Spring 2025 - CA 416 D100

Advanced Seminar in Cinema Studies (4)

Ethnographic Cinemas: De/Colonizing the Other

Class Number: 6515

Delivery Method: In Person

Overview

  • Course Times + Location:

    Jan 6 – Apr 9, 2025: Mon, 9:30 a.m.–12:20 p.m.
    GOLDCORP

  • Prerequisites:

    CA (or FPA) 316 (or 337) or CA (or FPA) 318 (or 335).

Description

CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:

Features intensive study and analysis of selected topics in film theory, history, criticism and aesthetics. Examples include: work of specific directors or periods; theories of narrativity; particular aspects of national cinemas, etc. This course can be repeated once for credit if the topic is different. Students with credit for CA (or FPA) 436 may take this course for further credit if the topic is different.

COURSE DETAILS:

Ethnographic Cinemas: De/Colonizing the Other

Ethnography has had a profound impact on cinema’s history as well as on contemporary filmmaking. In this class we will take up ethnographic modes to see how film is bound up with imperial forms of looking and colonialism’s political and aesthetic project. We will also examine ethnographic cinema’s influence on documentary and narrative filmmaking; and see how contemporary artists revisit ethnography to critique colonialism, assert indigenous sovereignty, and express counter narratives of difference. Throughout the course we will focus on the complex roles indigenous and colonized peoples have played in relation to ethnographic cinema – including participation, collaboration, critique, creation, and reappropriation. The course will examine a wide variety of films and filmmakers, including Edward Curtis, George Hunt, Jean Rouch, Paulin Vieyra, Mamadou Sarr, Agnes Varda, Chris Marker, Sarah Maldoror, Isaac Julien, Trinh Minh Ha, Onyeka Igwe, Asinnajaq, and Mati Diop, as well as recent collective ethnographic projects such as Video Nas Aldeias, Isuma, and the Sensory Ethnography Lab.

As part of the course students will undertake an original research project that will be conducted in several stages. Students will develop a project in conjunction with the instructor and based on the course content. Over the second half of the semester, students will write an abstract and preliminary bibliography, a draft of the essay and the final research paper. At each stage students will participate in a process of peer review and revision.

COURSE-LEVEL EDUCATIONAL GOALS:

Students will:

  • engage critically with the history of film and colonialism
  • expand their knowledge of indigenous film and film from the global South
  • analyze primary documents related to film and film culture
  • learn to do research using library resources
  • position their research within contemporary academic debates
  • integrate theoretical concepts with visual analysis
  • practice writing clear and persuasive arguments
  • learn writing as an iterative practice and integrate peer feedback into their work

Grading

  • Discussion Questions 15%
  • Class Participation 15%
  • Travel film assignment 20%
  • Research project abstract and bibliography 10%
  • Research project peer review 10%
  • Research project draft 5%
  • Research project final 25%

Materials

REQUIRED READING:

All required readings will be available through Canvas and/or on electronic reserve at the SFU Library


RECOMMENDED READING:

Laure Astourian,The Ethnographic Optic: Jean Rouch, Chris Marker, Alain Resnais, and the Turn Inward in 1960s French (Indiana University Press, 2024).

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 term 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.