aesthetics (RezeptionsÀsthetik) of German-language texts and writers.

Burns’ paper examined American writer-director Orson Welles’ 1962 film Le Procùs (1962), an adaptation of the celebrated 1925 novel The Trial (Der Prozeß) by the Czech-German author Franz Kafka. A French, Italian, and West German co-production, Welles’ adaptation was met with a notoriously negative reception in its original release but has enjoyed a critical reevaluation in recent years. Following the recent turn in Kafka scholarship to a focus on European visual culture and experimental psychology in the author’s work, Burns analyzed Welles’ cinematic approach to the competing cognitive demands of attention and distraction in Kafka’s novel through innovations in mobile framing, continuity editing, and deep focus compositions.

The American Comparative Literature Association (ACLA) promotes the study of intercultural relations that cross national boundaries, multicultural relations within a particular society, and the interactions between literature and other forms of human activity, including the arts, the sciences, philosophy, and cultural artifacts of all kinds.

During Winter Term, a group of Elon students spent 18 days immersing themselves in the film industry in Los Angeles and the vibrant energy of the renowned Sundance Film Festival. Led by Assistant Professors Kai Swanson and Matthew Blomberg, The Film Festival Experience: Hollywood & Sundance course offered students insight into the history and culture of the mainstream film industry and the independent film markets across the globe.

Samuel Remes ’26, a double major in finance and cinema & television arts, enrolled in the Study USA program because of his aspirations of becoming a writer and film editor.

“This is a really great experience. There were tons of laughter, gasps and a genuine atmosphere of excitement,” he said. “It’s such an insane, wild ride that’s not only great to experience, but also great to see everyone else’s reactions.”

The course’s journey began with a deep dive into the history and present-day topics of Hollywood, with visits to iconic studios, including Warner Brothers, Paramount Pictures and Sony Studios. Students had an opportunity to explore the behind-the-scenes magic of filmmaking, gaining insights into the craft from industry professionals.

But this trip wasn’t just about observing from afar. It was about engaging with the pulse of the industry, which Harrison Saini ’24 appreciated. “The LA and Sundance trip allows students to explore the industry on a much deeper level and see it in a way that is not possible from a classroom,” the strategic communications major said.

In Los Angeles, the itinerary was packed with enriching experiences, including a visit to the TCL Chinese Theatre, a day spent exploring Catalina Island, and thought-provoking engagements such as the “Documenting a Movement: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Civil Rights” event at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures.

The students joined Elon alumni for dinner to better understand possible career paths. Those in attendance included writer-producer Michelle Leibel ’14, comedian and reality TV show writer Jay Light ’12, and legal coordinator for NBC Universal Hunter Strauch ’18.

“This program is not just about observing,” Swanson said. “It’s about engaging with the industry’s heart and soul.”

While in Los Angeles, students also dedicated time to community service, volunteering with the Valley of Change on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, packaging hygiene kits and distributing them to the unhoused in the city.

During the second half of the course, students attended the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, enjoying the independent spirit of cinema, attending screenings, panels and networking events. Lucy Samuels ’26, a cinema & television arts major, expressed gratitude for the sense of community she discovered while traveling with her fellow Elon students and interacting with alumni.

“It helped me realize that there is a massive Elon community in LA to help CTA students,” she said. “It made me feel a lot more secure about my career.”

Added Swanson, “For those dreaming of a career in film or television, this experience is a gateway to understanding the intricacies of storytelling, production, press, and the diverse voices that shape our screens.”

Interested in next year’s The Film Festival Experience: Hollywood & Sundance course? Contact Swanson at kswanson8@elon.edu. And if this course interests you, check out the university’s new Global Film & Cultures minor, centered around three facets of global film studies: history, industries, and theory/interpretation. Swanson serves as the minor’s co-coordinator and can answer questions.