German 697AC - ST-Alterity&Authorty/C. Euro

Authority and alterity are key concepts for our understanding of the conflations of film, everyday life, and politics, in the former East Germany and in Central European countries, including Czechoslovakia, Poland, and Hungary. In their multiple facets, authority and alterity encompass everyday and political oppression and resistance, heteronormativity vs. queerness, women?s struggles in socialist and capitalist societies vs. feminist sensibilities, etc. Adopting a comparative lens, we will trace the development of genres, experimental styles, film studio structures unique to the region, and strategies to disseminate subversive films abroad. We will not only delve into film theories and debates, including those on socialist realism; the Central European cinematic New Waves and dissidence as everyday gesture, but will also closely scrutinize the role of film art in bringing about political and social change. We will thus engage with and analyze the place of authority and alterity not only as concepts but also as actions in the Velvet Revolutions of 1989 and the collapse of the communist regimes. The course will be taught entirely in English and all films will be shown with English subtitles.