Course Description
Introduction to African cinema as a prolongation of both oral and written African literature. An analysis of selected films shall reveal the usage of the African "aesthetics of narration," which shall lead to a better understanding of the discourse of African literatures written in European languages. Special emphasis will be placed on the relevance of the texts under discussion to the contemporary world.
Additional Requirements for Graduate Students:
Graduate students will write an additional paper analyzing one specific film, or comparing a film and a novel.
Athena Title
African Cinema
Prerequisite
ENGL 1101 or ENGL 1102 or ENGL 1102M or ENGL 1050H or ENGL 1060H
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
The main goal is to provide students with knowledge and techniques of evaluating African cinema from an intercultural perspective. Special emphasis will be placed on the relevance of works under discussion to the contemporary world. This includes how to perceive and conceive of the notion of literature as a dynamic one. Furthermore, the course will help students (without field knowledge of Africa) acquire an informed view of the continent's peoples, cultures, and environment.
Topical Outline
a. Introduction to the history of film in Africa; b. Relevance of film as "ersatz" of oral literature in urban areas; c. Relationship between oral, written literature, and film (Aesthetics of narration); d. Heuristic values of the concepts "Tradition" and "Modernity" underlying, or ascribed to, many African fictional works; e. Sociolinguistic dimension of African literature and film.
Syllabus