Course Schedule

Readings marked "ERES" in the course schedule are availabe from the Electronic Reserve System at Washington University. Login and password will be announced in class. For complete bibliographical information about ERES materials, please click here.

Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 6 | Week 7 | Week 8 | Week 9 | Week 10 | Week 11| Week 12 | Week 13 | Week 14 | Week 15 |

WEEK ONE

August 27

  • Introduction
  • In-class screening: Decalogue 6 (dir. Krzysztof Kieslowski, 1988)

WEEK TWO

September 1

  • Labor Day: No Class

September 3

  • Insdorf, Double Lives, Second Chances. 1-68
  • Stock, Kieslowski on Kieslowski. 143-159. [ERES]
  • Zizek, The Fright of Real Tears. 118-119. [ERES]
  • In-class Screening: Decalogue 9 (dir. Krzysztof Kieslowski, 1988)

WEEK THREE

September 8

  • Insdorf, Double Lives, Second Chances. 69-124.
  • Recommended: Haltof, Polish National Cinema. 146-175. [ERES]

September 8 / 4 pm

  • Screening: The Double Life of Veronique (dir. Krzysztof Kieslowski, 1991)

September 10

  • Insdorf, Double Lives, Second Chances. 125-138.
  • Stock, Kieslowski on Kieslowski. 172-203. [ERES]
  • Recommended: Haltof, Polish National Cinema. 176-206. [ERES]

WEEK FOUR

September 15

  • Crofts, "Authorship and Hollywood." [ERES]
  • Sarris, "Notes on the Auteur Theory in 1962." [ERES]

September 15 / 4 pm

  • Screening: Blue (dir. Krzysztof Kieslowski, 1993)

September 17

  • Insdorf, Double Lives, Second Chances. 139-152.
  • Powrie, "Heritage, History, and 'New Realism': French Cinema in the 1990s." [ERES]

WEEK FIVE

September 22

  • Stock, Kieslowski on Kieslowski. 212-228. [ERES]
  • Barthes, "The Death of the Author." [ERES]
  • Foucault, "What is an Author?" [ERES]

September 22 / 4 pm

  • Screening: White (dir. Krzysztof Kieslowski, 1993)

September 24

  • Insdorf, Double Lives, Second Chances. 153-165.
  • Zizek, "Happiness also has its tears." [ERES]

WEEK SIX

September 29

  • Wollen, "The Auteur Theory." [ERES]
  • Heath, "Comments on 'The Idea of Authorship'." [ERES]
  • Buscombe, "Ideas of Authorship." [ERES]

September 29 / 4 pm

  • Screening: Red (dir. Krzysztof Kieslowski, 1994)

October 1

  • Insdorf, Double Lives, Second Chances. 166-182.

WEEK SEVEN

October 6

  • Dobson, "Nationality, Authenticity, Reflexivity: Kieslowski's Trois coleurs: Bleu (1993), Blanc (1993), and Rouge (1994)." [ERES]

October 6 / 4 pm

  • Screening: Zentropa (dir. Lars von Trier, 1991)

October 8

  • Stevenson, Lars von Trier. 1-32.
  • Hjort and Bondebjerg, "Danish Cinema: A Small Nation in a Global Culture." [ERES]

WEEK EIGHT

October 13

  • Stevenson, Lars von Trier. 33-75.
  • "Lars von Trier." The Danish Directors: Dialogues on a Contemporary National Cinema. 208-223. [ERES]
  • ESSAY 1 DUE (click here for essay topics)

October 13 / 4 pm

  • Screening: Breaking the Waves (dir. Lars von Trier, 1996)

October 15

  • Stevenson, Lars von Trier. 76-101.

WEEK NINE

October 20

  • Crofts, "Concepts of National Cinema." [ERES]
  • Vincendeau, "Issues in European Cinema." [ERES]
  • Mattelart, "European film policy and the response to Hollywood." [ERES]

October 20 / 4pm

  • Screening: The Idiots (dir. Lars von Trier, 1998)

October 22

  • Stevenson, Lars von Trier. 102-137.
  • "The Manifesto" & "The Vow of Chastity." [ERES]

WEEK TEN

October 27

  • Wenders, "What the New Technologies Offer." [ERES]
  • "10 Insider Tips to Dogme 95: Narrative, Dialogue, Logistics." [ERES]
  • "Deep Focus: At Cannes '98, Dogma 95 has its day." [ERES]
  • "Straight to Film: Can video cut it on the big screen?" [ERES]

October 27 / 4 pm

  • Screening: Dancer in the Dark (dir. Lars von Trier, 2000)

October 29

  • Stevenson, Lars von Trier. 148-163.
  • "Cinema Purite." [ERES]

WEEK ELEVEN

November 3

  • Altman, The American Film Musical. 16-27 & 59-80. [ERES]

November 3 / 4 pm

  • Screening: Winter Sleepers (dir. Tom Tykwer, 1997)

November 5

  • Elsaesser, "German Cinema in the 1990s." [ERES]
  • "Tom Tykwer." The BFI Companion to German Cinema. [ERES]

WEEK TWELVE

November 10

  • Kracauer, Theory of Film. 41-59. [ERES]
  • Sontag, "In Plato's Cave." [ERES]

November 10 / 4pm

  • Screening: Run Lola Run (dir. Tom Tykwer, 1998)

November 12

  • Manovich, "The New Language of Cinema." [ERES]

WEEK THIRTEEN

November 17

  • Bolter and Grusin, Remediation. 146-158. [ERES]
  • A. L. Rees, A History of Experimental Film and Video. 1-14. [ERES]

November 17

  • Screening: The Princess and the Warrior (dir. Tom Tykwer, 2000)

November 19

  • "Distribution," "Exhibition," "Export," "Production." The BFI Companion to German Cinema. [ERES]
  • "Romy Schneider." The BFI Companion to German Cinema. [ERES]

WEEK FOURTEEN

November 24

  • Wollen, "Architecture and Film: Places and Non-Places." [ERES]

November 24 / 4 pm

  • Screening: TBA

November 26

  • No class: Thanksgiving

WEEK FIFTEEN

December 1

  • Smith, "Modernism and the avant-gardes." [ERES]
  • Hill, "Film and postmodernism." [ERES]
  • Knipis, "Film and changing technologies." [ERES]

December 1 / 4 pm

  • Screening: Heaven (dir. Tom Tykwer, 2002)

December 3

  • Zizek, "Run, Witek, Run." [ERES]

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