Course Catalog

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THE ISLAMIC CITY (ES3017)

Surveys the history of urban form in the predominantly Muslim cities of the Middle East and North Africa. Students will study the relationship between urban morphology and society, practices of sacred space, and the interplay of power, belief, and architectural form. Also covered are the politics behind the forms now seen as the defining features of Islamic building and the question of the image in Islamic building. On a contemporary note, students will explore the symbolic politics of the Muslim built heritage and examine the extreme conditions facing many Middle Eastern urban populations today. Includes a Study Trip. Please note that an additional fee will be charged for this course.

DANTE & MEDIEVAL CULTURE (ES3025)

Offers a detailed investigation of The Divine Comedy. Traces Dante's development in several related areas (love, mysticism, allegory, poetics, politics) and his affinity with other key cultural figures (Virgil, St. Augustine, St. Bernard, St. Thomas, Boccaccio). Includes an overview of medieval history.

THE MUSEUM AS MEDIUM (ES3037)

In the Age of the Enlightenment, the classification and organization of facts and objects gave birth to the concept of the modern 'museum'. This course investigates the construction and communication of national, cultural, and community identities through the medium of the contemporary museum, where material culture is exhibited to express narratives that evoke particular definitions and interpretations of history and values.

PARIS ATTRACTION: MODERNIST EXPERIMENTS IN MIGRATION (ES3043)

Explores the work of Anglo-American modernist writers in Paris, concentrating on the works of Ernest Hemingway, Wyndham Lewis, Gertrude Stein, Djuna Barnes, Jean Rhys, and other writers. Relates their formal experimentation to the visual arts and to the psychic dynamics of exile: the experience of liberation from the constraints of one culture and an alienated relation to the new environment.

ANTHROPOLOGY OF CITIES (ES3061)

Presents an anthropological approach to the study of cities, providing students with theoretical and methodological tools to think critically about the meaning of urban life today. Approaches this topic from a cross-cultural perspective, with a number of readings focusing on Paris in particular. Students will undertake a Paris-based qualitative research project during the course of the semester.

MODERN FILMS & THEIR MEANINGS (FM1010)

How do contemporary films make meaning? How does cinematic language convey emotion and raise ideas? how do we, as contemporary spectators, relate to and make sense of the screen? This course, while centered on contemporary films, is an introduction to cinematic language, its techniques, and the social and cultural factors that have made it one of the most influential art forms of our time. Looking at international films from just the last 20 years, we will explore and discover the ways these films creatively explore ideas and look at the technological, economic and political forces that fuel their production. Together with readings and screenings, individual and group assignments will help students deepen their understanding of lectures, readings and films and develop new critical skills and aesthetic understanding.

PRINCIPLES OF VIDEO PRODUCTION (FM1019)

This course is designed to give you strong technical and conceptual skills in video production. Video and the moving image are everywhere in our world and a solid understanding of how they work will help you use them to pursue questions about the world around you. This course will prepare you for future video work in film, journalism, media and communications, studio art, and can be useful across many other disciplines on campus. You will learn to use the camera to raise questions and will work on several projects, each challenging you to explore new skills. Class time will be divided into lecture, screenings, in-class labs and critique. Outside class readings, shooting, editing and screenings will deepen your understanding.

FIRSTBRIDGE IN FILM STUDIES (FM1099)

Firstbridge courses are offered to degree seeking freshmen and registration is done via webform in pre-arrival checklist.

SCREENWRITING FOR TELEVISION (FM2018)

Over the past twenty years, Granada, HBO, and the BBC have been creating series such as The Singing Detective, Cracker, MI5, The Sopranos, and The Wire that are much darker and more persuasive and perverse than anything else on television or on the big screen. Students will examine these 'visual texts,' and will also outline one or two series of their own, working on individual scenes that will be dramatized in class.