Humanities Arts Cultural Stu 0242 - Brecht and World Cinema

Investigation of the influence of the German playwright,poet and theorist Bertolt Brecht on international cinema, particularly since the 1960s. Reading of key Brecht texts (both literature and theory), screening of film and video works from European New Waves, New German Cinema, U.S. feminist film/video, as well as Asian, Latin American and African films. Artists include: Glauber Rocha, Ousmane Sembene, Jean Rouch, Jean-Luc Godard, Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Yvonne Rainer, Helke Sander, Harun Farocki, Pedro Costa, Djibril Diop Mambety, Jutta Brueckner, Martha Rosler, Hans Juergen Syberberg, Daniele Huillet and Jean-Marie Straub.Major critical question is the continued relevance of "political modernism" (D.N. Rodowick) in cinema. By the end of the semester, I hope to have discussed the most controversial and "unfinished" issues related to Brecht and film: "Brechtian" theory in the post-Cold-War era; Brecht's appropriation of Asian theatrical forms; Brechtian aesthetics and gender; and the question of avant-garde vs. "popular" aesthetics.

Writing and Research Multiple Cultural Perspectives Monday evening's class is a screening and a discussion. Students are expected to spend 6-8 hours weekly in preparation and work outside of class. Field trip fee: $20