Histories of Film II: 1955-Present (FMS-0071)

Spring 2024 · FMS 0071 · Tufts University · 3 credits · Undergraduate

The two Histories of Film courses are sequential, one-semester courses that may be taken separately, but are created as a year-long inquiry into the history of the art of cinema. Constructed as a foundations course, we will examine the historical development of cinema from its inception in the late nineteenth century through the present. Presented through a broad historical, aesthetic, and critical framework, this course will introduce the student to the study of cinematic representation by focusing on the first half-century of its development in the fall and the second half-century of its development in the spring. By investigating the aesthetic, formal, and stylistic devices of film as well as its narrative codes and structures we will consider the evolution of its rich and complex language. Our study will focus on such noteworthy film movements as the early international avant-garde, German Expressionism, Soviet filmmaking of the 1920s, the classical studio Hollywood film (including genre and authorship studies), postwar cinemas in Japan and Italy, international New Wave cinemas of the 1960s, post-classical American cinema, World cinema, contemporary independent film practices, and more.

Course codes: FMS-0071, FMS 0071, FMS0071, FMS-71, FMS 71, FMS71, VMS-0011, VMS 0011, VMS0011, VMS-11, VMS 11, VMS11

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