Course Catalog

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Course Catalog

GERMAN CINEMA (FM3072)

Focuses on two major periods of production: Weimar and the New German Cinema. Features the work of Lang, Murnau, Wiene, Pabst, and Lubitsch, and studies their important contribution to film form. Attention given to 'emigre' directors in Hollywood, and then moves onto works by Fassbinder, Kluge, Wenders, Schloendorff, Herzog, Margarethe von Trotta, and Doris Dorrie.

ASIAN CINEMA (FM3073)

Studies post-1945 Japanese cinema, including the Kurosawa epics (Seven Samurai, Rashomon, Ran, Dream). Other masters include Ozu, Mizoguchi and Oshima. Examines Indian cinema and Satyajit Ray, and his masterful Apu trilogy. Concentrates on new Asian film, with works by Chinese (including Hong Kong and Taiwan) directors such as Zhang Yimou, Chen Kaige, Wong Kar-Wai, Tsai Ming Liang, and Ang Lee.

ITALIAN CINEMA (FM3074)

Focuses on periods when Italian cinema was at the cutting edge of World Cinema. Begins with films such as Fellini's autobiographical Amarcord. Studies silent-era spectacles (Quo Vadis, Cabiria), and Italian film under fascism and its renaissance with Rossellini and De Sica. Examines leading filmmakers including Fellini, Pasolini, Visconti, and Antonioni. Explores Italian comedy, and the links between cinema and society.

ARAB AND AFRICAN CINEMA (FM3076)

How does cinema in the Arab world and Africa raise important questions about culture, politics and meaning? In this course, we'll explore major developments in the art and industry of cinema in the Arab World and Africa, ranging from the earliest cinema to the most recent contemporary films. We will explore emerging national cinemas and the interactions of Arab and African filmmakers with cinematic movements arising around the world. In exploring the work of a range of important filmmakers, we will think critically about ways in which filmic narratives and forms contribute to the understanding of the cultures and history and advance the art form.

IBERIAN & LATIN AMERICAN CINEMA (FM3078)

Offers an overview of the 'Iberian and Latin American New Wave': a group of national cinemas exploring contemporary societies of Latin America and the Iberian peninsula. Assesses how films problematize political and cultural issues such as dictatorial pasts, post-modern capitalist democracy, negotiating gender, sexual and racial identities in phallocentric post-colonial societies. The course is structured around screenings and class lectures/seminars.

BRECHT & FILM (FM3080)

We examine Brecht's application of his theories and plays to his work in German and Hollywood cinema. We consider his collaborations with Fritz Lang, Charles Laughton, G.W. Pabst, Lotte Eisner and others. We also analyze his influence on later filmmakers such as Jean-Luc Godard, Hans Jurgen Syberberg and R.W. Fassbinder and his contributions to film theory.

PROVOCATIVE WITNESS: CINEMA & GENOCIDE (FM3085)

This class explores what it means to be a witness or a spectator to unimaginable crimes, using fiction films, documentaries and witness testimonies to explore the Shoah and the Armenian, Cambodian and Rwandan genocides. We ask: what does film make visible, and how does it transform the spectator’s relationship to the events and to the taking action?
Place in the Film major: To be included as an option in the film major within both the Genres and Topics category as well as the International Cinema Category

FRENCH CINEMA: LA NOUVELLE VAGUE (FM3086)

Shows the evolution of modern French culture in its relationship to cinema. Examines the early influence of literature and theater on cinema and its subsequent detachment, to be recognized as an art in itself with its own particular form. Emphasizes the viewing and discussing of one film each week: two class meetings plus one film per week. One or two off campus visits organized per semester.Taught in French.

PARIS CINEMA (FM3087)

Studies the numerous facets, whether real or imaginary, of the close relationship between Paris and cinema. Analyzes films made by famous directors such as Clair, Carne, Godard, Malle, Rohmer, Polanski, Collard, Kassovitz, and others. Taught in French, essays and exams can be written/ taken in English.

CINEMA AND THE CITY (FM3088)

Examines the intricate relationship between cities and cinema in specific as well as global contexts. Paris, New York, Mexico, Dakar, Cairo, Mumbai, Moscow, Shanghai or Tokyo: how are these sophisticated urban centers portrayed in films? And in turn how is cinema shaped by the rich and multifaceted experiences offered by these metropoles? No prerequisite.