English 162 - Fall, 2016

Film Theory & Criticism

Class Information

Instructor: Jordan, Jessica Hope
CRN: 53662
Time: TR 3:10-6:00
Location: 290 Gym

Description

Cinema of the Senses
This course examines Film Theory and Criticism from the beginnings of cinema as mechanized spectacle and entertainment designed for an urban working class, through theoretical, philosophical discourse on its relations to a technical reproduction of “reality” versus self-contained work of art, to Soviet Montage, Neorealist, and New Wave cinemas, to later psychoanalytic approaches that sought to explain the relationships between consciousness and perception, feminist theories of spectatorship, camera-apparatus, and the screen, to how film works to affect viewer’s emotions and senses, and finally, to how film is reinvented as contemporary digitalized media that adapts itself to many different kinds of screens. In our analysis, we take into account the interventions and impacts of Star Theory, Reception Theory, Postcolonial Feminisms, Third Cinema, Cultural Studies, Neo-Marxist, Queer, and New Media Theories. Our main theoretical focus will be on what is the relationship between cinema, perception, and the human body? Prior course experience in Film Studies, although useful, is not necessary to be successful in this class. Instruction on filmic aesthetics is included.
This class is designed both for Film and English majors/minors as well as anyone interested in film. Prequisite: English 3 or UWP 1 (GE Credit Art/Hum/Writ)

Grading

Short Response Essay 10%
Critical Analysis Essay 25%
Midterm Exam 15%
Research Essay 30%
Final Exam 20%

Texts

Recommended: Film Art, David Bordwell, Kristen Thompson
Film Theory: An Introduction Through the Senses, Thomas Elsaesser, Malte Hagener
Critical Visions in Film Theory, Timothy Corrigan, Patricia White, Meta Mazaj