WesMaps - Wesleyan University Catalog 2008-2009       Summer Session       Winter Session       Home       Archive       Search
CS92PROD
Science and Film: Defining Human Identity
MB&B 202
Spring 2009 not offered
Crosslisting: FILM 202

Much science and art have been spurred by the question: What does it mean to be human? As rational, scientific explanations of human identity have been popularized in the past century, popular art has become one arena for working through the cultural implications. Science fiction cinema, one of the few popular film genres that can function as allegory, offers a window into our culture's struggle with science's evolving perspective on our identity. This course asks how science has contributed to our understanding of the human species (by considering explanations of evolution, perceptions, genetics, and genomics) and how science fiction articulates our culture's reactions to those understandings. Does the project of science threaten our ideology of the emotional individual? One of our major goals is to present students with a detailed understanding of the way our culture responds to/negotiates scientific inquiry.

Essential Capabilities: None
Credit: 1 Gen Ed Area Dept: NSM MB&B
Course Format: Lecture / DiscussionGrading Mode: Graded
Level: UGRD Prerequisites: None
Fulfills a Major Requirement for: None

Last Updated on MAR-29-2024
Contact wesmaps@wesleyan.edu to submit comments or suggestions. Please include a url, course title, faculty name or other page reference in your email ? Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut, 06459