This course is an introduction to both classical and contemporary film theory. Beginning with the earliest attempts to treat cinema as a new and unique art form, the course will initially review the various ways in which film theory attempted to define cinema in terms of its most essential properties. The course will then examine more contemporary developments within film theory, more specifically its attempt to incorporate the insights of other critical and analytical paradigms, such as semiotics, psychoanalysis, feminism, queer theory, and postmodernism. Throughout the course, we will consider questions regarding the ontology of cinema, its relation to spectators, and the various ways in which its formal properties create meaning. Readings for the course will include the major works of Sergei Eisenstein, Andre Bazin, Christian Metz, Laura Mulvey, and Fredric Jameson. Required screenings: Tuesdays @ 7pm.
Course Attributes: EN H; AS HUM; AS WI I; FA HUM; AR HUM
