The class enrollment statistics released a week after Study Cards were due, showed another interesting blip. While Ec 10 was shrinking, Assistant Professor of Visual and Environmental Studies (VES) J.D. Connor’s “The Contemporary Hollywood Cinema” more than tripled in size.
Since film studies became an official concentration, and former New York Times film critic Elvis Mitchell taught a popular film analysis course last spring, VES has garnered the interest of many undergraduates.
But Connor said he does not believe there is any relationship between the growth of his course, VES 195, and the decline in Ec 10’s enrollment.
“I personally don’t think that it’s plausible that my course could be the cause of this,” he said. “Last year, [VES 195] was being taught the first time, and all first-time courses have an artificial depression in enrollment.”
He cited a lack of CUE guide ratings as a possible explanation for this depression.
Connor also said his students are not “possible Ec 10 candidates,” because they are mostly upperclassmen who have likely taken Ec 10 already.