> Any suggestions for an undergraduate level silent film text that is
> "recent and manageable"..........
 
 
You might want to try this new book:
Burning Passions:  An Introduction to the Study of Silent Cinema, by Paolo
Cherchi Usai, preface by Kevin Brownlow, BFI Publishing, 1994, ISBN
0851704085. Paolo Cherchi Usai is presently at the George Eastman House and
is one of the founders of the Giornate del Cinema Muto annual silent film
festival in Pordenone, Italy.
 
Joanne Bernardi