Comparative Literature 302 (11270)
THEORY OF FILM: CRITICAL CONCEPTS (VLPA, 5 CREDITS)

Theories of Third Cinema

Is it possible to think of cinema without paying attention to the places from which and in which the filmmaker works? How does the cinema address being in the margins of the large film industries, outside the cultural mainstream, expressing itself in minor languages, or speaking from exile? How can classical film theory, based mostly on Hollywood and European cinema, engage in a dialog with films adhering to other paradigms?

This is a core course in the film studies track. Students are expected to be familiar with basic terms in film history and criticism.

TIME AND PLACE:	MW 11:30-1:20      TTh 11:30-12:20
Instructor:	Yomi Braester
	office: C-504 Padelford
	office hours: by appointment
	e-mail: yomi@u.washington.edu
	course website: http://faculty.washington.edu/yomi/clit313-07.html

Assignments
Policies and Procedures
Class Schedule

Assignments

Readings and film viewings:
All readings must be completed on time. Students are required to attend the screenings.

Written assignments:
Weekly respnses: Eight reports of 450 words each, summarizing the connections made between the readings and the film of the previous week.

Final paper: 1,250-1,500, due on 12/12. Conveying the students' thoughts arising from the final collaborative project.

Grading:
Weekly reports 8 x 8 points = 64 points
Final paper = 34 points

Policies and Procedures

Late submissions must be pre-approved by the instructor or they will not be accepted.

All assignments, except in-class commentary, must be typed. To ensure a standard length, please make sure to use Times New Roman font, size 12, double-spaced, with page margins not exceeding 1.25 inches on each side.

The course strictly adheres to UW’s rules on plagiarism.

Students with disabilities are encouraged to inform the instructor, who will do his best to provide the relevant accommodations.

CLASS SCHEDULE (subject to change)

NOTE: Readings are available on electronic reserve, at https://eres.lib.washington.edu/eres/coursepass.aspx?cid=5873

week 1

9/26 wed

Introduction: Why does non-Western cinema matter?

week 2
10/1 Mon DEN216	Seminar reading: Ella Shohat and Robert Stam, Unthinking Eurocentrism, Chapter 1 (“From Eurocentrism to Polycentrism” 13–54)
	FILM (to be viewed at students' discretion): Bamako (2006, 115 mins)
10/3 Wed RAI 121	Seminar
WEEK 3
10/8 Mon RAI 121	Seminar reading: Jim Pines and Willemen, Questions of Third Cinema, selections (Teshome H. Gabriel, “Towards a Critical Theory of Third World Films” and “Third Cinema as Guardian of Popular Memory: Towards a Third Aesthetics”); Homi K. Bhabha, “The Commitment to Theory”; Trinh T. Minh-ha, “Outside In Inside Out” Weekly response #1 (on week 2) due today BEGIN SCREENING: Games of Love and Chance (2005, 117 mins)
10/9 Tue KANE B19	SCREENING: Games of Love and Chance (2005, 117 mins)
10/10 Wed RAI 121	Seminar
WEEK 4
10/15 Mon RAI 121	Seminar reading: Ella Shohat and Robert Stam, Unthinking Eurocentrism, Chapter 5 (“Stereotype, Realism, and the Struggle over Representation” 178–219); Chapter 8 (“Esthetics of Resistance” 292–336) Weekly response #2 (on week 3) due today
10/16 Tue KANE B19	SCREENING: Raúl Ruiz, On Top of the Whale (1982, 90 mins)
10/17 Wed RAI 121	Seminar
WEEK 5
10/22 Mon RAI 121	Michael T. Martin, New Latin American Cinema, selections BEGIN SCREENING:The Battle of Algiers (1966, 121 mins) Weekly response #3 (on week 4) due today
10/23 Tue KANE B19	SCREENING: The Battle of Algiers (1966, 121 mins)
10/24 Wed	Seminar
week 6
10/29 Mon RAI 121	Seminar reading: John Akomfrahn, "On the National in African Cinema/s"; N. Frank Ukadike, "Yeelen" Weekly response #4 (on week 5) due today
10/30 Tue KANE B26	SCREENING: Yeelen (1987, 105 mins)
10/31 Wed RAI 121	Seminar
WEEK 7
11/5 Mon RAI 121	Seminar reading: Cinemas of the Black Diaspora (selection) Weekly response #5 (on week 6) due today BEGIN SCREENING: Jungle Fever (1991, 132 mins)
11/6 Tue KANE B19	SCREENING: Jungle Fever (1991, 132 mins)
11/7 Wed RAI 121	Seminar
WEEK 8
11/12 Mon	Veterans’ Day
11/13 Tu	Seminar reading: Rey Chow, Primitive Passions, Part 1 (“Visuality, Modernity, and Primitive Passions” 1-52); The Age of the World Target, Chapter 3 (“The Old/New Question of Comparison in Literary Studies” 71–91) Reading response #6 (on week 7) due today
11/14 Wed RAI 121	SCREENING: Red Sorghum (1987, 91 mins)
11/15 Th KNE 210	Seminar
week 9
11/19 Mon	Seminar reading: Mette Hjort, Purity and Provocation: Dogme 95, selection (“Dogma 95: A Small Nation's Response to Globalisation”; “The Globalisation of Dogma: The Dynamics of Metaculture and Counter-Publicity”) Weekly response #7 (on week 8) due today
11/20 Tu KANE B19	SCREENING: Or (2004, 100 mins)
11/21 Wed RAI 121	Seminar ?
11/22 Th	Thanksgiving
week 10
11/26 Mon	Seminar reading: Hamid Naficy, An Accented Cinema, Introduction and Chapter 1 (1–39) Weekly response #8 (on week 9) due today
11/27 Tu KANE B19	SCREENING: Atom Egoyan, Calendar (1993, 74 mins)
11/28 Wed RAI 121	Seminar
week 11 12/3-6	Final paper projects
	Final paper (due 12/12): Choose at least one of the following films: Guimba the Tyrant; Carmen of Khayelitsa; I, Cuba; Calendar and texts assigned for this course from at least three weeks. The paper should explore the connections between the film and the texts. Make sure to refer to specific sequences in the film and to specific passages in the texts. For up to 36 points of credit, write a 1,200-1,500-word paper. For up to 48 points of credit, write a 2,000-word paper and note on top of the first page "to be considered for extra credit."