The Slavic Department is excited to announce the topic for Polish 420, to be taught in Winter 2018 by our visiting Fulbright Scholar Justyna Budzik.
The title is: "Haunted images: New Polish cinema and Photography"
What haunts contemporary Polish filmmakers and photographers? What specters of the past and the lost futures of Poland may we encounter in their works? What are the newest discoveries and successful artistic projects? We will study musicals, thrillers, intimate family dramas, photographic fairy-tales, and photojournalistic series. The course will also provide an opportunity to develop practical skills of film and photography analysis and interpretation. We will analyze film sequences, trailers, posters and stills, as well as photography composition and storytelling and their power to create visual metaphors. Some of the particular topics are: pastiche and kitsch/camp in returning to the past, traditions as a source of nostalgia, childhood memories as a vision of historical past and the (ir)real visions of urban and rural landscape. All films will have English subtitles. After this course students will:
- Know how to analyze and interpret photographs and films in artistic, social and anthropological contexts
- Have an overview of the most interesting currents in new Polish cinema and photography