SNRSCH0032 - HIST 1011 - Modern U.S. History Through Film

Course Description

This course will examine aspects of U.S. history in the 20th century through the use of public released feature motion pictures. In this visually oriented society, every student encounters images of history and culture on an almost daily basis. Critical thinking about the visual media must be learned. Every motion picture is a primary document that can be read, interpreted, and studied with as much depth as a written document. Because of their complexity, however, motion pictures reveal a vast array of contemporary attitudes specific to their period. A series of motion pictures will be shown illustrating different aspects of American history, and students will learn to critically examine these historical documents for different levels of meaning. They will analyze not only the surface plots of the films, but the underlying historical assumptions that provided the intellectual underpinning of the movies.