Zuker, Joel
Office: Hunter North 528
E-mail: jzuker@hunter.cuny.edu
Phone: 212.650.3477
I have taught courses in film at NYU, Saint Peters College, Rutgers and Hunter. I came to Hunter in 1972 as an instructor and have taught a wide range of courses including film history, film theory, selected directors, several national cinema courses [German, Italian, Japanese] several genre related classes [silent comedy film noir, the western], film practicum, and a history of non-fiction film. With the exception of the last two years, I have been the coordinator of the introduction to film classes which is our survey course in film studies. I have a MA, and PhD in Cinema Studies from New York University. I have had three books on film published. The first evolved from my dissertation on Ralph Steiner: Filmmaker and Photographer [ Arno Press] and concerned the agit-prop art of left wing artists photographers, filmmakers, writers]in the 1920’s and 1930’s. I have also written books on Arthur Penn [G.K Hall] and Francis Coppola [G.K. Hall] Currently I am working on a book on the films of Mel Brooks for Twayne Publishers. I have written articles for a number of film journals including: Film Comment, Positif Field of Vision, Performing Arts Resources, Journal of Popular Film etc. I am also writing an article on the screenwriter A. B. Guthrie.
While primarily a film historian, I have also been involved in both film and video production. I shot a 16mm documentary on the contemporary painter Julian Lethbridge. I have also, through PSC-CUNY grants, shot two documentary videos, the first on casino gaming in Atlantic City entitled “Casino U,” and the second on the impact of the gaming business on the Mashentucket Nation in Ledyard Connecticut. I have also written a number of screenplays one of which “Bakersfield” was optioned in 1995. I formed a production company with two partners in 1996. We have optioned a mystery/spy novel by Robert van Gulag which we are developing into a feature length film.
On somewhat of a personal note, I have lectured or presented papers at colleges in Utah, Florida, Montana, New Hampshire, Vermont, Ohio, even aboard a ship crossing the Atlantic Ocean. Yet, the one place that is the most challenging, the most exciting, and the most rewarding to me both academically and spiritually is right here at Hunter.