This course introduces students to the history of cinema as a global medium, investigating it as an historical process and as a transnational phenomenon.  The class will follow a chronological approach starting with silent cinema in Europe (France and the Soviet Union) and the U.S.  It then moves to Classical Hollywood Cinema, where students will learn not only the art of CHC, but also the institutional aspects of such cinema, from production to exhibition. Within a global context, the class will also discuss issues of National Cinema (both its weaknesses and strength) and the different styles associated with certain countries at different times, including Soviet Formalism, German Expressionism, Italian Neorealism, French New Wave and Brazilian Cinema Novo.  Since students also need to understand the relationship between local and regional cinemas and their place in the broader histories of cinema, class time will also be devoted to Japanese and Chinese cinemas, including Hong Kong and Taiwan. Ultimately, this class strives to encourage students to understand the inter-connectedness of all these different cinema histories, movements and some of their associated theories to understand cinema as one of the truly global media.