Scenes of Instruction The Beginnings of the U.S. Study of Film

"Polan's book offers the first pedagogical history of the emergence of film studies courses within the American university system prior to World War II, based on an amazing wealth of little known or even unknown material. It also offers an equally valuable intellectual history in which early film studies courses clarify the theoretical frameworks governing the humanities and social sciences in higher education. And the writing is sophisticated yet accessible and engaging."—Richard Abel, author of Americanizing the Movies and "Movie-Mad" Audiences, 1910-1914