A course exploring the development of documentary and nonfiction film from 1900 to the present, in which we will consider both the formal interest and narrative power of particular films, and the way they shape wider cultural assumptions about technology, identity, and representation. Films studied will range from the early actualites of the Lumiere Brothers, through masterpieces including Nanook of the North, Man With a Movie Camera, and The Plow That Broke the Plains, to such recent works as Fahrenheit 9/11, Grizzly Man, and Taxicab Confessions. Course requirements include attendance at screenings, active class participation a series of short responses and three five-page papers. No prerequisites. Enrollment limit: 19 (expected: 19). Preference given to first-year students; after that, students will be admitted at the discretion of the instructor.