Professor Wurtzler enjoys film venues from the Uptown to his dining room wall. (Photo: Roland Dimaya)
Insight: Professor Steve Wurtzler
Q. What is your favorite movie theater in DC?
A. The theater in the East Wing of the National Gallery. I also like the Uptown. But I even enjoy the 16mm films I project onto the wall of my dining room.
Q. What three words would people close to you use to describe you?
A. I actually asked several friends. The best answer was 'nicotine-stained Eeyore.'
Q. What would you be doing if you weren't teaching at Georgetown?
A. Two possibilities: First, teaching anywhere else. Second, during the summer a fishing guide on a Canadian Shield lake (lake trout, walleye, northern, musky) and the rest of the year a bartender within sight of a white sand beach.
Q. What book would you suggest someone interested in learning about your subject read as an introduction?
A. Which subject? On sound, any of Michel Chion's or Rick Altman's books. On technology, Wiebe Bijker's “Of Bicycles, Bakelites, and Bulbs.” On cinema, James Broughton's “Seeing the Light.”
Feature Story
Professor Steve Wurtzler on Sound and Technology
Georgetown professor of English Steve Wurtzler started his undergraduate career as an engineer. On the advice of his sister, Professor Wurtzler took a film studies class, and has since not looked back. "It was a transformative moment," he said of his realization that his passion was for film and the liberal arts, including literature and art history, which he included in his self-determined study of culture and media.
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Student Profile: Lauren Cioffi
Georgetown junior Lauren Cioffi has taken two classes, so far, with Professor Wurtzler, and notes his passion for his subject is one of the reasons she is pleased to be studying with him. She is currently taking his "Avant-Garde Film" class this spring semester of 2009.
Alumna Q&A: Jennifer Manno
Jennifer Manno graduated from Georgetown in 2003. She designed her major in Film Studies through Georgetown's interdisciplinary program. Professor Wurtzler was the adviser for her course of study.
Student Profile: Alex Platis
First year student Alex Platis took Professor Wurtzler's “Gateway: Introduction to Critical Methods” class this year as a way to transition into Georgetown academic life while studying something in which he was already interested: film.