Five College Film & Video Course Guide

UMASS Spring 2009

N.B. This version of the Guide is a work in progress. Please see the websites www.umass.edu/film or www.fivecolleges.edu/sites/film for revisions and additions.

(updated 11/12/08)

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ANTHRO 106 - A CULTURE THROUGH FILM

11712 Tu 5:00PM - 9:00PM Grayson Dormitory room 104

Enoch Page Cap 30

RAP: A&H Van Meter

RESTRICTIONS & NOTES: Any Orchard Hill, Central or Northeast Residential Area RAP or TAP program.

Exploration of different societies and cultures, and of the field of cultural anthropology through the medium of film. Ethnographic and documentary films; focus on gender roles, ethnicity, race, class, religion, politics, and social change.  (Gen.Ed. SB, G)

UMass Film Studies Certificate category: IIB

5College Film Studies Major requirement: 6

ANTHRO 106 - B CULTURE THROUGH FILM

11753 Tu 6:00PM - 9:00PM Thompson Hall room 104

Kevin Anderson Class Capacity 264

BD01 Discussion (11754) We 10:10AM - 11:00AM TBA Staff

BD02 Discussion (11755) We 11:15AM - 12:05PM TBA Staff

BD03 Discussion (11756) We 9:05AM - 9:55AM TBA Staff

BD04 Discussion (11757) Th 1:00PM - 1:50PM TBA Staff

BD05 Discussion (11758) Th 9:30AM - 10:20AM TBA Staff

BD06 Discussion (11759) Th 9:30AM - 10:20AM TBA Staff

BD07 Discussion (11760) Th 4:00PM - 4:50PM TBA Staff

BD08 Discussion (11761) Th 7:00PM - 7:50PM TBA Staff

Exploration of different societies and cultures, and of the field of cultural anthropology through the medium of film. Ethnographic and documentary films; focus on gender roles, ethnicity, race, class, religion, politics, and social change.  (Gen.Ed. SB, G)

UMass Film Studies Certificate category: IIB

5College Film Studies Major requirement: 6

ART 230 PHOTOGRAPHY I

11940 TuTh 9:30AM - 11:50AM

STAFF TBA Cap 14

Introduction to photographic tools and methods. The balance between self-inquiry and the importance of process and materials as vehicles of meaning. Theory explored through class critiques and slide presentations. Photography examined and discussed both from a personal point of view and in its wider cultural context.

Open to undergraduate students with majors in Art, BFA-Art, BFA-Art Ed, BFA-Design or Art History.

UMass Film Studies Certificate category: V

5College Film Studies Major requirement: none

ART 231 PHOTOGRAPHY II

11941 Fr 9:05AM - 3:20PM Studio Arts Building Room 240

STAFF TBA Cap 14

In-depth exploration of techniques and materials including zone system, large format, and non-silver processes. Slide lectures, discussions, and readings. Prerequisite: ART 230 or consent of instructor.

Open to undergraduate students with majors in Art, BFA-Art, BFA-Art Ed, BFA-Design or Art History.

UMass Film Studies Certificate category: V

5College Film Studies Major requirement: none

ART 297CC ST-DIGITAL MEDIA: TIME BASED

17196 MoWe 9:05AM - 11:50AM location TBA

Michael Coblyn Cap 14

Open to Undergraduate ART, BFA-ART, BFA-ART ED, and BFA-DESIGN majors only.

Description TBA

UMass Film Studies Certificate category: V

5College Film Studies Major requirement: 8

ART 397MM ST-MEDIA & MOTION GRAPHICS

12059 TuTh 2:30PM - 5:15PM Fine Arts Center Room 447

Patricia Galvis-Assmus Cap 10

Open to Undergraduate ART, BFA-ART, BFA-ART ED, and BFA-DESIGN majors only. Prerequisites: ART 297Q An optional honors colloquium is available for this course.

Meets with ART 697PP.

Description TBA

UMass Film Studies Certificate category: V

5College Film Studies Major requirement: 8

ART 597R ST-INTRO TO VISUAL CULTURE

12037 Days & Times TBA location TBA

Susan Jahoda Cap 15

Open to Art MFA, MA and MS majors only. Meets with ART 397H.

Description TBA

UMass Film Studies Certificate category: IIA, IV

5College Film Studies Major requirement: 7

COMM 296F: INDSTU-FILM FESTIVAL

17210 W7.00PM – 10.00PM SOM 137

Ciecko 306 Machmer

NOTE: This is a 1-credit Mandatory Pass/Fail course

Film screening. This semester's festival colloquium will be held in conjunction with the Massachusetts Multicultural Film Festival. To earn 1 credit (pass/fail), students are required to attend at least 7 festival events and complete surveys at the end of the screenings. (Course capacity is 50)

Course Eligibility*: All majors; no prerequisites

UMass Film Studies Certificate category: none (1-credit only)

5College Film Studies Major requirement: none

COMM 297S: SPECIAL TOPIC-THE ACTION FILM

17887 Lec 1 TUTH 9.30AM – 10.45PM THOM 104

17888 Lab 1 TU 7.00PM – 9.30PM THOM 104

Shimpach 410 Machmer

Lecture. Action speaks louder than words. It also may be easier to translate—across linguistic, cultural, national, and generational borders. So the Action Film has been and remains an important genre for film industries around the world, allowing them to showcase budgets, effects, stars, and even ideas in a popular and profitable format. At the same time, action films offer something essential to the movies: spectacular movement. This genre study course will trace a cultural history of the international action film while paying special attention to the balance between narrative and spectacle in textual analyses that also examine questions of nation, race, gender and ideology. Course capacity is 300).

UMass Film Studies Certificate category: IIB

5College Film Studies Major requirement: 4

COMM 331: PROGRAM PROCESS IN TELEVISION

13009 Lec 1 W 10.10AM – 11.00AM Mach E-33 Cap 36 Prof. Maxcy

13067 Lab 1 M 1.25PM - 4.25PM SC 120 __________

13068 Lab 2 W 1.25PM - 4.25PM SC 120 __________

13069 Lab 3 F 9.05AM - 12.05PM SC 120 __________Staff

Course Director: David Maxcy, 120 South College

Lecture, studio. Introduction to concepts and techniques of television production, through lectures, lab exercises, and guided production projects. All 3 sections will meet together once a week for a 50-minute lecture with the course director. Each section (@12 students) will then meet once a week for a 3-hour lab session. (Course capacity is 36)

Course Eligibility*: Open to Senior, Junior & Sophomore Communication majors

UMass Film Studies Certificate category: V

5College Film Studies Major requirement: 8

COMM 342: HISTORY OF FILM II

13010 Lec 1 TUTH 2.30PM – 3.45PM HERT 231 Prof. Norden

13011 Lab 1 TU 4.00PM – 6.00PM HERT 231 Prof. Norden

Norden 409 Machmer

Lecture, lab (screening), discussions. A survey of key events and representative films that mark the history of worldwide cinema since 1950. In addition to identifying and providing access to major works, the course is designed to facilitate the study of the various influences -- industrial, technological, aesthetic, social, cultural, and political -- that have shaped the evolution of the medium. (Course capacity is 125)

Course Eligibility*: Open to Seniors and Juniors

UMass Film Studies Certificate category: IIA

5College Film Studies Major requirement: 2

COMM 397CC: SPECIAL TOPIC-INTRO TO VIDEO ART PRODUCTION

18564 Lec 1 W 12:10PM – 2:15PM Lederle 127A& SC 108

18565 Lab 1 TU 7.00PM – 9.00PM SC 108

Perlin/5-College Faculty

Lecture, discussion, lab. This course will investigate the many ways artists have responded to contemporary social and political events of their times. We will look at a range of media work such as documentaries, narratives, experimental films, online projects, and contemporary blockbusters. Students will create works that draw from and respond to the charged and challenging world around them. Class consists of screenings, readings, assignments, and independent and group projects in digital video production and non-linear digital video editing. Evening screening required in addition to class meeting.

Course Eligibility*: Instructor permission required—Application process

Course Notes: Applications at www.umass.edu/film; application deadline: noon 14 November.

UMass Film Studies Certificate category: V

5College Film Studies Major requirement: 8

COMM 397II: SPECIAL TOPIC-SEXUALITY AND FILM

13120 Lec 1 TH 4.00PM – 7.00PM Mach

Ades 406 Machmer

Lecture, discussion. Since the inception of the moving picture, the most controversial, titillating and complex subject on film has been sex. From Mae West style innuendo to the sexual liberation of the sixties to ever more graphic sexuality on film today, we have been shocked and mesmerized by sex in the movies for more than a century. This course will explore the problems and possibilities of depicting sex in the cinema. From the earliest depiction of sexuality in motion pictures to the latest trend of unsimulated sex in mainstream film, this course will ask: do we learn anything from sex on screen? Who controls what we see and why? And is there such a thing as going too far? We will look at a variety of genres that have treated sex and sexuality in the cinema including horror films, sexploitation, queer cinema, youth films and European films. In addition, we will examine the history of the ratings system and censorship in the United States, the depiction of sex in Hollywood vs. the independent film world, the difference between art and pornography, the male and female gaze, and how shifting social and political climates influence what we see on screen. Film selections range from Elia Kazan’s Splendor in the Grass to Catherine Breillat’s Fat Girl to Ang Lee’s Brokeback Mountain. (Course capacity is 25)

Course Eligibility*: Open to Senior and Junior Communication majors or by permission of instructor

UMass Film Studies Certificate category: IIA

5College Film Studies Major requirement: 6

COMM 397T: SPECIAL TOPIC-CONTEMPORARY WORLD CINEMA

13017 Lec 1 MW 3.35PM - 5.30PM Mach

Ciecko 306 Machmer

Lecture. This course offers an overview of recent narrative feature filmmaking from Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Latin America, and global diasporas. Students will develop critical tools for watching, reading, and writing about international cinema. The following questions will shape our study of international cinema: What are the ways in which contemporary films construct images of nations and cultures? What kinds of audio-visual representational strategies are used, and what kinds of cultural and linguistic negotiations occur? How do social, political, and economic circumstances impact the production, exhibition, and marketing/distribution of films? How do films connect with different audiences (local and international markets for popular films, the arthouse and film festival circuit, video stores, the internet, pirates, etc.)? What are the functions of international film stars, auteurs, and genres? (Course capacity is 43)

Course Eligibility*: all majors; an introductory-level film course such as COMM 240 or COMM 297D/231 is recommended

UMass Film Studies Certificate category: IIB

5College Film Studies Major requirement: 5

COMM 433: ADVANCED TELEVISION PRODUCTION/DIRECTION

13018 Lec 1 TU 11.15AM - 3.15PM HERTER TV

Maxcy 120 South College

Lecture, Studio. Intensive workshop course in advanced concepts and techniques of studio-based television production, with a focus on the direction of live programs. Under the super¬vision of the instructor, each student will produce and direct 2 studio projects which will be aired live on HSCN Channel 15. (Course capacity is 10)

Course Eligibility*: Any Student

Course Prerequisite: COMM 331

UMass Film Studies Certificate category: IV, V

5College Film Studies Major requirement: 8

COMM 441: PRINCIPLES & TECHNIQUES OF FILM STYLE PRODUCTION

13066 Lec 1 W 2.30PM - 6.25PM SC 108

Prof. Geisler/Ferrarri 411 Machmer

Lecture, studio. A hands-on introduction to single-camera filmmaking using digital video camcorders (electronic field production) or 16mm cameras and non-linear (computer-based) editing. Students will learn concepts of pre-production, shot composition, lighting, visual storytelling, continuity editing, and production & post production audio as they plan, shoot and edit exercises and complete projects. A "real world" editing project (scenes from an episode of "Highlander”) will also be included. (Course capacity is 12)

Course Eligibility*: Open to Senior & Junior Communication majors

Course Prerequisites: COMM 297D or COMM 331 or permission of instructor.

Course Notes: Junior and Senior COMM majors who have completed either COMM 231 (formerly COMM 297D) or COMM 331 may add this course through Spire. Others may add only by permission of the instructor.

UMass Film Studies Certificate category: IV, V

5College Film Studies Major requirement: 8

COMM 493E: SEMINAR-SCREENWRITING

13019 Sem 1 TUTH 11.15AM – 12.30PM SC 108

Norden 409 Machmer

Lecture, discussion. An examination of the art, craft, and business of screenwriting from theoretical and practical perspectives. Topics include screenplay format and structure, story, plot and character development, dialog and scene description, visual storytelling, pace and rhythm, analysis of professional and student scripts and films, and more. Written work includes three screenwriting projects. The focus is on writing for narrative films and, to a limited extent, TV programs. (Course capacity is 20)

Course Eligibility*: Open to Senior & Junior Communication majors only.

UMass Film Studies Certificate category: IV, V

5College Film Studies Major requirement: 8

COMM 497AB: SPECIAL TOPIC-HOLLYWOOD FILM, DIVERSITY & ADAPTATION

17898 Lec 1 TUTH 11.15AM – 12.30PM Mach

Shabazz 408 Machmer

Lecture, discussion. This course aims to inspire the development of a critical vocabulary for analysis of the formal conventions of film, especially as they bear on literary discourse. In addition, this course will focus on cinematic and literary works that articulate or express specific notions of American identity in terms of race, class, and gender. This class will look specifically at how the film industry negotiates specific literary narratives about identity within American society as a means of adapting the texts to the big screen. (Course capacity is 25)

Course Eligibility*: Senior and Junior Communication majors or by permission of instructor

UMass Film Studies Certificate category: IIA, IV

5College Film Studies Major requirement: 5

COMM 593D: SEMINAR-ADVANCED SCREENWRITING

17900 Sem ON-LINE

Geisler 411 Machmer

ON-LINE . Building upon the concepts learned in the introductory course (COMM 493E - Screenwriting Seminar), this class will involve an intensive workshop environment where students receive continuing, in-depth feedback on their work in progress, as they strive for professional competence in feature-length theatrical screenwriting or writing for episodic television. Two professional screenplays and the films or TV shows produced from them will also be analyzed as students delve deeper into the writer's art and craft. Students will complete either 60 pages of a feature length motion picture screenplay or a complete episode for an existing dramatic TV show, or two episodes for a current sitcom. (Course capacity is 20)

Course Eligibility*: Senior & Junior Communication majors or permission of instructor

Course prerequisite: COMM 493E or another college-level screenwriting course or permission of the instructor.

UMass Film Studies Certificate category: IV, V

5College Film Studies Major requirement: 8

COMP-LIT  382 – CINEMA AND PSYCHE

13256 Mo 4:40PM - 7:05PM School of Management rm 137

Catherine Portuges Capacity 120

D01 (13257) Tu 2:30PM - 3:45PM TBA Staff

D02 (13258) Tu 2:30PM - 3:45PM TBA Staff

D03 (13259) Tu 1:00PM - 2:15PM TBA Staff

D04 (13260) Tu 1:00PM - 2:15PM TBA Staff

Exploration of contemporary international cinema through film history and psychoanalytic theory. Focus on comparative representations of nationality, childhood, and social dislocation. Topics addressed: inscriptions of the autobiographical; trans-cultural readings of visual texts; cinematic constructions of gender and subjectivity; dreams, fantasy, and memory; the "family romance." (Gen.Ed. AT)

UMass Film Studies Certificate category: IIA

5College Film Studies Major requirement: 6

COMP-LIT 383 – NARRATIVE AVANT-GARDE FILM

13236 Mo 3:35PM - 7:00PM Herter Hall room 231

Don Levine Capacity 120

D01 (13237) Tu 2:30PM - 3:45PM TBA Staff

D02 (13238) Tu 2:30PM - 3:45PM TBA Staff

D03 (13239) Tu 4:00PM - 5:15PM TBA Staff

D04 (13240) Tu 7:00PM - 8:15PM TBA Staff

Lecture, discussion. Explores modern origin of experimentation in film in avant-garde modes such as Expressionism, Surrealism and contemporary results of this heritage to determine if film is the most resolutely modern of the media. Emphasis on the ways in which Avant-garde films can problematize themselves through the ploys of telling a story. By means of a self-consciousness of story-telling which undermines viewer identification, the drive for closure, the demand for origins and order, and even cause and effect, these avant-garde films restore to playfulness its strength and ambiguity. Requirements: one 5 page paper for midterm, final paper or project; attendance.

(Gen.Ed. AT)

UMass Film Studies Certificate category: IIA

5College Film Studies Major requirement: 6

COMP-LIT 383H – NARRATIVE AVANT-GARDE FILM (Honors Section)

17085 Mo 3:35PM - 7:00PM Herter Hall room 231

Don Levine Capacity 4

D01 (17086) Tu 2:30PM - 5:30PM TBA Don Levine

See above for general course description. The purpose is to investigate aspects of film (such as shot formation, camera movement, editing approaches). Students will collaboratively explore a range of expressive possibilities on video. Working in groups of four, students will alternate roles of creator/writer, camera-person, editor, etc., in constructing brief scenes. No experience necessary. Meets with 383 and 499D. (Gen.Ed. AT)

RESTRICTIONS & NOTES: Instructor Consent Required

UMass Film Studies Certificate category: IIA

5College Film Studies Major requirement: 6

COMP-LIT 391I - S- SPIRITUAL CINEMA EAST/WEST

17107 Mo 7:00PM - 10:00PM TBA

Laszlo Dienes Capacity 30

D01 (17108) Tu 2:30PM - 3:45PM TBA An introduction to spiritual cinema, its themes and characteristics, from early to modern masters. In the context of a brief look at the cinematic achievements of such filmmakers as Bergman, Bresson, Kurosawa, Mizoguchi, Pasolini, Fellini and their philosophy of film as a spiritual art. We will focus on the art and times of the Russian film director, Audrey Tarkovsky. Of interest to students in Comparative Literature, Film, English, Art, Philosophy, History, Religion, and Russian Studies. No prerequisites, other than an open mind and a genuine interest in filmmaking that is unlike any other. No prior familiarity with the work of these directors is required. CompLit and Russian majors and graduate students will be expected to do some research in a foreign language.

UMass Film Studies Certificate category: IIA

5College Film Studies Major requirement: 6

COMP-LIT 393F – POLISH FILM

SPIRE # TBA, Th 4:00-7:00 Location TBA

Bolibak Capacity: ?

This course is an introduction to classics of Polish cinema. We will watch films by Poland’s best-known film directors to explore their key aesthetic, historical and philosophical concerns. Among directors whose works we will view are Roman Polański, Andrzej Wajda, Wojciech Has, Jerzy Stuhr, Barbara Saas, Kazimierz Kutz, Andrzej Kondriatuk, Jerzy Skolimowski, Agnieszka Holland and Krzysztof Kieślowski. Using the analytic language of literature, such as plot, character, setting, point of view, we will consider each film’s narrative content (story) as well as its formal features (its visual poetics). In our discussions of the films we will try to identify those qualities that give Polish cinematography its distinctiveness. We will also pay particular attention to the style of acting. Among the theoretical readings for the course will be writings by the avant-garde theater director Jerzy Grotowski, who had an enormous impact on Polish actors.

UMass Film Studies Certificate category: IIB

5College Film Studies Major requirement: 5

COMP-LIT 499D – CAPSTONE COURSE

17087 Mo 3:35PM - 7:00PM Herter Hall room 231

D01 (13201) Tu 2:30PM - 5:30PM TBA Staff

Don Levine Cap 18

Eligibility; Junior And Senior Honors Students Only

This 6-credit Capstone Course fulfills the Commonwealth college culminating- experience requirement. We apply ourselves to the problem of cinematic vision as both process and acquired skill. We learn to distinguish the ways in which Hollywood normative cinema has constructed a visual language which we accept, uncritically, as the look reality has when screened. In turn, this "look" is examined to see how it differs from what we may see with the “naked” eye, and how it informs what we, see (what we can see, what we look for) in the world. Recommended for students who have a keen interest in film. Students attend a large lecture and film screening (once a week), an intensive seminar-style section of 2-3 hours the next day, on Thursday a film-making component for 3 hours. There will be a take-home mid-term essay (six pages) and final essay (ten pages), a two page scene analysis, and an intensive final film project (20 minutes). Students investigate aspects of film-making (such as shot formation, camera movement, editing approaches) by collaboratively exploring a range of expressive -possibilities on video. Working in groups of three or four, students start off the semester alternating roles of writer/director, camera -person, editor, etc., in constructing brief scenes. No prior film experience necessary. This 6 credit course may qualify students for high Latin Honors, if they have fulfilled other specific requirements. See a Commonwealth College advisor for more information. Preference in registration given to seniors using this course toward their culminating experience requirement, others as space permits. Contact Commonwealth College 504 Goodell to register.

UMass Film Studies Certificate category: IIA, IV

5College Film Studies Major requirement: 6, 7, 8

FRENCHST 353 AFRICAN FILM

14253 Tu 4:00PM - 7:00PM lecture Bartlett Hall Room 61

14254 Th 1:00PM - 2:15PM location TBA, discussion

14255 Th 2:30PM - 3:45PM location TBA, discussion

Patrick Mensah Cap 60

Course taught in English. Histories and development of African Francophone and Caribbean film, from its inception to the present day. The sociocultural, economic, and political forces and imperatives defining its forms and directions. Questions this work raises in film aesthetics and theory as a whole. Screenings and analysis of films by Sembene, Achkar, Kabore, Mweze, Cisse, Drabo, Bekolo, Teno, Peck, Palcy, Lara, Haas, and others. (Gen.Ed. AT, G)

UMass Film Studies Certificate category: IIB

5College Film Studies Major requirement: 5

JAPANESE 197L - ST- MANGA/ANIME

17437 MoWeFr 10:10AM - 11:00AM School of Management rm 133

Bruce Baird Capacity 100

Japan has become a phenomenally successful exporter of pop culture. This course will give students tools to understand Manga and Anime; it will investigate the role Manga and Anime play in Japan; and, it will examine ways that Manga and Anime flow from one place to another. Course is conducted entirely in English.

UMass Film Studies Certificate category: IIB

5College Film Studies Major requirement: 4; COMPONENT COURSE

JAPANESE 197N - ST- ASIAN HOMOSEXUALITIES IN FILM & LITERATURE

14835 TuTh 1:00PM - 2:15PM location TBA

Stephen Miller Capacity 50

An examination of male-male/female-female love/sexual themes in both pre-modern and modern times in three countries/areas: India, China/Taiwan, and Japan, through the lens of literature and films. Taught in English.

UMass Film Studies Certificate category: IIB

5College Film Studies Major requirement: 5; COMPONENT COURSE

MUSIC  170 - 01   MUSIC IN FILM

10644 TuTh 1:00PM - 2:15PM Goessmann Lab. Add rm 64

Roger Rideout Capacity 150

The use of music in film, a "grand tour" of the aesthetics and dramatic techniques of film music since 1895. Excerpts from "silent era" and sound films will be viewed and studied as examples of film music development and the composer's art. (Gen.Ed. AT)

UMass Film Studies Certificate category: IIA

5College Film Studies Major requirement: 6

PORTUG 408 BRAZIL IN FILM & FICTION

18455 TuTh 4:00PM - 6:30PM lecture location TBA

Daphne Patai Cap 20

Description TBA (Gen.Ed. AL, G)

UMass Film Studies Certificate category: IIB, IV

5College Film Studies Major requirement: 5

SCANDIN 391S EARLY SWEDISH & SCANDINAVIAN CINEMA 1910 – 1930

SPIRE #? Tu 4 – 6:15 p.m. (Screenings Mondays 6 – 10 p.m.) location TBA

Professors Byg and Wallenberg 3 credits

The course would consider the major contributions to European and world cinema by directors and stars of the Swedish cinema from the silent era into the 1930s. Examples include Victor Sjöstöm, Mauritz Stiller, Gösta Ekman, Zarah Leander and Greta Garbo and such films as Thomas Graal’s Best Child (Stiller, 1918), The Phantom Carriage (Sjöström, 1921), Erotikon (Stiller, 1920), Walpurgis Night (Gustaf Edgren, 1935), and Intermezzo (Gustav Molander, 1936), Other Scandinavian figures will also be considered (Urban Gad, Asta Nielsen, Carl Theodor Dreyer, Detlev Sierk/Douglas Sirk), especially in the context of the fruitful interactions with the German film industry and later with Hollywood. Film screenings and critical readings; lecture and discussion. Requirements include weekly film analysis and journal writing, two short papers or one long paper by end of term. No prerequisites; conducted in English.

UMass Film Studies Certificate category: IIB

5College Film Studies Major requirement: 5

SPANISH 497LL LATIN AMERICAN FILM

18543 MW 4:00-6:30PM location TBA

José N. Ornelas Email: ornelas@spanport.umass.edu Cap 30

The course is designed to introduce students to the cinematic productions of some of the most important Latin American directors from the sixties to the present. It will focus mainly on how these directors have portrayed Latin America. What can we learn from these directors’ depictions of Latin American reality and society? Through their films, we will critically analyze historical, political, social and cultural developments that have shaped Latin America and are fundamental to its understanding. Some of the topics that we may examine during the course of the semester are: racial, gender, and sexual construction; nation formation; national identity; revolution; emigration/immigration; repression; utopia; resistance; political violence; slavery and freedom; homosexuality; exile; machismo; political and social inquiry; urban violence, etc. Students will be expected to develop interpretative filmic skills through an exploration of the connections between the technical composition of the films and the social, political, and cultural context underlying the film narrative. Course is open to all students.

UMass Film Studies Certificate category: IIB, IV

5College Film Studies Major requirement: 5