Fall 2023 - CA 235 D100
Experimental Film and Video (3)
Class Number: 7362
Delivery Method: In Person
Overview
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Course Times + Location:
Sep 6 – Dec 5, 2023: Thu, 2:30–5:20 p.m.
GOLDCORP
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Instructor:
Nadia Shihab
nshihab@sfu.ca
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Prerequisites:
One of CA (or FPA) 117 (or 167), 118 (or 168), 135, 136 or 137 or 30 units.
Description
CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:
A survey of the key works and ideas that have informed contemporary moving image art practice nationally and internationally. Beginning with antecedents in painting and photography, the course will move forward from the early European avant-garde to the lyrical and structural works of the seventies, the issue-based work of the eighties, and finally the gallery-based practices of the present day. Intended for all students with an interest in the moving image as an art form. Students with credit for FPA 235 may not take this course for further credit.
COURSE DETAILS:
This course will expose students to a range of experimental and artist-made films, drawing as much from newer voices as from “the canon” of experimental film. Structured through a framework that is thematic rather than chronological, the course will emphasize works that have crossed and transcended categories, created new forms and genres, and expressed subjectivities, voices and histories that were historically unseen in mainstream film. The works we view together will both move and challenge us, pushing us to collectively remap the possibilities of the moving image while exploring ways to locate ourselves and our histories in relation to these complex works. Because of the limited time we have together, this course will necessarily be limited in scope. For the majority of the course, we will look at films made since the 1960’s, with particular attention on films made in the last few decades. In doing so, this course aims to revisit canonical works while bringing them in conversation with more contemporary voices, particularly female, queer and BIPOC artists.
COURSE-LEVEL EDUCATIONAL GOALS:
- Gain a deeper appreciation of the wide-ranging forms and possibilities of film and video
- Learn to analyze experimental film in terms of form, content, and context, as well as reflect on one's own positionality to the work.
- Gain an interdisciplinary understanding of how experimental films engage with and respond to other avant-garde movements
- Explore the relationships between past and present experimental media forms and practices.
Grading
- Creative Prompt 15%
- Film Reflection Journal 40%
- Final Project Proposal / Individual Check-in 10%
- Final Project 20%
- Participation 15%
Materials
REQUIRED READING NOTES:
Your personalized Course Material list, including digital and physical textbooks, are available through the SFU Bookstore website by simply entering your Computing ID at: shop.sfu.ca/course-materials/my-personalized-course-materials.
Registrar Notes:
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: YOUR WORK, YOUR SUCCESS
SFU’s Academic Integrity website http://www.sfu.ca/students/academicintegrity.html is filled with information on what is meant by academic dishonesty, where you can find resources to help with your studies and the consequences of cheating. Check out the site for more information and videos that help explain the issues in plain English.
Each student is responsible for his or her conduct as it affects the university community. Academic dishonesty, in whatever form, is ultimately destructive of the values of the university. Furthermore, it is unfair and discouraging to the majority of students who pursue their studies honestly. Scholarly integrity is required of all members of the university. http://www.sfu.ca/policies/gazette/student/s10-01.html
RELIGIOUS ACCOMMODATION
Students with a faith background who may need accommodations during the semester are encouraged to assess their needs as soon as possible and review the Multifaith religious accommodations website. The page outlines ways they begin working toward an accommodation and ensure solutions can be reached in a timely fashion.