AFR 347 - Africana Cinema: Formations of Subjectivity and Representation

In Africana Cinema: Formations of Subjectivity and Representation we will examine and critique concepts of representation and black subjectivity through close readings of select black authored films. We will be concerned with the questions what can film do and how have some black filmmakers worked with film’s capacities to make art that examines questions of subjectivity and representation in the post-civil rights and postcolonial era. The seminar will read works that examine filmmaking as an art practice as well as theses on representation. We will screen and discuss films (and writings, in many cases) by John Akomfrah, Charles Burnett, Kathleen Collins, Julie Dash, Cheryl Dunye, Barry Jenkins, Isaac Julien, Spike Lee, Euzhan Palcy, Raoul Peck, Dee Rees, Ousmane Sembene, Djibril Diop Mambéty.
Units: 4
Course Type: Seminar