Rate My Professor Josh Kanin

Josh Kanin, Ph.D., is a Professor of Film Studies in the Department of Communication and Media Studies at Santa Monica College, where he has taught full-time since 1998. A native of Los Angeles, he earned his B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Southern California's School of Cinema and Television. Kanin began his college teaching career in 1973, delivering undergraduate and graduate courses in film studies at numerous institutions. These include Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio; University of California, Los Angeles; University of Southern California; California State Universities at Long Beach, Fullerton, and Northridge; Los Angeles City College; Los Angeles Valley College; California Institute of the Arts; and Art Center College of Design, among others.

His instructional portfolio at Santa Monica College encompasses film history covering American and international cinema, film theory and aesthetics, film genres, cultural film studies, screenwriting, and film production. Kanin serves as Faculty Advisor for the Student Filmmakers Association, also known as the Film Club. In addition to his academic commitments, he is currently developing a limited television series that he will produce and completing a book on the cinema and culture of the 1960s, set for publication in 2021. Kanin hails from an eminent family in Hollywood and Broadway theater: his parents, Fay and Michael Kanin, and his uncle and aunt, Garson Kanin and Ruth Gordon, won Academy, Tony, and Emmy Awards as screenwriters, playwrights, directors, and actors.