Course Catalog

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EUROPEAN CINEMA & THE BODY (FM2097)

This course examines the intricate relationship existing between cinema and the body. How is cinematographic art able to represent the creative faculties but also the dark sides of the body : its gestures, desires, needs and pulsions (in sexuality and gender identity) ? How can it account for the cognitive, cultural, political and technological revolutions associated with the body throughout European history (such as the Body Politics or the Technological Body) ? Structured around screenings and classroom lectures, the course addresses these questions by introducing the students to elements of film studies and Body Theory as well as locating each of the screened films in their historical and cultural contexts. The aim of the course is for students to develop an informed appreciation of the issues at stake in the variety of cinematographic representations of the body.

CINEMA & THE POLITICAL (FM2098)

Studies the intricate relationship between politics and cinema : how films represent, document but also problematize the political dimension of cultures, societies and individual experience. Both content of films (themes, plot, contexts) and their forms (narrative structures, mise en scène, cinematography, editing) are analyzed to understand how ideological messages are put together and communicated to the spectator. Studied films include political subjects such as war, 9/11, revolution, electoral politics, issues of race, gender, media, globalization, the politics of history and identity politics. The course is organized around screenings and seminars.

TOPICS IN CONT. FRENCH FILM & LIT. (FM3011)

The course aims to introduce students to up-to-date literary and cinematic developments in France, and Francophonie, give students the opportunity to learn about the recent issues in French culture and society and develop their skills in oral and written French. Taught in French (presentations and papers may be written in English).

FILM THEORY & CRITICISM (FM3027)

Examines film theory with two motives: how does it help us read individual films, and what does it tell us about this medium? Studies theorists such as Sergei Eisenstein, Andre Bazin, Robin Wood, Christian Metz, Joan Mellen, Laura Mulvey, and Gaylyn Studlar, in relation to certain seminal films - Potemkin, Citizen Kane, Vertigo, A bout de souffle, and Pulp Fiction.

PARIS REEL & IMAGINED: PERSPECTIVES ON THE CITY OF LIGHTS (FM3034)

Paris has always been a fertile meeting ground for artists and stimulates the imaginations of newcomers and natives alike. Writers, artists and—in the 20th century—filmmakers have come together in this magical space and shared their fascination with a city of lights, communally recognizing its potential to become home to their fantasies and at times, their despair. Students consider how the Parisian urban landscape is imagined differently by French native vs. expatriate or immigrant writers and filmmakers. They study the comparative methods for visualizing the city unique to writers and filmmakers respectively and gain historical perspective on the central place played by Paris in the evolution of literature and cinema. Titles for viewing and critical reading include: Alain Resnais’ Same Old Song, Woody Allen’s Midnight in Paris and its contexts; André Breton’s Nadja; Raymond Queneau’s Zazie in the Metro and André Techiné’s The Girl on the RER. Excerpts from Jean-Luc Godard’s Parisian cycle will also be analyzed.

DIRECTING FICTION (FM3039)

This course aims to teach the fundamentals of directing - story boarding, preparation of a shooting script, choice of camera angles and lenses, etc. - and show the relationship between the technical and creative aspects of film making. Students will analyze direction in films and work as small production teams on their own short films to illustrate the "how and why" of film technique's influence on story-telling and character portrayal.

It is strongly recommended that students take Principles of Video Production AND at least one Film Studies course before taking this class.

SHAKESPEARE & FILM (FM3048)

This course considers how the language of film can sometimes unlock the secrets of Shakespeare's world and help us to understand his contribution to the evolution of art cinema as well as to blockbuster culture. Focus is given to close readings of Shakespeare's plays, analysis of cinematic adaptations and a study of films such as Al Pacino's Looking for Richard or Shakespeare in Love. Directors Kozintsev, Welles, Godard, Olivier and Kurosawa are also studied.

MAKING A DOCUMENTARY (FM3063)

In this course, students will have the opportunity to make their own documentary shorts and to begin work on longer form projects. They will also be introduced to some basic documentary genres and approaches such as social issues,
journalistic, dramatic, personal, poetic, biographical, experimental. They will learn how to research, script, shoot, and edit their work, also how to interview and improvise.

THE AESTHETICS OF CRIME FICTION (FM3069)

Traumatic reaction in the aftermath of WWI, the rapid evolution of cinema and photography, emerging trends of psychoanalytic thought, all contributed to a disturbing, often volatile, re-examination of the aesthetics of literature in the wake of a culture of ruin characterizing early 20th century Europe. Trends in mass consumption, such as the popularity of crime fiction and its existential outgrowth film noir, are largely rooted in this struggle to come to terms with cultural transitions taking place between the two wars. This course will examine the origins and aesthetics of crime fiction and film, notably, the evolution of film noir and the série noire, and other developments in Europe and America just before and after WWII. Students will analyze some of the canonical writers whose works influenced a second generation of crime fiction writers as well as the works of film directors who presided over these crucial moments of transition.

GERMAN CINEMA (FM3072)

Focuses on two major periods of production: Weimar and the New German Cinema. Features the work of Lang, Murnau, Wiene, Pabst, and Lubitsch, and studies their important contribution to film form. Attention given to 'emigre' directors in Hollywood, and then moves onto works by Fassbinder, Kluge, Wenders, Schloendorff, Herzog, Margarethe von Trotta, and Doris Dorrie.