JK14001Foundations I-Seminar (SEG/VMC)
| Numbering Code | G-LET36 6JK14 LE36 | Year/Term | 2022 ・ First semester |
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| Number of Credits | 2 | Course Type | special lecture |
| Target Year | Target Student | ||
| Language | English | Day/Period | Fri.3・4 |
| Instructor name | KANNO YUKA (Part-time Lecturer) | ||
| Outline and Purpose of the Course |
In this seminar, students will be introduced to major debates in feminist and queer film theory and criticism while exploring critical concepts in fields such as women’ cinema, feminist and queer aesthetics and politics, realism, cinema verite, autobiography, and cinematic modernism. We will engage several key genres and modes (documentary, avant-garde, narrative cinema) in order to focus on the very central questions that have informed and shaped feminist and queer approaches to film texts. This seminar aims to examine the different ways in which feminist and queer theoretical and critical discourses address the intersections of gender, sexuality, and race through concrete analysis of these films. The course consists of film screenings, lectures, and discussions based on the assigned readings. |
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| Course Goals |
Through this seminar, students will be able to: ・Understand the historical developments of feminist and queer film criticism while learning key concepts and debates. ・Develop the skills to analyze the film forms, aesthetics, and thematic concerns and the ways in which the issues of gender, sexuality, and race/ethnicity are expressed through them. ・Construct compelling arguments on the social and political implications of film texts. ・Situate the visual and cultural texts amid wider social and historical contexts. ・Cultivate the analytical abilities to apply feminist and queer critical perspectives to contemporary visual culture. |
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| Schedule and Contents |
*Please note that each week is consisted of 2 class unites/3 hours Week 1: Women’s Cinema and Feminist Aesthetics Introduction and Overview Readings: ・Teresa de Lauretis, “Aesthetic and Feminist Theory: Rethinking Women’s Cinema,” New German Critique 34 (1985): 154-175. ・Judith Mayne, “Female Authorship Reconsidered,” from The Woman at the Keyhole: Feminism and Women’s Cinema (Bloomington and Indianapolis: Indiana University Press, 1990), 89-123. Screenings: Clips from: Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (Chantal Akerman, 1975) and Dance, Girl, Dance (Dorothy Arzner, 1940). Week 2: Early Queer Cinema Readings: ・B. Ruby Rich, “From Repressive Tolerance to Erotic Liberation: Maedchen in Uniform,” in Chick Flicks: Theories and Memories of the Feminist Film Movement (Durham and London: Duke UP, 1998): 179-206 ・Richard Dyer, Now You See It: Studies on Lesbian and Gay Film (London and New York: Routledge, 1990/2002): 88-123. Screening: Medchen in Uniform (Leontine Sagan, 1931) Week 3: The Feminist Film Movement and Documentary Readings: ・Shilyh Warren, ch.3. “Strangely Familiar: Autoethnography and Whiteness in Personal Documentaries,” Subject to Reality: Women and Documentary Film (Urbana, Chicago, and Springfield: University of Illinois Press, 2019): 67- 96 ・E. Ann Kaplan, “Theory and Practice of the Realist Documentary Form in Harlan County, U.S.A.” in Show Us Life: Toward a History and Aesthetics of the Committed Documentary, Thomas Waugh ed. (Metuchen, N.J., and London: The Scarecrow Press, 1984): 212-222 Screenings: Harlan Country, U.S.A (Barbara Kopple, 1976), Janie’s Janie (Geri Ashur, Peter Barton, Marilyn Mulford, Stephanie Pawleski, Newsreel, 1971), Critical Response Paper #1 Week 4: Reconsidering Realism: Experimental Autobiography Readings: ・Michell Citron, “Fleeing from Documentary: Autobiographical Film/Video and the ‘Ethics of Responsibility,” in Feminism and Documentary, ed., Diane Waldman and Janet Walker (Minneapolis and London: University of Minnesota Press, 1999): 271- 286. ・Linda Williams and B. Ruby Rich, “The Right of Re-VisIon: Michell Citron’s Daughter Rite,” Film Quarterly 35:1 (1981): 17-22. Screening: Daughter Rite (Michelle Citron, 1978) Week 5: Modernism and Avant-Garde Readings: ・Laura Mulvey, “Film, Feminism and the Avant-Garde,” in Visual and Other Pleasures (London: Palgrave Macmillan, 1989): 111- 126. ・Judith Mayne, “Su Friedrich’s Swimming Lessons,” in Framed: Lesbians, Feminist, and Media Culture (London and Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2000): 193-211. Screenings: Meshes of Afternoon (Maya Deren, 1946), Sink or Swim (Su Friedrich 1990). Critical Response Paper #2 Week 6: Barbara Hammer Readings: ・Sarah Keller, “Barbara Hammer: Lesbian Feminist Iconography and Queer Aesthetics,” The Oxford Handbook of Queer Cinema, Ronald Gregg and Amy Villarejo ed. (Oxford: Oxford UP, 2021): 361-379. ・Chuck Kleinhans, “Barbara Hammer: Lyrics and History,” Women’s Experimental Cinema: Critical Frameworks, Robin Blaetz, ed. (Durham and London: Duke UP, 2007): 167-187 Screening: History Lessons (Barbara Hammer, 2000) Week 7: New Queer Cinema ・Laura L. Sullivan, “Chasing Fae: “The Watermelon Woman” and Black Lesbian Possibility,” Callaloo 23:1 (Winter 2000), 448-460 ・bell hooks, “Homophobia in Black Community,” in The Greatest Taboo: Homosexuality in Black Communities, ed. Delroy Constantine-Simms (Los Angels: Alyson Books, 2000) Screening: Watermelon Woman (Cheryl Dunye, 1995) Week 8: Presentations and Feedback Presentations (20 minutes/person) Feedback and Discussion |
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| Evaluation Methods and Policy |
Regular attendance and active participation (10 %) Please come to class ready to actively participate, having completed all readings and assignments in advance. Discussion Facilitation (10%) Each student will facilitate and lead seminar discussion, either alone or with another student, depending on the seminar size. Please include a summary and the main arguments from the assigned readings as well as biographical information of the author. Formulate some questions from the readings (and screenings) to generate discussion. Two Critical Response Papers (20%×2 = 40%) A critical response paper consists of a 3 - 4 page short essay in which you will write a critical review of a film screened for the seminar. This assignment is aimed at giving you an opportunity to practice film criticism and learn to analyse and write about film texts. Presentation (10%) Please give a presentation (20 minutes) on your topic for the final essay. At this point, you should have clear ideas on what your final essay will be about. You are also encouraged to give constructive feedback to peer presenters. Final Essay (30%) You will write the final paper (8- 10 pages) based on the topics discussed in the seminar. Make sure to incorporate theoretical and critical concepts and perspectives in your analysis. *Writing guidelines: all your papers are to be in 12-point type, double-spaced, with 1-inch margins and numbered pages. Use either Chicago or MLA citation style. To JDTS/MATS students: This is course can be taken as either reduced (4 ECTS) or full seminar (8 ECTS). Please indicate your ECTS requirement to the teacher. |
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| Course Requirements |
Films and clips in the syllabus will be shown in seminar. Please turn off all the electronic devices, including cell phones, laptops, and tablets. |
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| Study outside of Class (preparation and review) | Please come to class, having completed all readings and assignments. | ||
