RUSS 275(F) Russian and Soviet Film in Retrospect (Same as Comparative Literature 275)
In this course, we will survey the past one hundred years of Russian and Soviet film to explore how cinema has reflected and, at times, created the country's most important historical events and cultural myths. We will pay close attention to Russian filmmakers' varied reactions to Hollywood cinema, as well as to the lively body of cinema theory that these reactions have generated. Our survey will begin in the present day, with key examples of Russian film from the post-Soviet era, and move backwards through films representative of Glasnost, the Thaw, World War II, Socialist Realism, the October Revolution, and finally, the pre-Revolutionary era. In addition to studying art films by world-famous filmmakers, such as Aleksandr Sokurov, Andrei Tarkovsky, and Sergei Eisenstein, we will watch popular films that have formed Russians' understanding of their country and themselves.
Format: lecture/seminar. Evaluation will be based on completion of all viewing and reading assignments, active participation in class discussions, completion of two short papers, and a final research project.
No prerequisites. No enrollment limit (expected: 15).
Hour: CASSIDAY