Humanities Arts Cultural Stu 0235 - The History of Slavery in Film

We will approach film history in terms of the representation of Slavery in film, both the technological innovation and the development of film language. While the 19th century is widely viewed as the century of the novel the 20th has been dominated by the rise of film as the force in public storytelling. What is the significance of the fact that the most widely read novel of the 19th and, in some ways, the most important film of the 20th century are both about slavery? The 2014 Oscars ushered in an new era of technology with the crowning of Gravity, the first film shot almost exclusively by robots, 12 years a slave the first film to introduce a new language into mainstream cinema and Her the first film about an enslaved operating system. What is the relationship between slavery, post- humanism and the cyborg? What future for film and humanity?

Writing and Research Multiple Cultural Perspectives In this course, students are expected to spend 8 hours of preparation and work weekly outside of class time.