Visualizing Orientalism: Art, Cinema and the Imaginary East 1850-2000

3 units

This seminar examines film and modern art within the framework of Orientalism Reading foundational texts by Said, and incorporating theory and historical discourse concerned with race, nationalism, and colonialism, we explore artistic practice in European photography, painting, and decorative arts from 1850 to recent times and European and Hollywood Film. We study how power and desire have been inscribed in Western visual culture across the bodies of nations and peoples through conventions such as the harem, the odalisque, the desert, and the mysteries of ancient Egypt. To that end, we will look at artists such as Delacroix, Ingres, Gérôme, Beardsley, and Matisse and will screen films such as "The Sheik," "The Mummy," "Salome," "Cleopatra," "Pepe le Moko," "Naked Lunch," "Shanghai Gesture," "Thief of Bagdad," "Princess Tam Tam," and "The Sheltering Sky." Subjects include the representaion of gender, sexuality, desire, race, and identity as well as the cultural impact of stereotype and exotic spectacle. Students will study methods of visual analysis in film studies and art history. All students must attend film screenings.