Class Archive

174/1

Literature and History:
The Seventies

TuTh 3:30-5

As one writer quipped, it was the worst of times, it was the worst of times. “The Seventies” routinely come in for mockery as an era of bad taste — an era when enormous sideburns, leisure suits, extra-wide bell bottoms, p...(read more)

24/1

Freshman Sophomore Seminar Program:
World Art Cinema: Some Parables of Repetition

W 1-3

We will watch and discuss three masterworks of world art cinema: Akira Kurosawa’s Rashomon (Japan, 1950), Pier-Paolo Pasolini’s Teorema (Italy, 1968), and Abbas Kiarostami’s Taste of Cherr...(read more)

84/1

Sophomore Seminar:
Modernity and the Films of the Coen Brothers

F 2-5

We will concentrate on the high and low cultural elements in ...(read more)

190/8

Research Seminar:
Utopian and Dystopian Books and Movies

T 5:30-8:30

Most utopian and dystopian authors and film-makers are more concerned with persuading readers and viewers of the merits of their ideas than with the "merely" literary or artistic qualities of their work. Although utopias have sometimes ma...(read more)

134/1

Contemporary Literature:
Contemporary British Fiction (and a few films)

Lectures TTh 11-12 + one hour of discussion section per week (sec. 103: F 11-12; sec. 104: F 12-1)

This course will examine British novels and films from the past thirty years--from roughly 1990 through the present. Topics of discussion will include: the legacies of empire, World War II, Thatcherism, and New Labor; the erosion of the welfare sta...(read more)

165/2

Special Topics:
Utopian and (mostly) Dystopian Movies

W 5-8

Most utopian and dystopian authors and film-makers are more concerned with persuading readers and viewers of the merits of their ideas than with the "merely" literary or artistic qualities of their work. Although utopias have sometimes ma...(read more)

174/1

Literature and History:
The 1970s

MWF 10-11

As one historian has quipped, it was the worst of times, it was the worst of times. “The ’70s” routinely come in for mockery: even at the time, it was known as the decade when “it seemed like nothing happened.&rdquo...(read more)

190/3

Research Seminar:
Fictions of Los Angeles

MW 12-1:30

Los Angeles has been described, variously, as a "circus without a tent" (Carey McWilliams), "seventy-two suburbs in search of a city" (Dorothy Parker), "the capital of the Third World" (David Rieff), and "the only...(read more)

31AC/1

Literature of American Cultures:
American Hustle: Race, Ethnicity, and Dreams of Getting Ahead

TTh 9:30-11

In this class, we are going to do and to talk about work: getting work, making it work, working the system.

This course, which constitutes a survey of ethnic American literature, asks about the desires, imagination, and labor that go into...(read more)

53/1

Asian American Literature and Culture:
Voice, Text, Image

TTh 2-3:30

This is a lecture and discussion course that surveys early to contemporary Asian American literary and cultural production. We'll study the broad range of forms that have served as vehicles of Asian American political and cultura...(read more)

190/4

Research Seminar:
Modern California Books and Movies

W 5-8

Besides reading and discussing fiction and essays that attempt to identify or explain distinctive regional characteristics, this course will include consideration of various movies shaped by and shaping conceptions of California. Writing will consi...(read more)

190/6

Research Seminar:
Hollywood in the Thirties

TTh 12:30-2

Our subject will be Hollywood cinema from the birth of talking pictures to the start of World War II.  We'll sample the extraordinary range of films that Golden-Age Hollywood offered its consumers: from gangster pictures and screwball come...(read more)

165/1

Special Topics:
Utopian and (mostly) Dystopian Movies

W 5-8 PM (note slight change in time; ends at 8:00 rather than 8:30)

Most utopian and dystopian authors are more concerned with persuading readers of the merits of their ideas than with the "merely" literary qualities of their writing. Although utopian writing has sometimes made converts, inspiring readers...(read more)

166/1

Special Topics:
Getting Global: Literature & Film of an Expanding & Unequal World

MWF 12-1

This is a course about literature and cinema in our increasingly global world. We will look at some of the most exciting pieces of fiction and film, most of them centered on the theme of travel and human relationships forged across continents.&nbsp...(read more)

166/2

Special Topics:
Literature in the Century of Film

MWF 1-2

This course examines various intersections between literature and visual media in the twentieth century, with a particular focus on texts concerned with film and its cultural influence. We will read novels, stories, poetry, and essays which not onl...(read more)

175/1

Literature and Disability

TTh 3:30-5

This course will allow students to explore theories and representations of disability.  We’ll wonder whether it’s possible to develop an inclusive, common “theory” adequate to vario...(read more)

190/5

Research Seminar:
The Urban Postcolonial

TTh 11-12:30

An intensive research seminar exploring the relationship between urban landscapes and postcolonial literary cultures. Readings in theories of postcoloniality and diaspora as well as studies in city planning and architecture will accompany...(read more)

190/6

Research Seminar:
Literature on Trial: Romanticism, Law, Justice

TTh 11-12:30

This course will introduce students to “law and literature” studies, focusing on the way literature imagines the relation between law and justice.  We’ll concentrate on literature of the ...(read more)

20/1

Modern British and American Literature:
Post-Apocalypse Now

MW 1:30-3

Apocalyptic stories have been told for centuries, even millenia. But novels, movies, and other forms of media that imagine the end of the world—and what comes after that—seem to have inundated us (floods!) in recent times....(read more)

C136/2

Topics in American Studies:
Noir: Films, Fiction, Criticism

TTh 3:30-5

“A city no worse than others, a city rich and vigorous and full of pride, a city lost and beaten and full of emptiness. It all depends on where you sit and what your own private score is. I didn't have one. I didn't care.&rdq...(read more)

166/1

Special Topics:
Gothic

MWF 2-3

In the eighteenth century, Gothic was a historical category (the “Dark” or “Middle” Ages, between the fall of Rome and the Renaissance) and then an ethnic one (the Germanic peoples who overthrew classical civilization). It&r...(read more)

173/1

The Language and Literature of Films:
Postcolonial Film

MWF 10-11

This course will examine a series of films that focus on the nature and structure of Western colonialism and (post)colonialism.  We will study the different forms of colonialism, as depicted from various perspectives, as well as the social, po...(read more)

176/1

Literature and Popular Culture:
The Sitcom

Lectures MW 3-4 + one hour of discussion section per week in various locations (sec. 101: F 2-3; section 102: F 3-4; sec. 103: Thurs. 10-11; sec. 104: Thurs. 11-12; sec. 105: Thurs. 12-1; sec. 106: Thurs. 12-1; sec. 107: F 11-12; sec. 108: F 10-11)

The television situation comedy has been one of the most durable, wide-ranging, and successful genres of  popular  culture  of  all  time.  Its  narrative  forms  (such  as  the  &ldq...(read more)

190/13

Research Seminar:
Sixties Cinema

TTh 5-6:30

British and American cinema experienced a renaissance in the 1960s, when it arguably surpassed the literature of its time in artistic ambition and achievement.  We’ll be exploring a wide range of film genres and topics throughout the per...(read more)

173/1

The Language and Literature of Films:
The Romantic Comedy

TuWTh 3-5:30

This class considers the capacious genre of the rom-com by examining a range of its concerns (gender & sexuality, feminism, race, romance, narrative closure). We will not only watch films (from classic Hollywood rom-com to more contemporary ite...(read more)

176/1

Literature and Popular Culture:
O, the horror! Horror Films and Horror Fiction

TuWTh 12:30-3

This course will examine the historical development of the horror genre in both film and literature. Horror is a notoriously comprehensive genre, borrowing from  numerous story-telling and literary traditions. In this class we will address the...(read more)

165/7

Special Topics:
Utopian and (mostly) Dystopian Movies

Tues. 5-8:30 (incl. 1/2-hr. break)

Most utopian and dystopian authors are more concerned with persuading readers of the merits of their ideas than with the "merely" literary qualities of their writing. Although utopian writing has sometimes made converts, inspiring readers...(read more)

173/1

The Language and Literature of Films:
The Film Essay: James Baldwin, Roland Barthes, Susan Sontag

Lectures TTh 3:30-5 + film screenings Thurs. 5-8

This course offers an in-depth study of three of the most influential public intellectuals of the twentieth century: James Baldwin, Roland Barthes, and Susan Sontag. Working in the postwar period between France and the United States, and grappling ...(read more)

173/1

The Language and Literature of Films:
(Post)colonial Film

Lectures TTh 11-12:30 + film screenings W 6-9 PM

This course will screen and examine a series of films that focus on the nature and structure of Western colonialism and postcolonialism.  We will study the different forms of colonialism, as depicted from various perspectives, as well as the s...(read more)

174/1

Literature and History:
The 1970s

TTh 11-12:30

As one historian has quipped, it was the worst of times, it was the worst of times. “The ’70s” routinely come in for mockery: even at the time, it was known as the decade when “it seemed like nothing happened.&rdquo...(read more)

190/12

Research Seminar:
California Books and Movies Since World War I

Tues. 5-8:30 (incl. 1/2 hr. break)

Besides reading and discussing some fiction and poetry with Western settings, and essays that attempt to identify or explain distinctive regional characteristics, this course will consider various movies shaped by and shaping conceptions of Califor...(read more)

190/13

Research Seminar:
Alfred Hitchcock

W 4-7:30 (incl. a 1/2-hour break)

This course will focus on the Hitchcock oeuvre from the early British through the American period, with emphasis on analysis of cinematic representation of crime, victimhood, and the investigation of guilt. Our discussions and critical readings wil...(read more)

173/1

The Language and Literature of Films:
Cinematic Futures, Literary Visions

MTuTh 2-4:30

This course will compare literary works of futurism—science fiction, utopian and fantastic literature—with cinematic adaptations of speculative fiction. Some of the thematic questions we will address: how does the contemporary shape bot...(read more)

173/1

The Language and Literature of Films:
The Film Essay: Cinema, the Minoritized Subject, and the Practice of Writing

TTh 3:30-5

Taking as a point of departure James Baldwin’s dazzling work of film criticism, The Devil Finds Work, this course introduces students to some of the best writing on film that describes the encounter with cinema—and with particu...(read more)

175/1

Literature and Disability

TTh 3:30-5

This course will have several components. An introductory section will provide students with a grounding in disability theory; we’ll wonder whether it’s possible to develop a common “theory” adequate to various disability ca...(read more)

190/10

Research Seminar:
Suspicious Mind

TTh 12:30-2

Literary critics have made suspicion an essential aspect of what it means to read.  When we set out to do a “suspicious reading” of a text we assume a few things about it: that its true meaning consists in what it cannot say, know,...(read more)

N166/1

Special Topics:
Film Noir

TTh 4-7

(read more)

N173/1

The Language and Literature of Films:
The Hollywood Western, 1940-1963

M 2-5 & W 2-4

Regular attendance is required. Two seven-page essays and a final quiz. Viewing notes taken during films viewed on Mondays will be handed in on Wednesdays. The class will be a mix of lecture and discussion.

This class is open to UC Berkel...(read more)

174/1

Literature and History:
The Seventies

TTh 3:30-5

As one historian has quipped, it was the worst of times, it was the worst of times. “The ’70s” routinely come in for mockery: even at the time, it was known as the decade when “it seemed like nothing happened.&rdqu...(read more)

190/4

Research Seminar:
U.S. Modernism

MW 5-6:30 PM

We will survey major American writers from the first half of the twentieth century, with a special focus on texts that challenged both the formal and social conventions of literature in the period. We will examine a ran...(read more)

190/5

Research Seminar:
Alfred Hitchcock

W 5-8 PM

The course will focus on the Hitchcock oeuvre from the early British through the American period, with emphasis on analysis of cinematic representation of crime, victimhood, and the investigation of guilt. Our discussions and critical readings wil...(read more)

190/11

Research Seminar:
Modern California Literature and Film

Tues. 5-8 PM

Besides reading and discussing some fiction and poetry with Western settings, and essays that attempt to identify or explain distinctive regional characteristics, this course will consider various movies shaped by and shaping conceptions of Califo...(read more)

190/12

Research Seminar:
Modern Utopian and Dystopian Literature and Film

Thurs. 5-8 PM

Most utopian and dystopian authors are more concerned with persuading readers of the merits of their ideas than with the "merely" literary qualities of their writing. Although utopian writing has sometimes made converts, inspiring reader...(read more)

173/1

The Language and Literature of Films:
Hidden Hitchcock

MW 11-12:30 + film screenings Thursdays 7-10 P.M.

Few film styles have more successfully courted mass-audience understanding and approval than Hitchcock’s.  In the overstated lucidity of his narrative communication, nothing deserves our attention that his camera doesn’t go out of...(read more)

N173/1

The Language and Literature Films: The Hollywood Western

M 2-5 & W 2-4

Regular attendance is required. Two seven-page essays and a final quiz. Viewing notes taken during films viewed on Mondays will be handed in on Wednesdays. The class will be a mix of lecture and discussion.

This class is open to UC students...(read more)

165/7

Special Topics:
Modern California Books and Movies

Tuesdays 6-9 P.M.

Besides discussing fiction and poetry with Western settings, and essays that attempt to identify or explain distinctive regional characteristics, this course will include consideration of various movies shaped by and shaping conceptions of Califor...(read more)

190/7

Research Seminar:
Ethics and U.S. Fiction

TTh 11-12:30

Is reading good for us? Or bad for us? How does literature work as, or against, moral philosophy? What responsibilities do the author and the reader hold with regard to texts? What is the relationship between ethics, aesthetics, and affect? How do...(read more)

190/14

Research Seminar:
Modern Utopian and Dystopian Books and Movies

Thursdays 6-9 PM

Most utopian and dystopian authors are more concerned with persuading readers of the merits of their ideas than with the "merely" literary qualities of their writing. Although utopian writing has sometimes made converts, inspiring reader...(read more)

190/15

Research Seminar:
Film Noir

MW 5:30-7 PM

We will examine the influence of film noir on neo-noir and its relationship to "classical" Hollywood cinema, as well as its history, theory, and generic markers, while analyzing in detail the major films in this area. The course will als...(read more)

84/1

Sophomore Seminar:
Woody Allen

W 2-5

We will examine the films and writings of Woody Allen in terms of themes, narration, comic and visual inventiveness, and ideology. The course will also include consideration of cultural contexts and events at Cal Performances and the Pacific Film ...(read more)

174/1

Literature and History:
The Seventies

TTh 12:30-2

As one historian has quipped, it was the worst of times, it was the worst of times. "The '70s" routinely come in for mockery: even at the time, it was known as the decade when "it seemed like nothing happened."

Yet w...(read more)

190/11

Research Seminar:
Alfred Hitchcock

MW 5:30-7 P.M. + films W 7-10 P.M.

The course will focus on the Hitchcock oeuvre from the early British through the American period, with emphasis on analysis of cinematic representation of crime, victimhood, and the investigation of guilt. Our discussions and critical readings wil...(read more)

190/12

Research Seminar:
The Oversexed Cinema of Pedro Almodóvar

TTh 2-3:30 + films W 7-10 P.M.

Tabloid, soap opera, camp, porn, classicism, citation, stories-within-stories, films-within-films—these are some of the styles and devices that Pedro Almodovar mixes together to render a subject matter typically consisting of exorbitant and ...(read more)

N173/1

The Language and Literature Films:
The Hollywood Western

M 2-5 & W 2-4

Regular attendance is required. Two seven-page essays and a final quiz. Viewing notes taken during films viewed on Mondays will be handed in on Wednesdays. The class will be a mix of lecture and discussion.

This class is open to UC students...(read more)

84/1

Sophomore Seminar:
The Coen Brothers

W 2-5

We will concentrate on the high and low cultural elements in the noir comedies of the Coen brothers, discussing their use of Hollywood genres, parodies of classic conventions, and representation of arbitrariness.  We will also read some ficti...(read more)

135AC/1

Literature of American Cultures:
Race and Ethnicity in American Cinema

MW 12-1 + discussion sections F 12-1

An introduction to critical thinking about race and ethnicity, focused on a select group of films produced between the 1910s and the 1970s. Themes include law and violence, kinship and miscegenation, captivity and rescue, passing and racial impers...(read more)

166/3

Special Topics:
Black Science Fiction

TTh 2-3:30

This course considers two specific genres—black fiction and science fiction—to explore how they inflect each other when they blend. Under the umbrella “black,” we include fictions that issue out of and/or purport to describ...(read more)

173/1

The Language and Literature of Films:
British Cinema

TTh 12:30-2 + films Tues. 6-9 P.M.

This course will look at the British cinema from the 1930s to the present from a number of different angles. First, we will consider British cinema as a national industry and ask how the economic and social conditions under which British films hav...(read more)

190/15

Research Seminar:
Film Noir

MW 5:30-7 P.M. + film screenings W 7-10 P.M.

We will examine the influence of film noir on neo-noir and its relationship to "classical" Hollywood cinema, as well as its history, theory, and generic markers, while analyzing in detail the major films in this area. The course...(read more)

190/15

Research Seminar:
Alfred Hitchcock

MW 11-12:30 + films Tues. 7-10 P.M.

Unique among Hollywood directors, Hitchcock played on two boards. As a master of entertainment who had nothing to say, he produced work as thoroughly trivial as it was utterly compelling. But thanks to the French reception of his work in the 1950s...(read more)

190/16

Research Seminar:
Film Melodrama/The Woman's Film

MW 5:30-7 P.M. + films W 7-10 P.M.

In this course we will examine a range of examples of the genre "the woman's film" of the 40's and 50's, emphasizing maternal, paranoid, romantic and medical discourses, issues of spectatorship, consumerism,...(read more)

N173/1

The Language and Literature of Films:
The Hollywood Western

M 2-5 & W 2-4

Regular attendance is required. Two seven-page essays and a final quiz. Viewing notes taken during films viewed on Mondays will be handed in on Wednesdays. The class will be a mix of lecture and discussion.

This course will be taught in...(read more)

190/8

Research Seminar:
Suspicious Mind

TTh 12:30-2

Suspicious reading, which is sometimes called “symptomatic reading,” starts from the assumption that a text’s true meaning lies in what it does not say, know, or cannot understand.  For symptomatic readers, influenced by the...(read more)

203/2

Graduate Readings:
Modernism and Film

MW 4-5:30

This course surveys a range of twentieth-century texts that allow us to explore connections between film and modernist literary practice, and the cultural implications of cinema for the period as a whole. Working with a broad conception of moderni...(read more)

135AC/1

Literature of American Cultures:
Race and Ethnicity in Hollywood Cinema

TTh 3:30-5 + M 6-9 films

An introduction to critical thinking about race and ethnicity, focused on a select group of films produced in the United States over the twentieth century. Major themes include law and violence, kinship and miscegenation, captivity and rescue, pas...(read more)

166/3

Special Topics:
Infrastructuralism: Reading Setting in Literature and Film

TTh 3:30-5

In a film essay on the way movies depict Los Angeles, Thom Andersen raises a question that will form the basis for this course: “If we can appreciate documentaries for their dramatic qualities, perhaps we can appreciate fiction films for the...(read more)

N173/1

The Language and Literature of Films:
The Film Western

M 2-5 & W 2-4

An exploration of the durability and the versatility of this literary genre. We will watch a film each week, and read four novels.

Two six-page essays, a final quiz, and regular attendance will be required.

This course will be ta...(read more)