Documentary Cinema: History, Theory, Criticism

Catalog description

This course provides a historical and theoretical introduction to documentary film history and criticism, from early cinema to contemporary documentary filmmaking practices. Students will examine the aesthetics and ethics of representation with a keen attention to issues of visibility, consent, and the power dynamics of authorship, identity politics, and access to the modes of representation. Canonical moments of documentary film history will be explored alongside lesser known examples of documentary works in order to address complex issues of subjectivity, objectivity, and truth as implicated or compromised by the film camera, filmmaker, and film audiences. Prerequisite(s): A ARH 260 or permission of the instructor.