Professor Michael Leslie, a member of the English department, serves as Dean of the program, which is more fully described in the section concerning Foreign Study. The department oversees a writing service available to all Rhodes students. Student tutors, all majors in the department, are available daily to assist students with written work. The Writing Center will report the results of the tutoring to the professor for whom the written work is done. The minor in Film Studies exposes students to a range of methodologies and philosophies for examining film.
Students see a variety of films from the traditions of various nations and cultures.
They are encouraged to consider such topics as film aesthetics, film history, film and politics, the relationship between film and theater, and the contemporary use of film and media. Students also consider film across a wide variety of disciplines, including Art, English, Languages, Political Science, and Theater. The faculty approaches these works from a variety of critical perspectives, asking fundamental questions about meaning, about the work's significance in its own time and its continuing value. Students grapple with these questions in class discussion and demonstrate their understanding of the subject by learning to express their ideas in clear and effective prose. Students in the literature track may also apply a limited number of courses in writing and film or internships toward their major.