Scott MacDonald
Professor of Cinema and Media Studies
Named an Academy Scholar by the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences in 2012, Scott MacDonald is the author of 20 books, including A Critical Cinema: Interviews with Independent Filmmakers (5 volumes), and has done numerous essays and interviews. His newest books are American Ethnographic Film and Personal Documentary: The Cambridge Turn (essays) and Avant-Doc: Intersections of Documentary and Avant-Garde Cinema (interviews). He has curated and presented film events for the Museum of Modern Art, the Harvard Film Archive, the Pacific Film Archive in Berkeley and elsewhere. MacDonald received his Ph.D. from the University of Florida.
One of MacDonald's current projects is "Flaherty Stories," a blog he co-authors with Professor Patricia R. Zimmermann at Ithaca College. "Flaherty Stories" is a follow-up to their recent book, The Flaherty: Decades in the Cause of Independent Cinema (Indiana University Press, 2017) For more than 60 years, the annual Robert Flaherty Film Seminar, now held annually at Colgate University, has hosted filmmakers, scholars, curators, writers for an intensive and often volatile week, focused on cutting-edge documentary filmmaking.
Recent Courses Taught
Introduction to the History and Theory of Film
Facing Reality: A History of Documentary Cinema
Major Figures in Cinema
Distinctions
- Academy of Motion Picture of Arts and Sciences Academy Scholar, 2012
- National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship for Independent Scholars, 2004
- Anthology Film Archives Film Preservation Award, 1998
- Utica College Student Life Outstanding Faculty Award, 1998
- Utica College Women’s Center Ally for Women’s Empowerment Award, 1998
- National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship for College Teachers, 1993
- Utica College Alumni Association Outstanding Faculty Award, 1993
- Utica College Clark Award for Outstanding Scholarship and Professional Development, 1993
- Utica College Distinguished Teaching Award, 1981
- National Endowment for the Humanities summer stipend, 1981
Selected Publications
- Avant-Doc: Intersections of Documentary and Avant-Garde Cinema. New York: Oxford University Press, 2015.
- American Ethnographic Film and Personal Documentary: The Cambridge Turn. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2013.
- Adventures of Perception: Cinema as Exploration, Interviews/Essays. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2009.
- Canyon Cinema: The Life and Times of an Independent Film Distributor. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2008.
- Cinema 16: Documents Toward a History of the Film Society. Temple University Press, 2002.
- A Critical Cinema 5: Interviews with Independent Filmmakers. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2005.
- A Critical Cinema 4: Interviews with Independent Filmmakers. University of California Press, 2004.
- The Garden in the Machine: A Field Guide to Independent Films about Place. University of California Press, 2001.
- A Critical Cinema 3: Interviews with Independent Filmmakers. University of California Press, 1998.
- Movies Before Cinema, Parts 1 and 2. Two special issues of Wide Angle: vol. 18, no. 2 (April 1996) and no. 3 (July 1996).
- Screen Writings: Scripts and Texts by Independent Filmmakers. University of California Press, 1995.
- Avant-Garde Film/Motion Studies. Cambridge University Press, 1993.
- A Critical Cinema 2: Interviews with Independent Filmmakers. University of California, 1992.
- A Critical Cinema: Interviews with Independent Filmmakers. University of California, 1988.
- Critical Essays on Erskine Caldwell. G. K. Hall, 1981.
Professional Experience
- Visiting professor of film, Hamilton College, 1981-present
- NEH professor of humanities, Colgate University, 2011
- Visiting professor of film, Harvard University, 2007, 2009, 2012
- Visiting professor of film, Bard College, 2000-04
- Visiting scholar, University of Arizona, 2000
- Professor emeritus, Utica College of Syracuse University, 1999
- Professor of English and film, Utica College of Syracuse University, 1979-99
- Associate professor of English and film, Utica College of Syracuse University, 1975-79
- Assistant professor of English and film, Utica College of Syracuse University, 1971-75
Appointed to the Faculty
2012Educational Background
Ph.D., University of Florida
M.A., University of Florida
B.A., DePauw University
