Course syllabus

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MEDIA 704: Documentary: The Real Returns

SEMESTER 1, 2018

30 points

 
Course Convenor: Annie Goldson

a.goldson@auckland.ac.nz

Course details:

WEDNESDAY: 12-3PM (lecture and student presentations)

ROOM: 206-202 (Arts 1 Building) 

Summary of Course Description:              

In this paper, we will examine some of the major documentaries to emerge since film began, from the actualities of the Lumière’s to the political features of Michael Moore and beyond. We will also engage with theories that have emerged from a discussion of the documentary, entering into the thorny debate of what documentary actually is and its relation to “reality”.

There are usually two documentaries assigned for screening each week. 

At the commencement of each class, I will ask students to make connections between the week’s reading and screening/s as it is essential that both activities are carried out.

Note: A number of the documentaries contain disturbing material, so be prepared.

Resources:

All readings are available through Talis, either as digital copies or through the short loan desk at the General Library. The assigned documentaries are also available either as digital copies or are on DVD. The latter will need to be screened onsite at the Library.  

Major texts include:

Grant, B. and Jeanette Sloniowski, eds. Documenting the Documentary:  Close Readings of Documentary Film and Video, Detroit: Wayne University Press, 1998.

Chanan, M.   The Politics of Documentary, London: British Film Institute, 2007.

In addition, our FTVMS librarian has developed a useful class home page, which can be accessed either through Canvas or through LEARN on Voyager.

Course outcomes:

A student who successfully completes this course will have the opportunity to:

  • explore the history of documentary as a genre
  • engage with issues around documentary, representation and 'reality'
  • develop an analysis of the genre and its significance to cultural and political life
  • develop writing skills that draw on a range of critical theory and documentary studies

Assessment Summary:

Research proposal: 20% 

Reading Response, Presentations and Participation: 30%

Final essay: 50% 

Weekly Topics:

Week 1 28 Feb Introduction to documentary, documentary studies and the debates around reality and representation.
Week 2

 7 Mar

 Documentary before 'Documentary' 1 - The early works, cine-reels and ethnographies. 
Week 3

14 Mar

 Documentary before Documentary 2 - European documentary, formal experimentation and dissent. 
Week 4 21 Mar Defining documentary as a genre - the 'father and sons' of the British Documentary Movement. 

Week 5

 28 Mar Picturing the unimaginable - films of the Holocaust. 

 

 BREAK
Week 6 18 Apr Special Screening: Kim Dotcom: Caught in the Web (dir. Annie Goldson). Held with Politics and International Relations, Pat Hanan Room, Arts 2.
Week 7 25 Apr How close is the truth? - American direct cinema and cinema verite movement in France. 
Week 8 2 May Documentary and the New Left - radical and feminist documentaries.
Week 9 9 May The 1990s documentary auteur - performance and gender identity in alternative documentary.
Week 10 16 May The 'outsider' documentary filmmaker and the concept of the interventionist gaze.
Week 11 23 May The new 'political documentary' - responses to post 9/11, and the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq.
Week 12 30 May Alternative visions - Chinese documentary and clashes of tradition and modernity. 

 

 

Workload and deadlines for submission of coursework:           

The University of Auckland's expectation is that students spend 20 hours per week on a 30-point course, including time in class and personal study. Students should manage their academic workload and other commitments accordingly. Deadlines for coursework are set by course convenors and will be advertised in course material. You should submit your work on time. In extreme circumstances, such as illness, you may seek an extension but you may be required to provide supporting information before the assignment is due. Late assignments without a pre-approved extension may be penalised by loss of marks – check course information for details.

Course summary:

Date Details Due