Hollywood Does History

Catalog description

This learning community examines major works of the human imagination in 20th-century and early 21st-century American films. The interdisciplinary framework gives students an opportunity to explore movies in terms of their social and historical contexts, and fosters aesthetic perception and visual literacy. Students learn how the techniques of film enrich understanding of history and even create historical meaning. Journeying back in time to the formative years of the movie industry, the relationship between movies and the political, social, and cultural context of the eras in which the films were produced is examined. Depictions of race, ethnicity, class, gender, and sexuality are studied through the interpretive lens of wide range Hollywood films.