Courses / Undergraduate

Spring 2019

  • The Craft of Writing – Film Focus / KEEPING IT REAL: Mimesis and Authenticity

    R1B - 003 | CCN: 22346

    Dolores McElroy & Tory Jeffay

    4 Units

    T/TH 12:30 – 2:00 PM, Wheeler 202; Screening Tu 5:00 – 8:00PM, Wheeler 200 ///

    First and foremost, this is a writing class, so our goal here will be to advance your analytical writing skills and to give you the tools to incorporate original research into your writing. As a springboard for the completion of these goals, we will be addressing the concepts of “mimesis” and “authenticity” as they relate to representation in general, to filmmaking in particular, and to the culture at large. Our readings will include key moments in the history of ideas about “mimesis” (don’t worry, we’ll define it!) and “authenticity” as well as the ways those concepts relate to moving image media. We will also question what we mean by “realism” in representation (usually many different things), and what value we presume that term to hold (if any). Furthermore, we will think through photography and film’s relationship to the “real” and how that relationship has changed in the age of digital media and “fake news.” Questions we will explore include: What should the goal of representation be? What are the virtues and dangers presented by “mimesis” and “authenticity”? To what extent are these concepts constructed, mediated, and performed? And what function do they serve in contemporary life?