Taught by

In this introductory film studies course we will survey a range of post-war and contemporary documentary, fiction and experimental film in order to reflect on the way film cultures offer crucial perspectives on global circuits of migration and individual struggles for citizenship and belonging. We’ll explore sites, experiences and stories of exile, exclusion and community and belonging, as we think about how racial, ethnic, caste, class, gender, sexual and indigenous identities shape everyday life for those living "outside," or on the peripheries, both material and immaterial, of the modern capitalist nation-state. In turn, we'll engage with a diverse group of filmmakers, seeking to understand how systems of cultural production, funding, exhibition, and circulation, as well as forces of censorship, determine what films get made, what stories are told and which audiences have access to them. Possible films include: the 1950s Hollywood melodramas of Douglas Sirk, himself a Jewish exile from Europe, and queer revisions of his films by German and American filmmakers; historical and contemporary films by Cuban, German, Indian, Iranian, Senegalese, Thai, and Turkish filmmakers. Students will view 2-3 films per week, both in class and on their own, complete weekly readings in film/media history, theory and analysis, and complete several kinds of weekly and bi-weekly writing assignments, from regular screening notes to post-screening responses to short pieces of close, formal analysis to short essays. Students will workshop their writing in small groups and seminar on readings. We will also take 2-3 field trips during our evening sessions to cinemas in Olympia, Tacoma and Seattle. 

Quarters

Summer Open

Location and Schedule

Final Schedule and Room Assignment

• Summer

Campus Location

Olympia

Time Offered

Evening and Weekend

Advertised Schedule