Fall 2018 Undergraduate Course

Josslyn Luckett
Fridays, 12:30-4:30pm
Room 648
4 points
Class #15165

This course is designed to introduce the basic methods and concepts of cinema studies to new majors.  The course aims to help students develop a range of analytical skills that will form the basis of their study of film and other moving-image media they will encounter in cinema studies.  By the end of the semester, students will: 1) be fluent in the basic vocabulary of film form; 2) recognize variations of mode and style within the dominant modes of production (narrative, documentary, and experimental); 3) appreciate the relationship between formal analysis and questions of interpretation; and 4) grasp the mechanics of structuring a written argument about a film’s meaning.  Lectures and readings provide a detailed introduction to the basic terms of film scholarship, and to some critical issues associated with particular modes of film production and criticism. Screenings introduce students to the historical and international range of production that cinema studies addresses. Recitations provide students with opportunities to review the content of readings and lectures, and to develop their skills of analysis and interpretation in discussion.

Cinema Studies majors and pre-approved minors only.

RECITATIONS
Tuesdays
Room 646
Section 002 / 9:30-10:45am, class #15166
Section 003 / 11:00am-12:15pm, class #15167
Section 004 / 12:30-1:45pm, class #15168

Chris Straayer
Thursdays, 12:30-4:30pm
Room 648
4 points
Class #15169

This course closely examines a variety of theoretical writings concerned with aesthetic, social, and psychological aspects of the medium.  Students study the writing of both classical theorists such as Eisenstein and Bazin and contemporary thinkers such as Metz, Dyer, DeLauretis, Baudrillard, and Foucault.  Questions addressed range from the nature of cinematic representation and its relationship to other forms of cultural expression to the way in which cinema shapes our conception of racial and gender identity. 

Prerequisite: Intro to Cinema Studies or Expressive Cultures: Film. Cinema Studies majors only.

RECITATIONS
Mondays
Room 646
Section 002 / 9:30-10:45am, class #15170
Section 003 / 11:00am-12:15pm, class #15171
Section 004 / 12:30-1:45pm, class #15172

Feng-Mei Heberer
Thursdays, 6:00-10:00pm
Room 670
4 points
Class # 15919

This undergraduate seminar offers a historical overview of the self-documentary genre across different media platforms. With a focus on works from the 1950s to the present-day, we will explore self-representations in film, video, television, and social media. How have narratives of self and other changed over time? What technological, cultural, and political forces have affected these changes? To work through these questions, we will engage documentary and media scholarship, highlighting in particular their intersection with theories of subjecthood from philosophy, postcolonial studies, Marxism, and feminist and queer theory. Case studies may include the films Chronicle of a Summer, Extreme Private Eros, Sherman’s March, The Watermelon Woman, Oxhide, and The Lulu Sessions; reality television; as well as social media platforms (Instagram) and related forms of self-documentation (Selfie).  

Cinema Studies majors only. Permission code required

Toby Lee
Wednesdays, 12:30-4:30pm
Room 635
4 points
Class # 19949

This course centers the figure of woman -- multiply understood as embodied, discursive, performed, strategic, subversive or subverted -- in a revisionist examination of documentary history and theory. How might our understanding of the documentary, its particular epistemology, and its central concepts be recalibrated through a shift of focus onto gender and sexual difference, variably behind or in front of the camera, on or in front of the screen? Multiple generations of feminist, queer, and post-humanist perspectives are brought to bear on the practices and discourses of documentary film & video. Filmmakers whose work we will consider include Chantal Akerman, Agnes Varda, Trinh T. Minh-ha, Jil Godmilow, Carolee Schneemann, Su Friedrich, Akosua Adoma Owusu, Shirley Clarke, Chick Strand, Hito Steyerl.

Cinema Studies majors only. Permission code required.

Rochelle Miller
Fridays, 12:30-4:30pm
Room 670
4 points

Section 001 (Cinema Studies majors): Class #21383
Section 002 (non-majors): Class #21384

Over the past few decades the premium cable and satellite network, Home Box Office Inc. has developed American audience tastes and raised expectations for quality television programming. A long-term proponent of the “prestige show,” HBO repeatedly made the case that premium television is worth its monthly subscription fee; in doing so HBO laid the foundations for subscription streaming channels such as Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon, all of which now also produce their own exclusive, original content. Responding recently to the growing competition from these sites, HBO restated its familiar rhetoric announcing it would focus even more on quality and exercise a greater selective content strategy.

What is a HBO show? And, why have HBO’s shows mattered so much in American cultural life? This course asserts that HBO produces a distinctive and recognizable brand. Beyond the boasted high production value evident in their often auteur controlled aesthetic, HBO’s shows share specific thematic concerns, narratives, and philosophy as they build a complex picture of US life, telling in long-form serials, stories from America’s past and present. Screenings will include some of the network’s most popular shows from a variety of genres, such as: The Wire, Girls, Entourage, Westworld, Game of Thrones, and Last Week Tonight. The class will also address the company’s corporate model and operating structure, along with its position in the global media market.

Priyanjali Sen
Tuesdays, 12:30-4:30pm
Room 674
4 points

Section 001 (Cinema Studies majors): Class #21609
Section 002 (non-majors): Class #21610

The history of Indian cinema has been studied primarily through Hindi and Bollywood films originating in Bombay/Mumbai. India however, has always had several robust, regional language film industries that have consistently contributed to its film culture as a whole, throbbing with socio-political specificities and differences unique to each region, thereby defying the possibility of constructing a uniform or systematic history/historiography. Given that the concept of “national cinema” has been challenged through the lens of transnational and trans-hemispheric study of films, this course examines the subnational/regional film industries within India that have produced parallel narratives about the nation and its peoples, often drawing inspiration from Bombay cinema but also exhibiting sensibilities and aesthetics particular to their local cultural identities, languages and politics. By taking into consideration Hindi as well as regional language films – Awaara, Pather Panchali (Bengali), Kashmir Ki Kali, Sholay, Biswaprakash (Odia), Bhumika, Nizhalkuthu (Malayalam), Nayakan (Tamil), Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, He… (Bhojpuri), Queen and Bajirao Mastani – this course will analyze the complex ways in which the idea of the “nation” and “national cinema” has played out in India post-independence and partition.

Marina Hassapopoulou
Tuesdays, 6:00-10:00pm
Room 674
4 points

Section 001 (Cinema Studies majors): Class #21381
Section 002 (non-majors): Class #21382

Greek cinema has always been a “weird” anomaly in overarching discourses on European cinema. But recently, “weird” has been more specifically used as a branding term for the low-budget, independent, and bizarre wave of contemporary Greek films. These films are typically characterized by their minimalist aesthetics, shock value, and idiosyncrasy. They deliberately elude straightforward interpretation, and pose new analytical/intellectual challenges to their audiences. Although the weird wave is often regarded as a direct response to (and/or symptom of) Greece’s government-debt crisis, this course aims to provide students with a much more complex and broader historical and cross-cultural introduction to Greece’s most popular export. We will study the weird wave alongside other European and global crises, including the socioeconomic crises in Italy, Spain, and Portugal, the immigrant crisis, Brexit, the crisis of nationalism, the EU debates, terrorism, Islamophobia, and geopolitics. The course aims to examine the weird wave in relation to other cinemas of crisis, and to understand its “weirdness” as signaling to a broader interpretative chasm between Greece’s self-projections and the world’s perception of Greece (and how this could be applicable to other weird cinemas from around the world). We will explore through different contexts whether “weird” waves can function as what Maria Chalkou calls a “cinema of emancipation” that frees domestic film culture from internationally conceived stereotypes. The Greek “weird” wave challenges audiences to radically reconceptualize national cinema beyond familiar notions of cultural mirroring and representational aspects. Consequently, the course will not only engage with theories on national/transnational cinema and cultural studies, but also other critical frameworks such as: posthumanism, animal studies, queer theory, ethics, and biopolitics.

Anna McCarthy
Mondays, 6:00-10:00pm
Room 670
4 points

Section 001 (Cinema Studies majors): Class #21379
Section 002 (non-majors): Class #21380

This course surveys the cinema of Ireland from the silent period to the present day. In addition to looking at feature films, we will examine home movies, documentary, and television programming. Film and media intersect with this history of modern Ireland in complex ways, as the readings will detail. In the period spanning the beginning of the twentieth century (when film was introduced) to the present day, the Irish people lived through colonial domination, revolution, partition, civil war, mass emigration, theocracy, paramilitary sectarian violence, martial law (The Emergency Provisions Act), an unprecedented peace agreement and, finally, a contradictory sort of liberal secularism. In different ways, all of the course's screenings speak to some aspect of this history. The goal of lectures and discussions is to amplify the implications of these depictions, through a focus on formal and aesthetic practices and an awareness of the historical and geopolitical context of the present. Assignments: short midterm essay, longer final paper.

Laura Harris
Mondays, 12:30-4:30pm
Room 674
4 points

Section 001 (Cinema Studies majors): Class #21377
Section 002 (non-majors): Class #21378

This class will focus on experimentation in film and video around the world in the 1960s (broadly construed to include a few things from late 1950s and a few things from the early 70s). We will consider the relation between the experimentation in the 1960s and that of earlier avant-garde experimentation.  We will also consider about the relation between experimentation in film and video in relation to experimentation in art and television at that time.  More importantly, however, we think about the way film and video figure into the general tumult of this period, and with that in mind, we will consider what moved filmmakers and videographers to adopt experimental procedures (at the level of production and screening), what they hoped the effects of those procedures might be, and what happened when the films and videos were screened.  Our focus will be international, including filmmakers such as Agnès Varda, Chantal Akerman, Chris Marker, Vera Chytilová, Michelangelo Antonioni, Francesco Rosi, Jonas Mekas, Andy Warhol, Jack Smith, Joyce Wieland, Harun Farocki, Jean Marie-Straub and Danièle Huillet, Nam Jun Paik, Shirley Clarke, William Greaves, Haile Gerima, Tomás Gutiérrez Alea, Santiago Álvarez, Jorge Sanjinés, Fernando Solanas, Octavio Getino, Alejandro Jodorowsky, Masao Adachi, Shuji Terayama, among many possible others.

Justin Shanitkvitch
Tuesdays, 6:20-9:50pm
Cantor 102
4 points
Class # 15173

This course constitutes a broad survey of American cinema from its origins in the late nineteenth century to 1960. While the course will predominantly focus on dominant, narrative fiction film, we will also consider other modes of American cinema, including experimental film, newsreels, and animation. We will attend to the films of the period, focusing on the ways in which style and narrative change according to various influences, social conditions, technological innovations, etc. That is, we will similarly attend to the contexts in which these films were made, focusing on the development of cinematic language and genre, the growth of the industry as a machine of production and promotion, forms of censorship, questions of identity and social formation, domestic and international events, and more. The objective is to provide a general understanding of one of the preeminent popular art forms of the 20^th century, understanding the reciprocal relationship between art and culture, and a summary of the conditions of mass media and modernity.

RECITATIONS
Thursdays, Room 646
Section 003 / 11:00am-12:15pm, Class #15174
Section 004 / 12:30-1:45pm, Class #15175
Section 005 / 2:00-3:15pm, Class #15176

Tanya Goldman
Mondays, 6:20-9:50pm
Cantor 102
4 points
Class #15177

This course surveys the major aesthetic, cultural, and technological developments in global cinema from its origins in the late nineteenth century to 1960. The course will explore a selection of landmark works from France, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, the Soviet Union, Italy, Japan, China, India, and Mexico through a variety of frameworks—as

a technology, industrial development, mode of political expression, and as participants in debates about the nature of the moving image as an artistic and narrative form. The course will introduce elements of cinematic language, as well as theoretical texts, related to influential movements including German Expressionism, Soviet montage, the first avantgarde, documentary, French Poetic Realism, Italian Neorealism, and the French Rive Gauche, among others. In-class screenings will include works by Georges Méliès, Alice Guy, Victor Sjöström, Carl Theodor Dreyer, Robert Weine, Sergei Eisenstein, Dziga Vertov, Luis Buñuel, Germaine Dulac, Fritz Lang, Jean Renoir, Leni Riefenstahl, Emilio Fernandez, Roberto Rossellini, Satyajit Ray, Akira Kurosawa, Yasujirō Ozu, Agnès Varda, Alain Resnais, Jean Rouch, and more.

RECITATIONS
Wednesdays, Room 646
Section 003 / 11:00am-12:15pm, Class #15178
Section 004 / 12:30-1:45pm, Class #15179
Section 005 / 2:00-3:15pm, Class #15180

Eric Kohn
Tuesdays, 6:00-10:00pm
Room 670
4 points
Class # 15591

This course demystifies the professional and intellectual possibilities of film criticism in the contemporary media landscape through a historical foundation. Students will write reviews and critical essays as well as produce analyses of existing work, all of which should aid those interested in pursuing further opportunities in criticism and/or developing a deeper understanding of the craft. Through a combination of readings, discussions, and screenings, we will explore the expansive possibilities of criticism with relation to global film culture, the role of the Internet, distinctions between academic and popular criticism, and the impact of the practice on the film and television industries themselves. We will cover the influence of major figures in the profession with course readings and discussions based around work by major figures including Ebert, Haskell, Farber, Kael, Sarris, Sontag, and many others. Major critics will visit the course to provide additional context. Emerging forms of critical practices, including podcasts and video essays, will also figure prominently, as will discussions surrounding the value of entertainment reporting and other related forms of journalism. In addition to engaging in classroom discussions, students will be expected to write weekly reviews, pitch essay ideas, file on deadline during certain courses, and complete a final essay. 

Ezra Sacks
Mondays, 6:20-9:00pm
Room 109
4 points
Class #15791

This class is designed to help the students analyze a film script. Premise, character population, plot and genre, dialogue, foreground, background, and story will all be examined. Using feature films, we will highlight these script elements rather than the integrated experience of the script, performance, directing, and editing elements of the film. Assignments will include three script analyses. Seats very limited.

CINE-UT 900
1-4 points (variable)
Class #15181

CINE-UT 902
1-4 points (variable)
Class #15182

A student wishing to conduct independent research for credit must obtain approval from a faculty member who will supervise an independent study for up to 4 credits. This semester-long study is a project of special interest to the student who, with the supervising faculty member, agrees on a course of study and requirements.  The proposed topic for an Independent Study project should not duplicate topics taught in departmental courses.  This is an opportunity to develop or work on a thesis project. To register, you must present a signed “Independent Study Form” at the department office when you register.  This form must be completely filled out, detailing your independent study project.  It must have your faculty sponsor’s signature (whomever you have chosen to work with - this is not necessarily your advisor) indicating their approval.

CINE-UT 950
1-4 points (variable)
Class #15741

CINE-UT 952
1-4 points (variable)
Class #15742

A student wishing to pursue an internship must obtain the internship and submit the Learning Contract before receiving a permission code.  All internship grades will be pass/fail.

Ed Guerrero
Mondays, 6:20-9:00pm
Room 674
4 points
Class # 15962

From the first mass, black migrations into the cities of the North at the beginning of the 20th Century, through the rise of ‘black, industrial modernism’ and the Harlem Renaissance, to contemporary ‘hood-homeboy’ flicks, and beyond, with few exceptions African American cinema has been an urban experience. This course will survey and critically explore an historical range of black films in relation to the modern city, as an inspiration, as a setting, and as a site of production. We will screen, discuss, read and write about a sampling of important black independently made, and/or black cast and narrative feature films, such as Juke Joint, Moon Over Harlem, Killer of Sheep, Bush Mama, Stormy Weather, Soul Food, Do the Right Thing, Paid in Full. Accordingly, our discussions and readings will cover the full range of issues and debates current in black cinema studies, from independence vs. mainstream filmmaking; gender and sexuality; class and color caste; the ghettoization and upwardly mobile integration of urban environments; and so on.  

Cinema Studies BA students only.  All other students should register for the SCA course number.

Ludovic Cortade
Thursdays, 12:30-3:15pm
Room 674
4 points
Class # 16001

The course is an introduction to the history of French cinema from the origins to the present day through the lens of varied aspects of French civilization (history, literature, class, gender, ethnicity). The movements we will be studying include: Early cinema, Surrealism and the Avant-Garde, Poetic Realism, The “New Wave”, Political Modernism, “Heritage Cinema” and Globalization. Conducted in English. No background in French or Cinema Studies required. 

Course subject to departmental fees.

Nilita Vachani
Mondays, 6:20-9:00pm
Room 003
3 points
Class # 15917

This course explores the blurred boundaries that have always existed between documentary and fiction filmmaking.  Intended to widen the horizons of the creative filmmaker and film student we will analyze major documentary traditions with a specific focus on narrative techniques used in the telling of powerful stories. Alongside, we will examine contemporary fiction filmmaking that has broken new grounds by a creative absorption and exploitation of the documentary method. The course consists of film analysis of a variety of documentary tropes, interviews with filmmakers, readings in documentary theory and case studies of seminal films. Students write theoretical papers and have the opportunity to work in groups to propose a ‘docfiction’ idea of their own. This course will provide a firm grounding in documentary history and theory, through the lens of the complicated nature of ‘truth’ in documentary practice.

Course subject to departmental fees. Open to majors only. Limited seats.

David Bagnall
Tuesdays, 6:20-9:00pm
Room 108
4 points
Class # 6950

This course examines documentary principles, methods, and styles. Both the function and the significance of the documentary in the social setting, and the ethics of the documentary are considered.

Juana Suarez
Wednesdays, 12:30-4:30pm
Room 674
4 points
Class # 6952

This course introduces all aspects of the field, contextualizes them, and shows how they fit together. It will discuss the media themselves (including the technology, history, and contextualization within culture, politics, and economics). Topics include: conservation and preservation principles, organization and access, daily practice with physical artifacts, restoration, curatorship and programming, legal issues and copyright, and new media issues. Students will learn the importance of other types of materials (manuscripts, correspondence, stills, posters, scripts, etc.). Theories of collecting and organizing (as well as their social meanings) will be introduced.

Interested juniors and seniors should email tisch.preservation@nyu.edu for permission to enroll.  Sophomores will be considered on a case by case basis.

Gregory Cram
Thursdays, 6:30-9:30pm
Room 646
4 points
Class # 6954

With the advent of new technologies, film producers and distributors and managers of film and video collections are faced with a myriad of legal and ethical issues concerning the use of their works or the works found in various collections. The answers to legal questions are not always apparent and can be complex, particularly where different types of media are encompassed in one production. When the law remains unclear, a risk assessment, often fraught with ethical considerations, is required to determine whether a production can be reproduced, distributed, or exhibited without infringing the rights of others. What are the various legal rights that may encumber moving image material? What are the complex layers of rights and who holds them? Does one have to clear before attempting to preserve or restore a work? How do these rights affect downstream exhibition and distribution of a preserved work? And finally, what steps can be taken in managing moving image collections so that decisions affecting copyrights can be taken consistently? This course will help students make intelligent decisions and develop appropriate policies for their institution.

Interested juniors and seniors should email tisch.preservation@nyu.edu for permission to enroll. Sophomores will be considered on a case by case basis.