New interdisciplinary course explores the body in cinema
Still from CHELOVEK S KINOAPPARATOM (Man with a Movie Camera) USSR, 1929 | Director: Dziga Vertov
Beginning spring 2016, the University of Utah Department of Film and Media Arts and the Department of Modern Dance will offer a new course titled The Body & The Screen...
(FILM 3905-002, DANC 3961-002, DANC 6961-002) that will critically explore bodies in cinema, both on and off the screen.
This new course will also explore the connection(s) between the filmic medium and bodies: bodies that watch the screen, bodies on the screen, and everything in between. The creator and teacher of the course is Stéphane Glynn, who received his BA from the University of Virginia (UVA) with Majors in Media Studies & Psychology and a Dance Minor and is currently completing an MFA in Film Production and a Graduate Certificate in Screendance at the University of Utah.
"The cinema has been intricately tied to bodies since its beginnings," said Glynn. “And this course will utilize a multi-disciplinary approach, bringing in perspectives from biology, psychology, sociology, anthropology, film & media studies, history, and other relevant fields to explore that.”
This course also asks students to:
Investigate the sensory experiences of audiences when watching films
Explore topics of gender, sex, race, and violence as they pertain to the cinematic body
Engage a multi-disciplinary approach as they address issues of the body and cinema
Analyze filmic elements such as mise-en-scène, cinematography, editing, sound work and others as they relate to bodies on the screen
Question the cultural impact of films for spectators and filmmakers
Discuss, write, and think articulately and critically about representations of bodies in films
“We will use the body as a focal point for discussions on auteurs, media and new technology, gender, race, audience perception, celebrity culture, and other aspects relevant to bodies and screens,” added Glynn.
The course will meet on Tuesdays for screenings and Thursdays for discussion from 6:00-9:00pm in FMAB 106 and is open to students from all disciplines.