HESBURGH LECTURE SERIES 2013 Program - Alumni Association ...

Donald Crafton, Ph.D.
The Joseph and Elizabeth Robbie Professor of Film, Television, and
Theatre; Fellow, Nanovic Institute for European Studies
Biography
Donald Crafton is the Robbie Professor of Film, Television, and Theatre, specializing in film
history and visual culture. He earned his B.A. from the University of Michigan, his M.A. from
the University of Iowa, and M.A. and Ph.D. from Yale University. He was the founding director
of the Yale Film Study Center, and served as director of the Wisconsin Center for Film and
Theater Research. Crafton joined the University of Notre Dame faculty in 1997. Before his
appointment at Notre Dame, he taught at Yale University and at the University of Wisconsin.
He chaired the Department of Film, Television, and Theatre at Notre Dame from 1997-2002
and 2008-2011. He was chair of the Department of Music from 2005-2008.
Crafton’s research interests have focused on the early history of motion pictures and the history
of animation. Among his books are The Talkies: American Cinema’s Transition to Sound, 1926-1931 and two books on animation.
One of these, Before Mickey: The Animated Film 1898-1928, has been in print for 25 years. A third book on animation, Shadow of
a Mouse: Animation Performance will be published in 2012. His current research explores the often-overlooked involvement of
Joseph P. Kennedy as an executive and financier in the early movie industry.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences named Crafton an Academy Film Scholar in 2001, and he has been the
recipient of two National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowships. The World Festival of Animation presented him with an
award for his contributions to animation theory, and he is the recipient of the French Jean Mitry prize in film history. Crafton is
on the advisory board of Film Quarterly and Cinema Journal. He received Notre Dame’s Presidential Award in 2007.
Lecture
Notre Dame in the Movies
Categories
Communications, Notre
Dame
The hallowed halls and storied playing fields of Notre Dame have been the subjects of American cinema since at least 1924 (a
Mack Sennett comedy, “The Half-Back of Notre Dame”). This 90-minute lecture traces the history of the University’s many
representations through “Rudy” (1993), and includes some speculation as to the significance of the subject in film and American
life. The PowerPoint presentation is illustrated with many video clips, so a large screen TV with computer inputs is required.
24 The Hesburgh Lecture Series, 2013 Program