Spring 2011

Feminist Cinema

Listed in: Asian Languages and Civilizations, as ASLC-52  |  Film and Media Studies, as FAMS-58

Faculty

Krupa Shandilya (Section 01)

Description

(Offered as WAGS 69, ASLC 52 [SA], and FAMS 58.)  How do we define the word “feminism”? Can the term be used to define cinematic texts outside the Euro-American world? In this course we will study a range of issues that have been integral to feminist theory--the body, domesticity, same sex desire, gendered constructions of the nation, feminist utopias and dystopias--through a range of South Asian cinematic texts. Through our viewings and readings we will consider whether the term “feminist” can be applied to these texts, and we will experiment with new theoretical lenses for exploring these films. Films will range from Satyajit Ray’s classic masterpiece Charulata to Gurinder Chadha’s trendy diasporic film, Bend It Like Beckham. Attendance for screenings on Monday is compulsory.

Limited to 20 students.  Spring semester.  Professor Shandilya.

ASLC 52 - L/D

Section 01
W 02:00 PM - 04:30 PM CONV 308

ISBN Title Publisher Author(s) Comment Book Store Price
The Beauty Myth: How Images of Beauty are Used Against Women Harper Perennial Naomi Wolf Amherst Books TBD
Umrao Jan Ada Rupa & Co. M.H. Rusva Amherst Books TBD
The Broken Nest and other stories Westland Limited Rabindranath Tagore Amherst Books TBD

These books are available locally at Amherst Books.

Offerings

2024-25: Not offered
Other years: Offered in Spring 2011, Spring 2012, Fall 2014, Fall 2015, Spring 2019