2020-21 Academic Catalog

This course examines major achievements of the Russian and Soviet cinematic tradition, highlighting how the outstanding formal and thematic features of the films emerge from the cultural battles and social transformations of their particular time and place. Emphasis is on the late imperial, early Soviet, Stalinist and Thaw periods; topics include pre-revolutionary melodrama, “montage” cinema, socialist realism and musical comedy for the “masses.” Supplemental readings include contemporaneous theory as well as secondary scholarship focusing on contextualization and interpretation. Course goals include the acquisition of cultural knowledge, enhanced awareness of film form, and the development of independent analytic and interpretive skills.