Bookshelf

Alumni and faculty members who would like to have their books considered for this listing should contact Stacey Himmelberger, editor of Hamilton magazine. This list, which dates back to 2018, is updated periodically with books appearing alphabetically on the date of entry.

Comprehending Cinema by Scott MacDonald, professor of cinema and media studies

April 10, 2025

Tags Faculty Book

(Oxford University Press, 2024).

Oscar-winning documentarians, filmmakers, a cine-historian and video-essayist, the list goes on. Throughout this volume, which completes MacDonald’s “avant-doc trilogy,” readers will find interviews and essays that “model a generalist approach to modern audiovisual media, prioritizing remarkable cinematic accomplishments that can get lost within our overwhelming modern mediascape.”

According to the publisher, “Comprehending Cinema combines engaging conversations with accomplished filmmakers and essayistic explorations of recent contributions to modern media-making by filmmakers creating a tradition of ‘cine-nocturnes,’ and by filmmakers exploring archival representations of World War I. The book offers a reading adventure dedicated to opening the door to exciting new kinds of film experience.”

Previous volumes in the series include Avant-Doc: Intersections of Documentary and Avant-Garde Cinema (2015) and The Sublimity of Document: Cinema as Diorama (2019).