Introduces students to the critical study of film, television, and/or new media through the lens of a specific concept, issue in film or media cultures and traditions, or scholarly trend. Topics might focus on a single medium or take a comparative approach. May be repeated for credit with a different topic.
| Distribution Area | Prerequisites | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| 1 course |
This course explores ecological thinking through the lenses of posthumanism, eco-feminism, and the intersections of race and species hierarchy, drawing on a wide array of films, media, and visual artworks. Students will investigate pressing issues such as climate change, environmental inequality, and human -- non-human relationships, critically reassessing Western and anthropocentric frameworks. Through both analysis and creative work, students will engage with ecological challenges from diverse cultural and ideological perspectives. By the end of the course, they will develop their own interpretations of "Ecological Thinking," shaped by reflective practices and personal inquiry. While primarily focused on critical studies, the course also integrates elements of creative practice.
The term "melodrama" is often used in a derogatory sense, to dismiss categories of people (particularly women, gay men, and people of color) as excessively emotional and artworks as cringingly outdated. And yet, as a genre, melodrama is as modern as sci-fi and horror, and despite its bad reputation, it continues to structure how we make sense of the moral problems and social conflicts around us. In this course, we will study melodrama's emergence on the early 19th century stage, formed in the crucible of secularism and democratic revolutions, and track its evolution as it migrates from the theatre to the cinema, television, and, finally, social media. Throughout, we will pay particular attention to how the genre constantly re-modernizes itself in order to address new social problems and its circulation to every corner of the globe, from France and Britain to India and Latin America.