Animals in Film
ENVS 319Z
Summer 2024
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01
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Some of the oldest known visual art--the paintings on the walls of Chauvet Cave--appear to depict animals in motion. Today, 36,000 years later, humans are still deeply fascinated with depictions of animals and their actions, from television documentaries to animated films to viral internet videos. In his famous essay, "Why Look at Animals?," John Berger argues that "animals are always the observed," while the "fact that they can observe us has lost all significance. They are the objects of our ever-extending knowledge." The history of film provides many examples to support Berger's claim. But can film also help us understand how animals see us, or the rest of the world? And what can film tell us about how we see and attempt to understand other animals? Through an examination of the history of animal depictions in documentary, animated, and live-action fictional films, this course will explore these questions and provide a deeper understanding of how the cinematic medium shapes our relationships with other species. |
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| Credit: 1 |
Gen Ed Area Dept:
SBS ENVS |
| Course Format: Discussion | Grading Mode: Student Option |
| Level: UGRD |
Prerequisites: None |
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Fulfills a Major Requirement for: None |
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Past Enrollment Probability: Not Available |
| SECTION 01 - Summer Session II |
Major Readings: Wesleyan RJ Julia Bookstore
Anat Pick and Guinevere Narraway, SCREENING NATURE: CINEMA BEYOND THE HUMAN; Sarah O'Brien, BITS AND PIECES: SCREENING ANIMAL LIFE AND DEATH; Jonathan Burt, ANIMALS IN FILM; Amber E. George, and J. L. Schatz, SCREENING THE NONHUMAN: REPRESENTATIONS OF ANIMAL OTHERS IN THE MEDIA.
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Examinations and Assignments:
A final project, film review paper, and regular reflection papers
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Additional Requirements and/or Comments:
Full syllabi will be linked as they become available. Synchronous class meetings, with a small number of asynchronous lectures and assignments that support class discussion. |
| Instructor(s): Abrell,Elan Louis Times: .MTWR.. 10:50AM-12:45PM; Location: ONLINE; |
| Total Enrollment Limit: 15 | | SR major: 3 | JR major: 3 | | |
| Seats Available: 14 | GRAD: X | SR non-major: 3 | JR non-major: 3 | SO: 3 | FR: X |
| Drop/Add Enrollment Requests | | | | | |
| Total Submitted Requests: 0 | 1st Ranked: 0 | 2nd Ranked: 0 | 3rd Ranked: 0 | 4th Ranked: 0 | Unranked: 0 |
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