art assignment

FHIS/AHIS3850 History and Criticism of Documentary Film

NSCAD University ~ Winter 2021

Class time and place:

Live on-line Monday 3 – 4pm and asynchronous.

Prerequisite: AHIS2800 or AHIS2810

Or permission of the instructor

Professor Darrell Varga

Division of Art History and Contemporary Culture

e: [email protected]

Office hours: Online immediately after our live class and by appointment.

Inter-University Film Studies program: http://halifaxfilmstudies.wordpress.com/

Overview

Through screenings, lectures, and readings, this course provides an introduction to the history, theory and criticism of documentary film. The course examines the work of important individual filmmakers as well as the historical evolution of the form from the dawn of cinema through to the present day. Emphasis is on how a concept of reality is created through specific strategies of representation. There is a strong emphasis on contemporary Canadian film practice.

Students are required to pay attention to all the material uploaded to the course Brightspace site, do the required reading, and participate in the weekly live discussions. Screenings are all available on Brightspace, made available week-by-week and must be viewed prior to class meeting.

Course Texts

Required: Louise Spence and Vinicius Navarro, Crafting Truth: Documentary Form and Meaning (available through NSCAD library as e-book)

Optional:

Bill Nichols, Introduction to Documentary (available at NSCAD library as e-book)

Evaluation:

Participation, ongoing, based on live discussion and engagement with course material and regular contributions to online discussions: 25%

Essay one, due: February 19 (12 noon), 25%

Essay Two, due: March 26 (12 noon), 20%

Final exam/project, due at the end of semester (date TBA): 30%

See the Assignment link on Brightspace for all requirements.

Films to be screened (subject to changes and additions)

Some may be viewed in full, some may be as excerpts within the lecture videos.

Angry Inuk, Dir: Alethea Arnaquaq-Baril, 2016

 

Nanook of the North, Flaherty, 1922

 

Lonely Boy, Dir: Roman Kroiter and Wolf Koenig, 1962

 

Churchill’s Island, Dir: Stuart Legg, 1941

 

Night Mail, Dir: Basil Wright, Harry Watt, 1936

 

Kanehsatake: 270 Years of Resistance, Dir: Alanis Obomsawin, 1993

 

You Are on Indian Land, NFB, Mike Mitchell

 

Billy Crane Moves Away (1967 Challenge for Change)

 

Act of God, Dir: Jennifer Baichwal, 2009

 

Grizzly Man, Herzog 2005

 

Fog of War, Dir: Errol Morris, 2003

 

Workingman’s Death, Dir: Michael Glawogger, 2005

 

Gleaners and I, Dir: Agnès Varda, 2000

 

My Winnipeg, Maddin, 2007

 

Last Train Home Lixin, 2006

 

Salseman, Maysles, 1969

 

Dont Look Back, Dir: D.A. Pennebaker, 1967

NSCAD Grade Scale:

1

A+ 95% and above: Excellent

A 90-94%: Excellent

A-85-90%: Very Good

B+ 80-84%: Very Good

B 73-79%: Good

B- 67-72%: Good

C+ 63-66%: Satisfactory

C 59-62%: Satisfactory

C- 55-58%: Satisfactory

D 50-54%: Marginal F 49 and below: Fail

Class Policies

1) Class begins on time.

Most of us are not thrilled with the online format but we are in this together and must work to make the best of it. The live sessions begin on time, please login a minute or two early. The asynchronous material must be viewed weekly before each live class.

2) Late assignments and missed tests/exams.

Deadlines are for your benefit, it is a goal in order to get the work done so that you can attend to other matters. Please discuss extenuating circumstances with me ahead of the due dates.

3) Plagiarism. Plagiarism is the representation of another person's ideas or writing as if your own. The most obvious form is the presentation of all or part of another person's published work as something you have written. Paraphrasing another's writing without proper credit is also plagiarism. If caught you will face academic sanction, which may include a fail grade.

4) Special needs and disAbility policy.

I would like to invite students experiencing disAbility to let me know the accommodations needed to ensure active participation and success in class.

First: students must bring documentation of disAbility to Bill Travis, NSCAD's DisAbility Resource Facilitator in the Student Services Office

(phone: 902-494-8313 or email: [email protected]), and obtain an accommodations letter.

5) Your assignments.

i) Hand-in all assignments to the correct link on Brightspace. Your work will be graded with comments annotated on your document. The letter grade will be at the bottom of your final essay page (click the yellow arrow). The grade book function is not used in this class.

6) Writing Support:

If you require assistance with essay writing, please make an appointment with a writing tutor. More info and to book an appointment:

https://navigator.nscad.ca/wordpress/home/studentresources/the-writing-centre/