MAUREEN RUTH FURNISS, Ph.D.
Animation Faculty,California Institute of the Arts
24700 McBean Pkwy
Santa Clarita CA 91355 USA
Tel: 661-235-7825
URL: http://www.animationjournal.com
E-mail: editor -- at -- animationjournal.com
EDUCATION
1994 Ph.D., University of Southern California, Critical Studies/Cinema-Television (Dissertation: “Things of the Spirit: A Study of Abstract Film”)
1987 M.A., San Diego State University, Telecommunications and Film
1983 B.S., San Diego State University, Telecommunications and Film
TEACHING EXPERIENCE
2005 - present California Institute of the Arts, Animation Faculty (full-time; histories of experimental and character animation)
2005 University of Southern California, Visiting Faculty (part-time; history of visual effects)
2001 - 2004 Savannah College of Art and Design, Professor, Film and Animation (full-time; film history, television in society, online television in society, animation history, project 1/concept development, introduction to web page design)
1995 - 2001 Chapman University, Assistant Professor, School of Film and Television (full-time, director of Film Studies program; film aesthetics, world film history, American film history, Asian cinema, science fiction, documentary, animation aesthetics, animation production, women in film and television, film theory, archival research, research techniques, online film history; thesis supervision)
2001 University of California at Irvine, Visiting Lecturer, Film Studies (part-time; animation aesthetics)
2000 - 2001 Santiago Canyon College, Instructor, Computer Science (part-time; internet essentials, web page design, HTML, Advanced HTML)
1998, 2000, 2001 California State University, Fullerton, Visiting Lecturer, Department of Art (part-time; animation aesthetics)
1997 California Institute of the Arts, Lecturer, Experimental Film and Video Department (part-time; animation aesthetics)
1994, 1995 University of California at Santa Cruz, Visiting Lecturer, Theater Arts Board (part-time; film aesthetics, science fiction film studies, animation aesthetics)
RELATED PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
1991 - present Founding Publisher/Editor, Animation Journal (oversee all aspects of this scholarly journal’s publication process; now an annual, 19 issues produced)
1999 – present Founder/Moderator of egroups, Animation Journal, 500+ members; Animation Educators (Animedu), 50+ members; Animation Events, 40+ members
1999 - present Editorial Board Member, The Moving Image (journal of the Society for Moving Image Archivists, edited by Chris Horak, published by University of Minnesota Press)
1999 - 2003 Columnist/Reviewer, Animation World Network (regular reviewer of short form animation for the largest animation site on the Internet)
1997 - 2000 Content Expert, Michael Rose/Little River Productions (asked to serve as a consultant for a multi-part television series on animation history and aesthetics; green-lighted by The Learning Channel but then shelved)
1996 Consultant, Library of Congress, Genre Guide Document Update (invited to formulate categories pertaining to the area of animation)
PUBLICATIONS
Books
The Animation Bible (Laurence King/Harry N. Abrams, 2008). Invited publication.
Conversations with Comic Artists: Chuck Jones (University Press of Mississippi, 2005). Invited to edit this anthology of interviews.
Art in Motion: Animation Aesthetics (Sydney: John Libbey, 1998; North American distribution by Indiana University Press). Second printing in 1999. Also published in Korean.
Invited Reference Articles
“Animation” (revision/update of 2,500 word overview), Encarta Encyclopedia (Microsoft Corporation, 2002)
“Animation,” Handbook of American Popular Culture, ed. Dennis Hall and M. Thomas Inge (third ed., forthcoming from Westport, CT: Greenwood Press), invited 10,000 word essay
“Film: Animation,” Encyclopedia of Violence in the United States (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1999), invited contribution
“Animation” (2,500 word overview), “Osamu Tezuka,” “Chuck Jones,” “Max Fleischer,” “Jirí Trnka,” and “Hanna-Barbera,” invited to write entries for the Encarta Encyclopedia (Microsoft Corporation, 1996 and 1997)
Invited Animation
Doggie Gets a Snack (animation loop), featured on ASIFA.net, the homepage of the International Society for Animation Film, September 1999 (mine is the third animation featured on this site, which highlights the work of animators from across the world in a section called “stART”)
Peer-reviewed Essays
“Sound and the Silent Film,” American Silent Film: Discovering Marginalized Voices, ed. Gregg Bachman and Thomas J. Slater (Carbondale, IL: Southern Illinois University Press, 2002)
“Animation and Color Key: The Career of Phyllis Craig,” Animation Journal 5:1 (Fall 1996)
“What’s So Funny about Cheese? and other Dilemmas: The Nickelodeon Television Network and Its (Female) Producers,” Animation Journal 2:2 (Spring 1994)
“The Spirit of New York Independent Animation: George Griffin,” CinemAnimationS, ed. Pierre Floquet (Paris: Corlet editeurs Diffusion, 2007)
“Animation and Music,” The Continuum Companion to Sound in Film and the Visual Media, ed. Graeme Harper (New York: Continuum, 2007)
“Contemporary Issues in Animation Aesthetics,” Journal of World Cinema (special animation issue edited by Yundung Duan, 2006)
Other Publications
“Review: The Chess Player,” The Moving Image (Fall 2003/Winter 2004)
“Fresh from the Festivals,” semi-monthly short film review for Animation World Network online magazine (October 1999 to 2002)
“Animation Review: Sunrise over Tiannanmen Square,” reprint of Animation World Network review by invitation of the artist, Wang Shui Bo, for publication accompanying an exhibition of his work at Oakville Galleries in Gairloch Gardens, Canada (Fall 2001)
“Shrek and the Art of Debunking Fairy Tales,” Animation World Network online magazine (June 2001)
“Motion Capture: An Overview,” Animation Journal 8:2 (Spring 2000)
“Studio Supported Personal Films,” Animation World Network online magazine (May 1999)
“Animation Review: Sunrise over Tiannanmen Square,” Animation World Network electronic magazine (April, 1999)
“Walt Disney and the ‘Alice Comedies’” and “The Fleischer Studio and Modeling,” invited introductions for AFI OnLine Cinema (1997)
“Review: Dreamland Japan: Manga’s Paradise,” Animation World Network online magazine (July 1997)
“Adapting Alice: Two Contexts,” Art and Design (March 1997)
“Confessions of a Festival Juror,” Animation World Network electronic magazine (January 1997)
“Festival Review: Zagreb,” Animation World Network electronic magazine (July 1996)
“Picturing Women . . . in Animation,” Ottawa 1996 festival program
“A Brief History of Women in Animation,” invited to write an essay (along with a number of people who are well known in the field of animation) for The Complete Guide to Animation and Computer Graphics Schools, ed. Ernest Pintoff (New York: Watson-Guptill, 1995)
“The Personal Side of Ernest Pintoff, Filmmaker,” Ottawa 1994 festival program
“Reconciling Art, Music, and Machinery: An Interview with John Whitney,” Scratching the Belly of the Beast: Cutting-Edge Media in Los Angeles, 1928-94 exhibition catalogue, produced by the Los Angeles FilmForum (February-March 1994)
“Scratching the Belly of the Mouse: Independent Animation in the Los Angeles Area,” Scratching the Belly of the Beast: Cutting-Edge Media in Los Angeles, 1928-1994 exhibition catalogue, produced by the Los Angeles FilmForum (February-March 1994)
“Book Review: Women & Animation,” Film History 5:2 (June 1993)
“Sex with a Hard (Disk) On: Computer Bulletin Boards and Pornography,” Wide Angle 15:2 (April 1993)
“Hand Slapping in Hollywood: The Production Code’s Influence on the ‘Lubitsch Touch,’” Spectator 11:1 (Fall 1990)
“Book Review: Experimental Animation,” Animation Magazine 2:1 (Summer 1988)
LECTURES: CONFERENCE PAPERS, PANELS and PRESENTATIONS
“Trends in E-journals,” E-Journals Workshop, Society for Cinema & Media Studies, March 2004
“Issues in Animation Education Today,” invited keynote speaker, Student Animation Festival of Ottawa, October 2001
“Redefining Fairy Tales in Shrek,” invited introduction to Shrek screening, Savannah College of Art and Design Trustees Theater, October 2001
“Toy Stories: The Evolving Aesthetics of Computer Animation,” invited speaker, Distinguished Guest Lecture Series, Saddleback College, April 2001
“Violence in Japanese Animation,” invited speaker, BUFF festival for children and young adults, Sandnes, Norway, November 2000
“Animation History,” invited guest lecturer (five day mini-course), Rocky Mountain School of Art and Design, October 2000.
“Technique and Effect in the Work of Female Animators,” invited speaker, University of California, San Diego, graduate student seminar in Visual Arts, May 2000
“Women in Animation,” invited speaker, University of California Irvine, animation course taught by Vicki Callahan in Film Studies, May 2000
“Cross Cultural Perspectives in the Classroom,” Faculty Development Workshop, Chapman University, October 1999
“Motion Capture: Aesthetic Considerations,” Media in Transition Conference, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, October 1999
“Recent Innovations in Animation,” invited speaker, Young Presidents Organization Southern California Colloquium (one-hour lecture), May 1999
“Fine Art Animation,” invited speaker, Bowers Museum, Santa Ana, California (one-hour lecture), May 1999
“Small-Scale Preservation,” pre-constituted panel, Society for Cinema Studies Conference, West Palm Beach, March 1999
“Oskar Fischinger,” invited speaker, Orange County Museum of Art (one-hour lecture), January 1999
“Preservation and Scholars,” pre-constituted panel, Association of Moving Image Archivists Conference, Miami Beach, December 1998
“Society for Animation Studies,” invited speaker, World Animation Celebration, Pasadena, February 1998
“Animation History,” invited speaker, Mississippi State University teleconferenced course in “History and Theory of Digital Media,” February 1998
“Stars and Stripes: Animation in American Advertising,” Society for Animation Studies Conference, October 1997
“Library of Congress Genre Project,” pre-constituted panel, Society for Cinema Studies Conference, Ottawa, May 1997
“From College Campus to Job Market: Making It Happen,” invited speaker, World Animation Celebration, Pasadena, March 1997
“Library of Congress Genre Project,” pre-constituted panel, Association of Moving Image Archivists Conference, Atlanta, December 1996
“The Adaptation of Japanese Animation for American Television,” invited to present this co-authored paper at a colloquium for the faculty at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, in conjunction with the Society for Animation Studies Conference, Madison, September 1996
“Spiritual Practice and Abstraction in the work of Selected Filmmakers,” Society for Cinema Studies Conference, Dallas, March 1996
“Phyllis Craig: Color Key Artist,” Society for Animation Studies, Greensboro, NC, October 1995
“Community and Communitas at the Animation Festival,” Society for Animation Studies, San Francisco, October 1994
“What’s So Funny about Cheese? and other Dilemmas: Nickelodeon and Its (Female) Producers,” Console-ing Passions: Television, Video, and Feminism, Los Angeles, April 1993
“E-Sources and Media Studies,” panel chair (workshop on the use of computers and electronic networks in media studies), Society for Cinema Studies, New Orleans, February 1993
“Spirituality and Abstraction in American Film,” Society for Animation Studies, Valencia, CA, October 1992
“Sex with a Hard (Disk) On: Electronic Bulletin Boards and Pornography,” Far West Popular Culture Association, Las Vegas, February 1992
“Life in Postmodernism: It’s Prime Time for ‘The Simpsons,’” Society for Animation Studies, Ottawa, October 1990 (also chaired the “Gender and Ethnicity” panel)
“Hand Slapping in Hollywood: The Production Code’s Influence on the ‘Lubitsch Touch,’” Society for Cinema Studies, Washington, D.C., May 1990
“An Analysis of Spectator Positioning in The Three Caballeros and Mary Poppins,” Society for Animation Studies, Los Angeles, October 1989
EVENT PLANNING
1998 Conference Chair, Society for Animation Studies Conference, ten-day event at Chapman University and the Orange County Museum of Art
1997 Symposium Organizer, Moving Image Preservation Symposium, one-day event at Chapman University
FESTIVAL PARTICIPATION
2008 Jury, Tricky Women Animation Festival, Vienna
2008 Selection Committee, Animafest, Zagreb
2007 Invited speaker, PISAF (Seoul Student Animation Festival), Seoul
2007 Selection Committee, China International Cartoon and Animation Festival, Beijing
1999 Jury, Media-One Road Runner Short Film Festival (voted on films in competition)
1997 Jury, Laguna Beach Film Festival (voted on films in competition)
1996 Selection Committee Member, Ottawa '96 International Animation Festival (invited to be part of the committee that selects films for the festival’s competition)
1994, 1996 Programmer, Ottawa '94 International Animation Festival, “Ernest Pintoff Retrospective” (coordinated screening and wrote essay for festival program); Ottawa '96 International Animation Festival, “Picturing Women . . . in Animation” (coordinated screening and co-authored essay for festival program)
1994, 1996 Journalist, Zagreb World Festival of Animation (invited by festival organizers to be the American journalist)
1994 Programmer, Los Angeles FilmForum, “Experimental Animation in Los Angeles” as part of an 8-week series, “Scratching the Belly of the Beast: Cutting-Edge Media in Los Angeles, 1928-94”
MEDIA INTERVIEWS
“Recent Trends in Made-for-Television Animation,” February 2001, The Orange County Register, California (the emergence of a new generation of animation directors)
“The State of Animation,” June 2000, Europe 2 Radio (one of four journalists from various countries interviewed for Europe-wide broadcast of segment on the state of animation internationally)
“Living an Animated Life: Fantasy Turns Real for Chapman’s Maureen Furniss,” April 2000, The Orange County Register (an article about me, focusing on my professional interests in animation)
“Chemistry Lesson,” June 1999, The Orange County Register, California (how on-screen romances impact real-life relationships)
“The World,” February 1999, WGBH radio, Boston (contemporary and historical issues surrounding the Academy Award nominations for Foreign Language Films)
“Our World,” February 1999, The Orange County Register (images of aging in film)
“On the Media,” January 1998, WNYC radio, New York (strobe effects in animation, nationally syndicated program)
“Definitely Not the Opera,” October 1997, CBC radio, Winnipeg (10-minute segment on animation history, nationally syndicated program)
“Hollywood has seen the future . . . and it works,” The Orange County Register, California (contrasting present science fiction with films of the 1950s)
“Jimmy Stewart: 1908-1997,” July 1997, The Orange County Register, California (characterizing Stewart’s persona)
AWARDS
Chapman University Faculty Development Grants, $2000 to travel to Annecy International Animation Festival for professional development, June 2000; $1,900 to develop a travel study research course in Washington, D.C., July 1999; $1,800 to attend the Association of Moving Image Archivists Conference, December 1998; $2,000 to attend Le Giornate del Cinema Muto (the Pordenone Silent Film Festival), October 1997; $1,500 to conduct research at the Museum of Modern Art and Anthology Film Archives, January 1997
Chapman University Fine and Performing Arts Grants, $1000 for a Symposium on the Preservation of Film Marketing Materials,” September 1999; $3100 for the Society for Animation Studies Conference, August 1998
California Council for the Humanities Mini-Grant, $2000 for “Animation History Film and Lecture Series,” August 1998
Orange County Business Journal Women in Business Award Nominee, 1998
Valerie Scudder Award, for outstanding achievement in teaching, scholarship, advising, and service, awarded by Chapman University, 1997, $1,500 award
Certificate of Merit, for contributions to the field of animation, awarded by ASIFA (the international animation society), Hollywood chapter, 1996
Mary Pickford Scholarship, awarded for scholarly achievement by the University of Southern California, 1993 and 1994
PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS
The Society for Animation Studies, president, founding member, past treasurer
The Association of Moving Image Archivists, member of the editorial board of its journal, The Moving Image (edited by Chris Horak, published by University of Minnesota Press)
Women in Animation, founding member, past member of the steering committee, founder of Orange County chapter, currently inactive
The International Society for Animated Film, ASIFA, general member
Last updated: 24 March 2004