Indigenous Film and Visual Cultures 3301-LA2252-1ST
This course provides a comprehensive introduction to contemporary trends in Indigenous cinema and visual cultures in the United States, beginning with an overview of Native American history, with particular attention to events often marginalized in official narratives yet foundational to contemporary Indigenous identity. Throughout the semester, students will explore key issues in Indigenous history and culture, such as sovereignty, blood quantum, and the history of boarding schools, employing these as interpretive frameworks for selected Indigenous films. Film and visual text analysis will be grounded in Indigenous methodologies and intellectual traditions, allowing for culturally resonant interpretations. While Indigenous cinema frequently engages with conventional film language, it simultaneously incorporates culture-specific elements that aim to Indigenize these Western forms. The course will also encompass Indigenous films from Canada and South America, broadening the scope to include Indigenous cinematic expressions across the Americas.
The syllabus will include, e.g., Smoke Signals (1997), Madeinusa (2006), Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner (2001), Reservation Dogs (2021–), Reel Injun (2009), Angry Inuk (2016), Indian Horse (2017) and Beans (2020).
Type of course
Mode
Requirements
Prerequisites (description)
Course coordinators
Learning outcomes
Knowledge
Students will be able to:
- identify and characterize on an advanced level Indigenous cinema and visual arts (K_W01)
- describe on an advanced level the current trends in Indigenous cinema and visual arts (K_W02)
- characterize on an advanced level the principles of research design in film studies and the application of methods and tools in formulating research problems (K_W04)
- identify the notions and principles pertinent to intellectual property and copyright (K_W05)
Abilities
Students will be able to:
- apply advanced terminology and notions pertinent to Indigenous studies (K_U01)
- apply advanced research methodology within the studies on Indigenous cinema, and respecting ethical norms and copyright law (K_U02)
- apply knowledge obtained during the course to account for and solve a problem, thereby completing a research task related to the studies on Indigenous cinema (K_U03)
- analyze literary and cultural phenomena and draw generalizations on their basis in the context of societal and historical factors on an advanced level (K_U04)
- discern alternative methodological paradigms within the studies of Indigenous cinema (K_U05)
- find information in various sources and critically assess its usefulness for research (K_U06)
Social competences
Students will be ready to:
- apply knowledge and skills obtained during the course to undertake lifelong learning, as well as personal and professional development (K_K02)
- take responsibility for performing one’s professional duties, with due respect for the work of others, obey and develop the ethical norms in professional and academic settings (K_K03)
- assess critically one’s own knowledge and skills related to the study of Indigenous cinema (K_K04)
- value cultural heritage and cultural diversity as well as individual opinions (K_K06)
Education at language level C1.
Assessment criteria
-attendance (3 absences are allowed)
-participation in class
-Assignment (a reading of a selected scene)
-final test (multiple choice questions).
Bibliography
Bordwell, David. Narration in the Fiction Film. The University of Wisconsin Press, 1985.
---. The Way Hollywood Tells It: Story and Style in Modern Movies. University of California Press, 2006.
Bordwell, David, and Kristin Thompson. Film Art: Introduction. McGraw Hill, 2010.
Braudy, Leo, and Cohen Marshall. Film Theory and Criticism. Oxford, 2009.
Cummings, Denise K. Visualities: Perspectives on Contemporary American Indian Film and Art. Michigan State University Press, 2011.
Cummings, Denise K. Visualities 2: More Perspectives on Contemporary American Indian Film and Art. Michigan State University Press, 2019.
Grant, Barry Keith. Film Genre: From Iconography to Ideology. Wallflower, 2007.
Kilpatrick, Jacquelyn. Celluloid Indians: Native Americans and Film. University of Nebraska Press, 1999.
Miller, Toby, and Robert Stam. A Companion to Film Theory. Blackwell, 2004.
Paryz, Marek, and Leo R. John, editors. The Post-2000 Film Western Contexts, Transnationality, Hybridity. Palgrave Macmillan, 2015.
Raheja, Michelle H. Reservation Reelism: Redfacing, Visual Sovereignty, and Representations of Native Americans in Film. University of Nebraska Press, 2010.
Rollins, Peter C, and John E O’Connor, eds. Hollywood’s Indian: The Portrayal of the Native American in Film. University Press of Kentucky, 2003.
Singer, Beverly R. Wiping the War Paint off the Lens: Native American Film and Video. University of Minnesota Press, 2001.
Stam, Robert, and Alessandra Raengo, editors. A Companion to Literature and Film. Blackwell Publishing, 2006.
Villarejo, Amy. Film Studies: The Basics. Routledge, 2007.
Williams, Linda Ruth, and Michael Hammond, editors. Contemporary American Cinema. McGraw Hill, 2006.
Additional information
Additional information (registration calendar, class conductors, localization and schedules of classes), might be available in the USOSweb system: