Making War

3 units

This course examines the cinematic representation of war. Using World War Two as a case study, students will examine a series of combat pictures, documentaries, and home front films from the 1940s to the present. Several key questions will guide the class discussion: How do war films respond to and shape the political worlds in which they are produced? How do these films confront the aftermath of war and the soldier's homecoming? Where is the line between the home front and the front line? More broadly, what does it mean to portray the violence and suffering that war inevitably brings? At the close of the semester, students will partake in an in-class symposium presenting their research on the cinematic treatment of other conflicts, from the Civil War to the War on Terror. Films include: The Boat, Saving Private Ryan, The Thin Red Line, Why We Fight, and Mrs. Miniver. Readings will include works by Susan Sontag, Kaja Silverman, and W.G. Sebald. Required screenings.