Department of English

What does it mean to look at a film?  What does it mean to look at a woman
on film?  This course will examine the ways in which Hollywood films
construct gender both on screen and in their audiences, and the ways in
which they disrupt their own constructions.  Films for the course will
include:  Silence of the Lambs (1991), The Lady from Shanghai (1949),
Blonde Venus (1932), Thelma and Louise (1991), Imitation of Life (1959),
and She's Gotta Have It (1986).  The course will also introduce students to
current scholarship in this field, with essays by such writers as Laura
Mulvey, E. Ann Kaplan, and Marianne Doane.  Work for the course will
consist of weekly response papers, class presentation of group projects,
and two take-home exams.  Students will be expected to attend film
screenings outside of class time.