Cinema India: South Asia's Past on Film (FYS)
HIST 123F
Fall 2021 not offered
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This first year seminar course examines the relationship of film and history in India. We will focus on how filmmakers represent the past and, alternatively, how films inform historical memory--especially in the context of the competing trajectories of nationalism, postcolonialism, and globalization. A central concern will be the historiographical challenges and opportunities of film. We will pay particular attention to Hindi cinema, including films produced by the Bombay/Mumbai ("Bollywood") film industry since the 1950s, though we will also consider the rise of "parallel" cinema. Feature films will range from classics like "Mughal-e Azam" (1960) and "Umraon Jaan" (1981), to lesser known works like "Shatranj ke Khiladi" (1977), "Mirch Masala" (1987), and "Hazaaron Khwahishen Aisi" (2005). We will also probe the critical and box-office success of relatively recent blockbusters such as "Lagaan" (2001), "Rang de Basanti" (2005), and "Jodhaa Akbar" (2008), comparing them to the ambivalent domestic and diaspora response to period dramas like "Dil Se" (1998), "Mangal Pandey" (2005) and "Laal Kaptaan" (2019). |
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| Credit: 1 |
Gen Ed Area Dept:
SBS HIST |
| Course Format: Seminar | Grading Mode: |
| Level: UGRD |
Prerequisites: None |
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Fulfills a Requirement for: (GSAS-MN) |
Major Readings:
Readings will be available on Olin Reserve or Moodle and will include analytical essays by Tejaswini Ganti, Philip Lutgendorf, Heidi Pauwels, Robert Rosenstone, as well as reflections on filmmaking and history by our directors, screenwriters, and actors.
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Examinations and Assignments:
Students will write weekly 2-page (200/250-word) essays reflecting on the problem of historical representation in film, drawing on the readings, viewings, and lecture/discussion. Students must be willing to subject their writing to occasional in-class review and critique. |
Additional Requirements and/or Comments:
Films will be mostly available via streaming. Students are expected to view the films prior to the Tuesday morning sessions, and to have done all assigned reading prior to class as per the Moodle syllabus. Engaged, intelligent class participation is crucial to the success of the seminar and will also be graded. |
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