Advanced Seminar in Film & Video (443-0-20)

Topic

Media Places

Instructors

Lynn B Spigel

Meeting Info

Annie May Swift Hall 219: Tues 10:00AM - 12:50PM

Overview of class

This class explores film, TV, and digital media as placemaking devices. From the cinematic city to the TV suburb to the networked places of digital media, the media have a profound relationship to our experience of everyday environments. We will examine how media represent and tell stories about place, and we'll also consider a range of mediatized lived spaces from the digital smart home to the screened environments of world cities. We'll consider the placemaking aspects of media such as Zoom, mobile technologies, and scanning devices, and we'll explore the media's use as a means of mobility, immobility, and surveillance (particularly with regard to gender, sexuality, and race). We'll also analyze experimental works made by filmmakers, media artists, architects, and designers who produce immersive "elsewheres," or escape routes from surveillance and the dominant spaces of daily life. Readings will include major theoretical works on space and place as well as related readings in film and media studies. SCREENINGS: Most required screenings are available as digital files in "course reserves" on Canvas. A few are on streaming sites for free or for rent.
The screenings should be done before class each week unless otherwise indicated.

Evaluation Method

EVALUATION is based on Oral Presentations; Reading Screening/Report and a final seminar paper.

Class Materials (Required)

Readings are available on Canvas or as E books in the library.

Enrollment Requirements

Enrollment Requirements: Reserved for Screen Cultures PhD students or by permission of instructor.