Eric Smoodin is a Professor in the Programs in American Studies and Film Studies. He received his PhD in Film Studies from UCLA in 1984, and his research and teaching interests include American and European film history from1895 to 1960, the American and European film industries, the film audience, and the history of Film Studies as an academic discipline.

Most recently, he is the author of Regarding Frank Capra: Audience, Celebrity, and American Film Studies, 1930-1960 (Duke, 2004), and the editor with Jon Lewis of Looking Past the Screen: Case Studies in American Film History and Method (Duke, 2007).