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Martin L. Johnson

@martinlj.bsky.social
4.5K followers 487 following 324 posts

Film historian and urbanist. Co-president of Domitor, the international society for the study of early cinema. Coming attractions include A Teaching Companion to Silent Cinema (Rutgers) and a history of advertising film (Illinois).

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Martin L. Johnson @martinlj.bsky.social · 6h
Job alert! My department is hiring an assistant professor of Critical Game Studies. This is a rare opportunity to join a thriving program, with a games-focused classroom, passionate students, and a range of courses in this emerging field. Applications due Nov. 30 unc.peopleadmin.com/postings/326...
unc.peopleadmin.com
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Josh Shepperd @joshshepperd.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Website live for our new academic conference “New Terrain,” in University of Colorado partnership with the Sundance Film Festival. I’m directing. This year we’re featuring 12 invited talks and a brainstorming session to discuss how New Terrain will grow in 2028. www.colorado.edu/cmdi/new-ter...
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Martin L. Johnson @martinlj.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
I'm looking forward to sharing the stage with @allyfield.bsky.social and Donald Crafton at Pordenone. Ian Christie and I will represent the five co-editors — and the 22 authors — that contributed to Copy/Rights and Early Cinema. @leverpress.bsky.social
Program text for the silent film festival in Pordenone, Italy. Featured speakers include Allyson Nadia Field, Donald Crafton, and the eco-editors of Copy/Rights and Early Cinema.
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Martin L. Johnson @martinlj.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
I'm looking forward to sharing the stage with @allyfield.bsky.social and Donald Crafton at Pordenone. Ian Christie and I will represent the five co-editors — and the 22 authors — that contributed to Copy/Rights and Early Cinema. @leverpress.bsky.social
Program text for the silent film festival in Pordenone, Italy. Featured speakers include Allyson Nadia Field, Donald Crafton, and the eco-editors of Copy/Rights and Early Cinema.
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Silent London @silentlondon.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
The daily schedule for the Pordenone Silent Film Festival is out now! www.giornatedelcinemamuto.it/en/calendari...
giornatedelcinemamuto.it
CALENDAR FRIDAY OCTOBER 2nd
Pordenone Silent Film Festival | 3>10 ottobre 2026
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Nontheatrical Film and Media Scholarly Interest Group SCMS @nontheatricalscms.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
New book of note — "Useful Cinema in State Socialist Europe." Out now on Routledge. Edited By Lucie Česálková, Christian Ferencz-Flatz, and Ana Szel. Congrats to the editors and all of the contributors! 📕 www.routledge.com/Useful-Cinem...
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Martin L. Johnson @martinlj.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
If you're a fan of conspiracy theories,corporate subterfuge, unorthodox uses of dynamite, Hollywood scandals, or the United States Bureau of Mines, this is the book for you!
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Tanya Goldman @tanyagoldman.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
Just started a "Nontheatrical/Orphaned/Useful Medias" @letterboxd.social list + oh how I wish they had collaborative list-building so I could co-create w/ @benjaminschultzfig.bsky.social @andy-uhrich.bsky.social @martinlj.bsky.social @tepperman.bsky.social et. al. letterboxd.com/professortan...
letterboxd.com
Adventures in Nontheatrical, Orphaned and Useful Medias
A list of gems you probably haven't seen! And more...for when I figure out how to add new films to Letterboxd The Neighboring Shore (1960) Poison on the Walls (1974)
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Martin L. Johnson @martinlj.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
If you're a fan of conspiracy theories,corporate subterfuge, unorthodox uses of dynamite, Hollywood scandals, or the United States Bureau of Mines, this is the book for you!
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Martin L. Johnson @martinlj.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
It's arrived! It was wonderful to work with colleagues on this volume on Copy/Rights & Early Cinema. We'll celebrate the book in Pordenone, Italy on Oct. 6 with Ian Christie and Paolo Tosini, among others, at the 45th Le Giornate del Cinema Muto (Days of Silent Cinema). doi.org/10.3998/mpub...
A picture of the book Copy/Rights and Early Cinema, which is forthcoming from Lever Press.
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Nontheatrical Film and Media Scholarly Interest Group SCMS @nontheatricalscms.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Big news! The Indiana University Libraries Moving Image Archive has digitized + made available 450 film catalogs from Professor Gregory A. Waller's collection. Catalogues represent 16mm film sector, mostly between 1940s to '70s. Explore them here! digitalcollections.iu.edu/collections/...
digitalcollections.iu.edu
Dr. Gregory A. Waller film catalog collection, 1915-1992, bulk 1940-1971 // Digital Collections
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Martin L. Johnson @martinlj.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
It's arrived! It was wonderful to work with colleagues on this volume on Copy/Rights & Early Cinema. We'll celebrate the book in Pordenone, Italy on Oct. 6 with Ian Christie and Paolo Tosini, among others, at the 45th Le Giornate del Cinema Muto (Days of Silent Cinema). doi.org/10.3998/mpub...
A picture of the book Copy/Rights and Early Cinema, which is forthcoming from Lever Press.
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Tanya Goldman @tanyagoldman.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
. @nontheatricalscms.bsky.social is starting a graduate writing group. 📣 Please share widely w/ film and media students who have an interest in useful media and nontheatrical film! SCMS membership not required. Open to anyone in an MA or PhD program! TY to SIG grad reps Ben + Josh for launching! 📣
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Marsha Gordon @marshagordon.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
I talked to Brandon Davis at "Front Row Classics" podcast about my favorite Ursula Parrott adaptation, "Next Time We Love." If you are a fan of Margaret Sullavan + Jimmy Stewart, keep your eyes out for this 1936 gem! Podcast available at the link below or wherever you get yours: bit.ly/4cFMf4P
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Martin L. Johnson @martinlj.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
In our forthcoming edited book, The Silent Film Companion: An Recovered and Expanded History, @lizclarke100.bsky.social and I have a great chapter by Anna Kovalova on The Woman of Tomorrow (1915), about a woman doctor in pre-revolutionary Russia. www.rutgersuniversitypress.org/bucknell/the...
rutgersuniversitypress.org
The Silent Film Companion
Silent film is more than just a series of firsts, greats, or classics. It is a cinema of experimentation, ambition, and connection. A Silent Film Companion is a guidebook to the many pleasures of sile...
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Shane Denson @shanedenson.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
Very happy to have a short piece about Edison's Frankenstein (1910) in this whopping collection, which I can't wait to get my hands on!
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Benjamín Schultz-Figueroa @benjaminschultzfig.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
What an amazing lineup of contributors Liz and Martin put together for this book. I'm honored to have a short essay on The Consequences of Feminism (1906) included.
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Martin L. Johnson @martinlj.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
In our forthcoming edited book, The Silent Film Companion: An Recovered and Expanded History, @lizclarke100.bsky.social and I have a great chapter by Anna Kovalova on The Woman of Tomorrow (1915), about a woman doctor in pre-revolutionary Russia. www.rutgersuniversitypress.org/bucknell/the...
rutgersuniversitypress.org
The Silent Film Companion
Silent film is more than just a series of firsts, greats, or classics. It is a cinema of experimentation, ambition, and connection. A Silent Film Companion is a guidebook to the many pleasures of sile...
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Martin L. Johnson @martinlj.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Ten years in the making, my new book traces how corporations successfully infiltrated the movies in the early 20th Century in spite of scandal and massive audience resistance. Out in December, but you can order it (with a discount!) now. www.press.uillinois.edu/books/?id=c0...
A picture of the cover of Commercial Cinema: The History of the Advertising Film in the United States and the text "The development of a pervasive but little-known genre from 1910 through the 1940s." You can get a 30 percent discount on the book by using the promo code F26UIP.
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Martin L. Johnson @martinlj.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Ten years in the making, my new book traces how corporations successfully infiltrated the movies in the early 20th Century in spite of scandal and massive audience resistance. Out in December, but you can order it (with a discount!) now. www.press.uillinois.edu/books/?id=c0...
A picture of the cover of Commercial Cinema: The History of the Advertising Film in the United States and the text "The development of a pervasive but little-known genre from 1910 through the 1940s." You can get a 30 percent discount on the book by using the promo code F26UIP.
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Maggie Hennefeld @hennefem.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
The daily evening schedule for the 45th Giornate del Cinema Muto (silent film festival) in Pordenone has been announced!!! 🎞️🎶😍 www.giornatedelcinemamuto.it/en/eventi-se...
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Shelley Stamp @shelleystamp.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
I am really sad to hear that Gaylyn Studlar died today. A towering figure in feminist film history, her work on gender, stardom & fan culture had an immeasurable impact on my own thinking. Way ahead of her time on masculinity and masochism. Also a kind & generous human, all too rare in this biz.
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Josh Shepperd @joshshepperd.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
Looks like I’ll be the director of an academic conference as part of University of Colorado’s new partnership with the Sundance Film Festival, coming to Boulder in January. It’ll be baby steps this year, but there will be a lot to plan for January 2028.
colorado.edu
2027 Sundance Film Festival
CU Boulder is excited to welcome the Sundance Film Festival and Festival-goers to Boulder, Colo. in 2027!
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Nontheatrical Film and Media Scholarly Interest Group SCMS @nontheatricalscms.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
We are pleased to share CFP for our annual Nontheatrical Student Essay Award. Due Feb 15 2027. Winner’s essay will appear in THE MOVING IMAGE journal. Please share widely! amianet.org/wp-content/u... @scmstudies.bsky.social @necsusjournal.bsky.social @orphanfilm.bsky.social @amianet.bsky.social
Call for Papers: Nontheatrical Student Essay Award 2027 

In collaboration with AMIA (Association of Moving Image Archivists) and its journal, The Moving Image, the SCMS Nontheatrical Film and Media SIG is delighted to announce its fifth annual Nontheatrical Student Essay Award.  Designed to recognize outstanding graduate student scholarship founded upon archival nontheatrical research,
this award underscores both organizations’ commitment to mentorship and professional development, connecting award-recipients with mentors to guide them through the process of crafting journal-ready manuscripts. The award-winning essay will also be published (subject to revisions) in The Moving Image. 

Eligibility: Applicants must be enrolled in a recognized graduate program at the time of entry.

[Truncated for space]

Submissions will be due 15 February 2027 and can be sent to nontheatricalessayaward@gmail.com. The award winner will be contacted in March 2027, and announced at the 2027 SCMS Annual Conference.The Moving Image is the journal of the Association of Moving Image Archivists (AMIA). It explores topics relevant to both the media archivist and the media scholar. The Moving Image deals with crucial issues
surrounding the preservation, archiving, and restoration of film, video, and digital moving images. It features detailed profiles of moving image collections; interpretive and historical essays about archival materials; articles on archival description, appraisal, and access; behind-the-scenes looks at the techniques used to preserve, restore, and digitize moving images; and theoretical articles on the future of the field.

The Nontheatrical Film & Media scholarly interest group of the Society of Cinema and Media Studies (SCMS) provides a setting for scholars working in this area to collaborate, share research tips, and debate methodological issues. Moreover, this SIG acts as another connection between the academic and archival worlds, and between other SIGs and committees within SCMS, such as the Media Archives Committee. The mission of the Nontheatrical Film & Media Scholarly Interest Group is to facilitate discussion, consolidation, outreach, and inclusion.
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Luci Marzola @lucimarz.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
Just like Hollywood, we successfully launched something new, so we're making a sequel! Very excited for #HollywoodConference2027. Let us know if you have questions!
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Shelley Stamp @shelleystamp.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
Just saw page proofs for my short piece on Cleo Madison’s ELEANOR’S CATCH, coming soon in the SILENT FILM COMPANION edited by @lizclarke100.bsky.social and @martinlj.bsky.social. Did I compare Madison and DWG? Find out early next year!
Silent movie still showing a woman holding a man at gunpoint.
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Benjamín Schultz-Figueroa @benjaminschultzfig.bsky.social · 09/07/2026
I think about this a lot with scientific films. There's so much out there we don't know about. It's like a vast ocean that's mostly been explored by three people in a row boat.
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Jenny Oyallon-Koloski @cinemajok.bsky.social · 09/07/2026
My department at UIUC is hiring! Two TT positions, one in media and society, one in sports media. Come work with me! Links here: Media/Society: illinois.csod.com/ux/ats/caree... Sports Media: illinois.csod.com/ux/ats/caree...
illinois.csod.com
Tenure-Track Assistant Professor, Media and Society
The Department of Media and Cinema Studies in the College of Media at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign invites applicants for a full-time (...
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sean guynes @guynes.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
You can pre-order a print copy here and, on publication day, there will be a link to the Open Access edition as well:
services.publishing.umich.edu
Copy/Rights and Early Cinema
Histories of early cinema often focus on technological, social, and aesthetic developments in the medium. But cinema also posed legal challenges throughout the world and continues to do so in the era ...
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sean guynes @guynes.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
I'm not sure if I've said this here before, but starting later this year @leverpress.bsky.social has will be publishing the edited collections that spin out of the Domitor conferences on early cinema. Here's a look at the cover of the first volume we're doing on copyright and early cinema:
Cover of "Copy/Rights and Early Cinema," a yellow cover with a black-and-white photo of some early film folks being silly.
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Maggie Hennefeld @hennefem.bsky.social · 05/06/2026
The full program of the 2026 Domitor conference is now online! Starting next week in Niteroi, Brazil. 🎞️🎊😍 domitor.org/conference/2...
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Miriam Posner @miriamposner.com · 01/06/2026
There is something in here for everyone: Marxists, logistics obsessives, obsolete-software enthusiasts, and those are all the kinds of people I know about. yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300...
yalebooks.yale.edu
Seeing Like a Supply Chain
A history of the technology of supply-chain management from punch cards to neural nets, and how the ambiguity built into that technology helps companies and ...
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Women and Film History International @wfhinetwork.bsky.social · 01/06/2026
WFHI is pleased to announce the inaugural Women and Film History International Student Project Award. Sponsored by @sffilmpreserve.bsky.social. Visit our website for more info: www.wfhi.org/student-proj... Apply by September 15, 2026
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tnyfrontrow.bsky.social @tnyfrontrow.bsky.social · 30/05/2026
In memory and honor of the sociologist and philosopher Edgar Morin, who, in 1960, published the essay in which he coined the term cinéma-vérité and co-directed, with Jean Rouch, the film—Chronicle of a Summer—that showed what he had in mind. He passed away yesterday, at age 104.
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Dr. Kendra Preston Leonard (she/her) @kleonardphd.bsky.social · 19/05/2026
Got copyedits for my chapter on The Hands of Orlac & two scores for it & how they represent disability & Otherness. It'll be out in 2027 in The Silent Film Companion: A Recovered and Expanded History. Pre-order here (or ask your library to pre-order!): www.ubcpress.ca/the-silent-f...
ubcpress.ca
The Silent Film Companion
The Silent Film Companion - A Recovered and Expanded History; Silent film is more than just a series of firsts, greats, or classics. It is a cinema of experimentation, ambition, and connection. A Sile...
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Nontheatrical Film and Media Scholarly Interest Group SCMS @nontheatricalscms.bsky.social · 05/05/2026
We hear the latest issue of THE MOVING IMAGE— @amianet.bsky.social's peer review journal—just dropped! A special issue on Government Film edited by Brian Real. Nine new peer-reviewed articles spanning 1920s to ‘80s (if the TOC is any indication). 1/
Cover of THE MOVING IMAGE journal, Spring/Fall 2024. Orange cover with image of global map.
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elena gorfinkel @cinemiasma.bsky.social · 05/05/2026
Chicago folks May 19th-22nd I'll be in town presenting some special films: 5/20: Robina Rose's NIGHTSHIFT (1981) at Doc Films/ 5/21: rare 16mm Kodachrome print of WANDA (1970) at Northwestern's Block Museum Cinema / 5/22: Barbara Loden & Joan Micklin Silver's educational 16mm shorts, Block. Links ⬇️
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Martin L. Johnson @martinlj.bsky.social · 28/04/2026
Rotten Tomatoes (for plays) in 1935. From the Brooklyn Eagle.
A chart showing a scorecard, assessing each play on a 10 point scale.
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Martin L. Johnson @martinlj.bsky.social · 28/04/2026
Rotten Tomatoes (for plays) in 1935. From the Brooklyn Eagle.
A chart showing a scorecard, assessing each play on a 10 point scale.
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Martin L. Johnson @martinlj.bsky.social · 13/04/2026
You can protect buildings, people, or the environment. Pick two.
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Nontheatrical Film and Media Scholarly Interest Group SCMS @nontheatricalscms.bsky.social · 01/04/2026
ICYMI the @orphanfilm.bsky.social blog has been rolling out loads of essays about films featured in their upcoming symposium. Here’s one from a past SIG co-chair @martinlj.bsky.social about a 1960s work made by the North Carolina Film Board #Orphans2026 wp.nyu.edu/orphanfilm/2...
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Joel S. @joelhs.bsky.social · 14/03/2026
Jürgen Habermas, the leading figure of the second generation of the Frankfurt School, has died at the age of 96. www.faz.net/aktuell/feui...
faz.net
Jürgen Habermas im Alter von 96 Jahren gestorben
Jürgen Habermas ist in Starnberg gestorben. Das teilte der Suhrkamp Verlag mit.
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Martin L. Johnson @martinlj.bsky.social · 09/03/2026
Sen. Graig Meyer resigns, ensuring his successor will be chosen by party insiders, not voters. substack.com/@martinjohns...
substack.com
Sen. Graig Meyer is resigning. Party insiders, not voters, will decide his successor.
Sen. Graig Meyer is resigning on March 31. It is unfortunate that the timing of his departure means that party insiders, not voters, will choose his successor.
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Jülide Etem @julideetem.bsky.social · 03/03/2026
🎉 Film Diplomacy is READY FOR ORDER! Cold War classrooms. Cultural politics. Educational cinema as global strategy. So excited to finally share this with you all 💫 #NewBook #FilmDiplomacy #AcademicSky Use the coupon code CUP20 and save 20%. cup.columbia.edu/book/film-di...
cup.columbia.edu
Film Diplomacy | Columbia University Press
What if the most consequential alliance between the United States and Turkey was not signed—but screened? Beginning in 1930 and crystallizing during the Co... | CUP
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Nontheatrical Film and Media Scholarly Interest Group SCMS @nontheatricalscms.bsky.social · 17/02/2026
A little less than a month to deadline for our Graduate Student Writing Prize (in collaboration with @amianet.bsky.social's THE MOVING IMAGE journal). Please share widely with students who are working in the ‘nontheatrical’ sphere @scmstudies.bsky.social
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Maggie Hennefeld @hennefem.bsky.social · 10/02/2026
Rest in Power, Teresa de Lauretis (1938 - 2026). 💔
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Triangle Blog Blog @triangleblogblog.bsky.social · 09/02/2026
“For many parents, child care costs as much, or more than, their rent—between $1,500 and $2,000 a month per child, and that’s just for day care or preschool.”
triangleblogblog.com
Why we need more day cares in Chapel Hill, and what we can do about it. - Triangle Blog Blog
A group civics blog covering town council, education, transportation, and recreation in Chapel Hill and Carrboro, NC.
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Laura Horak @laurah.bsky.social · 07/02/2026
Want to come work in my Film Studies department in Ottawa, Canada, for a year? Application deadline is March 6. All areas of specialization welcome. Please spread the word! @carleton.ca carleton.ca/deputyprovos... #filmstudies #jobopportunity
carleton.ca
Lecturer or Assistant Professor, Teaching Stream, School for Studies in Art and Culture (Film Studies) - Office of the Deputy Provost (Academic Operations and Planning)
About the Position The School for Studies in Art and Culture invites applications for a one-year appointment at the rank of Lecturer/Assistant Professor, Teaching Stream, beginning 1 July 2026, from q...
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Nontheatrical Film and Media Scholarly Interest Group SCMS @nontheatricalscms.bsky.social · 04/02/2026
New batch of essays on Film Atlas. Latest batch of essays published includes 8mm sound-on-disc system, 16mm nitrate film, Ukrainian optical sound, some of the earliest photographic moving images shown to the public and an inventive amateur widescreen format. www.filmatlas.com
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