AASD350 – Wednesdays 2-4:30 – fall semester 2023

This course (syllabus: HERE) examines the cinema of the black Atlantic world – in our case, that world between Africa and the Americas. In particular, we will watch and critically engage key filmmakers from Africa, the Caribbean, and the United States in order to understand cinema’s relationship to colonialism, liberation struggle, vernacular culture, and questions intra-racial diversity. We will also examine the relationship between race, nation, and fantasies about identity and meaning.

Filmmakers and films examined in the course:

Robert Townsend, Hollywood Shuffle

Ousmane Sembène, La noir de… and Mandabi

Cy Enfield, Zulu