It's Tuesday night, a perfect time to grab a date, some popcorn -- and dive into your homework, all at the same time.
Several University professors are replacing reading time with "viewing time," and the movies they're assigning aren't boring documentaries or obscure foreign films.
History Prof. Brian Balogh has integrated dozens of films into his history course HIUS 316 "Viewing America: 1945 to the Present."
"I require a film each week, from the period discussed in class. The whole idea is to give a sense of what people thought of the stuff at the time," Balogh said.
Some of the movies Balogh uses to teach his class include "Rebel Without a Cause," "Dr. Strangelove," "Easy Rider," and "The Silent Scream."
Balogh has been teaching history with movies for 10 years, and the response from students has been overwhelmingly positive, he said.
"It is one thing to read and hear about history, and another thing to actually see it," said second-year College student Andrea Jacobs, who is in Balogh's "Viewing America" class.
"Films are the closest things we have to being able to gain insight to the ideas that were going through America at the time," Jacobs said.
Balogh, in addition to using movies, has developed a Web site that brings together different types of media from various time periods relating to the class.
On the site, Balogh offers film, television and music clips ranging from Bob Dylan to Public Enemy. Through the Web site, students have direct and easy access to the media of the times, giving them a more intimate feeling with the period's culture, Balogh said.
Balogh also tries to use movies with more obvious symbolism so that students can get a better grasp on the era being presented. "I think if the film is too subtle, because it's from another time period, it can be lost on students," he said.
English Prof. Eric Lott, on the other hand, revels in the subtle minutiae of the films he requires for his seminars. He likes students to analyze the films for details, symbolism and "allegories of cultural problems," he says.
Lott currently teaches "American Film" on two levels: ENLT 255 and ENAM 481. He also has used movies to augment coursework in non-film based classes. In one seminar, "The 1970s," Lott had students watch "Coffy," "The French Connection" and the disco classic "Saturday Night Fever."
Lott says he tries to help students work through the competing thoughts and ideas entangled within the films so they can take away an understanding of the film's artistic and cultural nuances.
"The idea with [film], like other texts, is to try and talk about them as answers to the cultural problems in a particular historical movement," Lott said.
Like other kinds of text, Lott said it takes a deep reading -- or multiple viewings -- to uncover the various "impulses" and "contradictions" running through a movie. He also likens watching a film to interpreting a dream. Elements "don't always match up one to one, and lots of things are encoded," he said.
Lott does not have formal training in teaching film, but he said he stays current on film theory by reading journals such as Cinema Journal, Camera Obscura and Screem.
Media Studies Prof. Aniko Bodroghkozy said that sometimes a "bone of contention" can develop between professors with formal film training and those integrating film into their curriculum without having any formal training.
She said there is a "grammar of cinematic text" -- details such as where the camera is placed and how the film is edited -- that can greatly influence a film's meaning.
Bodroghkozy said some faculty members "assume cinema speaks for itself, and does not have to be analyzed and interpreted on its own terms.
"Increasingly, though, faculty who are introducing cinema
have some training," she said.
One problem professors who use film encounter is whether students take the movies seriously as teaching tools.
Lott said that students introduced to film in class might not take movies as seriously as a novel or a textbook. That's why he encourages students to watch the movies he assigns more than once.
"Next time, you see patterns of dialogue and action not apparent at the first viewing," Lott said.
For students, watching movies for class can be more time consuming than skimming through a reading. But third-year College student Michelle Toppino said those hours are worth it.
"Well-chosen pieces are a good supplement to the plain facts," Toppino said. "A class with film worked into the curriculum is like a book with illustrations."
Read More
It’s okay not to be okay
By Mai Hukuoka | YesterdayWhether talking to a friend, a loved one or a professional, it is so necessary, and human, to need more than you can provide for yourself.
Taking a break at Tangerines Kitchen
By Charley Thomas | 3 days agoWhat the restaurant somewhat lacks in ambiance, it compensates for in tasty dishes and prompt service.
Virginia Policy Lab — a hub for student-led policy action
By Katherine Haden | December 9, 2024Students propose their own projects and collaborate with other members to research their issues of interest, brainstorm solutions and write policy proposals.
