4 credit hours LITR-2420 Art of the Film A survey of selected films whose directors have contributed to the resources of the medium, as well as a study of technical and aesthetic considerations that distinguish film from other arts. Reading assignments in film history, techniques, scripts, and special research projects. Spring term annually. An exploration of the use of fiction to propagate ideas about ideal or nightmarish societies. This course examines the artistic techniques employed in this distinct tradition and the unusual interplay between fiction and reality that this popular genre represents.
Students work toward the design of their own utopian scheme in short story or other form.
Fall term alternate years. A survey of black films of the 20th century and an analysis of the plot, theme, cultural construction, characterization, moral-philosophical implications, blacks images, and historical context to black life and national conditions. Offered upon availability of instructor. This course provides an introduction to black authors and their literary contributions and an analysis of their relationship to black thought and culture. Various forms of literature, such as folk tales, poetry, short story, prose, and essay, will be presented with emphasis on literary style and content as influenced by the social environment of the periods of America s historical development from 1619 to the present.