With the success this past year of the movies "Hugo" and "The Artist," both set in the world of the silent film, there has been a renewed interest in the age of movie-making before the advent of sound in 1927. These seminars will look at the first 30 years of American film-making. Topics covered will include the invention of the motion picture by Thomas Edison, early nickelodeons, the invention of the block-buster film by DW Griffith, the comedy clowns, (e.g. Chaplin and Keaton), the cult of the film star, (e.g. Garbo and Valentino), and finally the death of the selent film and its rediscovery with video and digital technology.