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Fall 2010
African American Studies 98/198
2 Unit(s)

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About the Course:

Course Description: The focus of this course will be to view and critically analyze films from twelve different nations. We will explore the social and political milieus surrounding each film as a means to understanding the style and philosophy within the film. The class will examine to what extent a film in a particular region represents the concerns or ideology of the society within which it was produced. The goal of the course will be to understand the fluid, dynamic relationship between societal stimuli and the production of film as an art, and how each perpetuates the other by the artist’s, or director’s, crafting of his work as a representation of his environment.

 Each week, we will view a film from a new country. We will then discuss the reading for that week in relation to the film viewed, and analyze the nature of the relationship between the film and the social factors affecting its production and content. The goal will be to glean insight into different societies’ forms of reflecting their cultures via the medium of film.

 Requirements: There are 12 class sessions; we will watch a film during each one. Attendance is mandatory for at least 9 of the 12 classes. Each week, students will also submit a two-page, double-spaced response paper that reflects on the past week’s film and how it is embedded in that week’s reading and our discussions in class. To pass the course, students must submit response papers, in person, for 9 of the 12 films, thereby confirming class attendance.

How to Enroll:

UPDATED INFORMATION AS OF WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 15:

We surely did not expect the turnout we received yesterday. We also had the unfortunate task of trying to choose between 60 or so proposals of the various reasons why people want to be in the class.

Accordingly, we have emailed CCNs to the 25 people we thought provided the most impressive proposals. We thus have 10 CCNs left. To be fair, we will release them on this website at 7pm, Thursday September 16. It will be a first come, first serve basis. Once those CCNs are taken, there is nothing more we can do to facilitate more people in the class.

Again, be sure to check this website with the CCNs tomorrow at 7pm. For those of you that don't get in, we sincerely apologize. We definitely want to accommodate all who want to take the class, and in effect have a bigger discussion on the films. It unfortunately is beyond our control, as the schedulers are unable to give us a bigger classroom or more enrollment. If you do not get in the class and want to come to watch one or a few of the films, please feel free to. We welcome the various opinions and perspectives brought by all the students wanting to take the class.