Dr Stefano Ciammaroni
Title
Senior Lecturer in Film Theory
College
London College of Communication
Email address
Tags
Researcher Research
Biography
I am a Film Studies scholar with many years of experience designing and delivering modules at both undergraduate and postgraduate level, in the UK as well as in the United States. I hold a BFA in Cinema Studies and Russian & Slavic Studies, an MA in Cinema Studies, and a PhD in Cinema Studies, all from New York University. In the UK, I am also a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.I am currently Senior Lecturer in Film Theory within the BA in Film Practice at the University of the Arts London (London College of Communication). I am also Lecturer in Film Studies in the Science Communication Unit of the Centre for Languages, Culture and Communication at Imperial College London, where I teach within the context of an MSc in Science Media Production.
After earning a PhD at New York University’s Cinema Studies Department in May 2011, I held a Senior Lectureship in Film, TV, and Cultural Studies in the Department of Interdisciplinary Studies at Manchester Metropolitan University (2011 - 2014).
Previously (2005-2010), I held adjunct positions at Columbia University and New York University, where I taught survey-style courses in film theory and history, as well as more specific courses on the relationship between film and politics in American and Italian film.
My field of teaching expertise includes the film practices of Western and Eastern Europe, the United States, Russia, and Latin America. I also have specialist knowledge of Film Theory (both classical and modern), with specific interest in the intersection between filmmaking practices and radical political theories. With extensive experience designing and leading specialised seminars as well as broad, survey-style classes, I am used to teaching a variety of film modes: classically narrated forms of mainstream film, art-house styles of narration, or radical experimental traditions. Lately, I have also been incorporating into my teaching the work of gallery artists who work with moving images and time-based media.
I have specific experience in teaching film history and theory to students enrolled in production-based degrees. Analysing the students' films in lectures, I pair aesthetic and/or thematic choices found in their practical work with learning encounters occurred in theory or history modules. This enables me to help production students gain awareness of how their critical engagement with historical and theoretical modules informs and transforms their filmmaking work. Treating the students' films as exercises in theorising through practice, I effectively train students to see their filmmaking work as final repository of their critical and contextual study.
My teaching methodology blends the tools of film and political theory, textual analysis, and cultural studies. My classes are hands-on and image-driven. They feature a mix of formal delivery, significant reliance on film clips and excerpts from recently produced audiovisual essays, and interactive discussion. Fostering effective class discussions is one of my principal aims.