Media Historiography (410-0-20)

Instructors

Lynn B Spigel

Meeting Info

Annie May Swift Hall 109: Tues 11:00AM - 1:50PM

Overview of class

This course explores how historians understand the significance of film and media in the everyday life of 20th and 21st-century publics. We explore historical scholarship that foregrounds the cultural politics of media and media audiences, as well as the politics of media archives and cultural memory. We especially focus on historical work that draws upon discourse/textual analysis, feminist/queer theory, trauma theory, critical race theory, archive theory, and theories of everyday life. We attend to "speculative" approaches in recent media histories that revise dominant historical narratives by considering the past in dialogue with the present, and as a platform for change. Media considered include theatrical and non-theatrical films, photography, TV/video, and digital media. We also explore historical scholarship that focuses on material forms (such as architecture, fashion, or technological objects). Weekly screenings to be viewed on your own before class.

Class Materials (Required)

Books no more than 50 dollars; screenings available free on Canvas and streaming networks (no more than 50 dollars)