First-Year Seminar: Race and Ethnicity in American Cinema

3 units

From the early documentary roots of cinema through the Civil Rights movement and to the recent democratization of the means of media production, questions of race and ethnicity have proved crucial both to the content of American films and also to the perspective from which they are made. This class will look at the representation of historical moments from the Civil War to Hurricane Katrina, the production of cinematic stereotypes as well as their appropriation for subversive purposes, and the gradual evolution of multi-culturalism as a central factor in the stories told and the telling of stories on the American screen. Students will use film texts to develop a critical understanding of one of the most important issues in American history. Required screenings.