Jeremy Butler '76

Current Roles: Professor

IC: Film Studies

ISP/GISPs: Related to film analysis

For Jeremy, taking advantage of Brown’s Open Curriculum (then called the ‘New Curriculum’) was what made his educational experience so valuable. “I came to Brown with no clear goal in mind. I didn’t know what my concentration would be and only vaguely thought it would be interesting to study film. Brown allowed me the freedom to experiment with different subjects and find myself within them.”

“A large part of the reason I went to Brown is because of the Open Curriculum and the ability to take classes pass/no credit. I would take classes way outside of my comfort zone knowing I could do poorly and it wouldn’t my academic record. So every single class I took at Brown outside of film I took pass/no credit. Every one. And I just think that that’s one of the ways in which you can take advantage of that system to learn things that you wouldn’t normally live.”

“I built an independent concentration in ‘film studies’ out of courses in several departments. I took virtually all of my non-concentration courses S/NC. I had my instructors fill out the narrative grading form (I forget what they were called) in lieu of or in addition to conventional letter grades. I was grateful for the lack of distribution requirements, because it opened up my options…. I don’t think I would have been happy at any other university.”

Jeremy at WBRU

Although the CRC only came into existence the year Jeremy graduated, he was able to find his own network of mentorship that shaped his academic experience. “After sophomore year, I really only worked with him and he was a mentor to me and really determined the course of my entire life. He inspired me to become a film professor, which is what I am today.”