Mariana Johnson Associate Chair & Assistant Professor
Contact Information
Office: King Hall 102A
johnsonm@uncw.edu
Education
Ph.D. in Cinema Studies, New York University, 2006
Dissertation: “Imperfect Distance: Contemporary Cuban Film and Media Across the Florida Straits.” Advisor: Robert Stam; awarded with distinction
M.A. in Cinema Studies, New York University, 2001
Graduate Certificate in Culture and Media, New York University, 2001
B.A. in English, Sewanee University, Tennessee, 1997
Teaching and Research Interests
Latin American cinema, film theory, third world and post-colonial cinemas, documentary, transnationalism in film and media studies, cultural theory, film and activism
Regular Courses:
- Latin American Cinema
- Contemporary Latin American Cinema
- History of Documentary
- Transnational Cinema
- Film Authors: Hitchcock
- Introduction to World Cinema
- Film Theory
- Special Topics in World Cinema
Teaching Experience
Assistant Professor of Film Studies, UNC-Wilmington, 2006-
Visiting Assistant Professor of Film Studies, UNC-Wilmington, 2005-2006
Lecturer, Hunter College, City University of New York, Film and Media Studies Department, 2003.
Preceptor, Morse Academic Program for Undergraduate Study, New York University, 2003
Teaching Assistant, Department of Cinema Studies, New York University, 2002-2003
Publications
“Tourism and Transnational Romance in Spanish-Cuban Co-productions” in Contemporary Spanish Cinema and Genre. Ed. Jay Beck and Vicente Rodríguez Ortega. Manchester: Manchester University Press. December, 2008.
With Toby Miller, “The Who, What, When, Where, And How-Gilda Says Textual Analysis Needs To Learn From Political Economy And Ethnography” in the Oxford Handbook to Film Studies. Ed. Robert Kolker. New York: Oxford University Press, 2008.
Book review. “Contemporary Latin American Cinema: Ten Key Films by Deborah Shaw.” Film International. Fall 2006.
“School’s Out: Celebration and Elegy in Jean Vigo’s Zéro de conduite.” Film Comment Vol. 37, No.6 (Nov/Dec 2001): 49-52. Winner of the Grand Marnier Film Fellowship sponsored by the Film Society of Lincoln Center.
“Louisiana Story.” The Oxford American, special documentary issue No. 42 (Jan/Feb 2002): 48-49.
“An Annotated Resource Guide to 9-11 Films, Videos, and Websites.” Tactical Media Virtual Casebook: 9-11 and After. The Virtual Casebook Project at New York University (August 2002). www.nyu.edu/fas/projects/vcb/case_911_HTMLcontent.html#resources
Fellowships and Honors
New York University Departmental Distinction, Cinema Studies, for my doctoral dissertation, “Imperfect Distance: Contemporary Cuban Film and Media Across the Florida Straits.” Advisor: Dr. Robert Stam
Grand Marnier Film Fellowship for film criticism, Film Society of Lincoln Center, presented at the New York Film Festival in October of 2001
Five-year Departmental Full Fellowship for M.A. and Ph.D. study in the Department of Cinema Studies, New York University, August 1999
Fulbright Scholar to Peru, 1997-1998
Visiting scholar at the Instituto Riva-Aguero, Lima, Peru
Phi Beta Kappa, since 1997
Grants
UNC-Wilmington, Randall Library Project Development Grant, 2008, Feminist Filmmaking and Scholarship
UNC-Wimington, Summer Research Initiative, 2008, focusing on contemporary Cuban filmmaking and the relationship between film production and the tourist industry.
UNC-Wilmington, Randall Library Project Development Grant, 2007, Contemporary Latin American Cinema
UNC-Wilmington, Charles Cahill Award, 2006, Pre-revolutionary Cuban Film Culture
NYU Dissertation Award, 2002
NYU Travel Grant, 2001
NYU Travel Grant, 2000
University Service and Professional Activities
Faculty Senator for Film Studies Department, Fall 2007–Spring 2008.
Member of International Studies planning committee, College of Arts and Sciences. Spring 2008.
Co-organizer of the Reel Girls project, Spring 2007-2008, a cross-mentoring, interdisciplinary independent study in which UNC-Wilmington students learn about media literacy, documentary studies, film activism and film production, then plan and lead their own two-day documentary workshop for 20 middle-school girls at DC Virgo Middle School.
Member, Assessment Committee, Department of Film Studies, 2008.
Member, Cultural Events Committee, Department of Film Studies, 2006-2008.
Faculty advisor for the Flicker Film Society, Spring 2007–Spring 2008.
Organizer, Latin American Film Festival at UNC-Wilmington’s Lumina Theater, Spring 2007. The four-week series brought in contemporary films from Cuba, Mexico, Chile, and Argentina. Responsible for booking, fund-raising, promotions, and related curriculum.
Member, Sophia Grace scholarship committee, Spring 2007.
Member, two Job Search Committees for the Department of Film Studies, 2006-2007.
Academic Reader for Social Identities: Journal for the Study of Race, Nation and Culture (Routledge UP).
Programming and Research Assistant, Center for Media, Culture and History,
New York University. Assisted in researching, programming and producing Center events, consisting of film screenings, festivals, and symposia. 2001-02.
Reporter, Talking Movies, a BBC World television program, 2002.
Assistant Editor, “Tactical Media Virtual Casebook: 9-11 and After”
Virtual Casebook Project at New York University, with funding from the Rockefeller Foundation and Pew Charitable Trusts, on Cultural Activism and Tactical Media, 2002.
Managing Editor, Journal of Television and New Media (Sage Publications), 2000-01.
Coverage Writer, Scott Rudin Productions, New York City, Evaluated and material for development, 2000-01.
Conference Presentations
“Reel Girls: Feminism, Mentoring and Outreach through Film,” Presentation at the Southeastern Women’s Studies Association Conference in Charlotte, April 5, 2008.
“Contact in the No-Contact Zone: Cuban Cinema, the Cold War, and the Politics of Isolation.” Society for Cinema and Media Studies. Chicago, Illinois, March 9, 2007.
“Recent Trends in Latin American Cinema.” Workshop at Society of Cinema and Media Studies. Chicago, Illinois, March 9, 2007.
“TV Marti from 30,000 Feet: Information Wars and Invisible Audiences.” Society for Cinema and Media Studies. London, England, March, 2005.
“The Celia Cruz Memorials: Cuban-American Cultural Citizenship and the Marketing of Nostalgia.” Console-ing Passions: The International Conference of Television, Video and Feminism. New Orleans, Louisiana, May, 2004.
“The Fourth Wave: Cuban-American Personal Documentary, Dialogue on the Ground.” Society for Cinema and Media Studies. Atlanta, Georgia, May, 2004.
Invited Lectures
“Film Adaptations of Lolita,” Guest lecturer, Writing about Film, UNC-Wilmington, October 2, 2007.
“Transnationalism in Film Scholarship and Production” for the Moviemakers and Scholars Series, part of UNCW’s International Culture Week, February 15, 2007.
“The Road Movie in Contemporary Latin American Cinema.” Invited lecture for Mi Gente’s Hispanic Film Series screening of Motorcycle Diaries. Lumina Theater, UNCW. October, 2006.
“Representational Possibilities across Art Forms.” Invited lecture for the Intersections: Art and Film series screening of Frida, hosted by the Art History department. Lumina Theater, UNCW. September, 2006.
Invited as a consultant and expert in the field to lead a four-day lecture series and teaching workshop for faculty at Sewanee University (Sewanee, Tennessee) about the fundamentals of film style and theory. August 8-11, 2006.
“Neo-colonial Encounters: Media Coverage of the War in Iraq.” Guest lecturer, Media and Cultural Studies, New York University, April 2003.
“Transnational Telenovelas.” Guest lecturer, Women and Television, New York University, 2002.