| Home | Schedule | Assignments | Grades | Conduct |
All screening times given below are approximate.
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Key to abbreviations for assignments listed on this page: |
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| View | View the assigned film via streaming hyperlink on D2L or on DVD reserve in the Library before class |
| TBA | To be announced |
| Online | You can access all of the readings below online; just click on the hyperlink for that reading. Note that the online readings are PDF files, readable only via Adobe Acrobat Reader. If you do not have Acrobat Reader, you may download it for free at http://www.adobe.com |
Please note: this syllabus is subject to change (with notice).
Many of the films in this course contain adult content including violence, profanity, drug usage, and/or frank sex and sexualities. These films are intended for mature audiences and may not be suitable for children under 17 who are unaccompanied by an adult. If you are disturbed by R-rated or unrated film content, you should consult the instructor.
Monday, January 10
| Introduction to the course |
| In-Class Screening: | Excerpts from Melvin Van Peebles' Classified X (Mark Daniels, 1998; 53 min.) |
| Assignment: | Quiz 0 via D2L due by 11:59pm |
Wednesday, January 12
| View for Wednesday: | The Birth of a Nation Part 2: Reconstruction (1:27:50-end) via D2L or via Netflix (D. W.
Griffith, 1915, 190
min. total) (Study Guide) Recommended: Part 1 (0:00-1:27:50), especially if you've never seen this film before |
| In-Class Screening: | Excerpts from Melvin Van Peebles' Classified X (Mark Daniels, 1998; 53 min.) |
| Wednesday Reading: |
Jacqueline Stewart, Introduction to Migrating to the Movies: Cinema and Black Urban Modernity (2005), pages 1-11 and skim 14-19 |
| Quiz: | on Wednesday at 3:35pm over film and readings |
Monday, January 17
| No class meeting Monday in honor of the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday |
Wednesday, January 19
| View for Wednesday: | Within Our Gates via D2L or via DVD on reserve in CSU Library or via Amazon Prime (Oscar Micheaux, 1920, 79 min.) (Study Guide) |
| Reading: | Jacqueline Stewart, “We Were Never Immigrants” from Migrating to the Movies (2005), pages 219-244. |
| Quiz: | on Wednesday at 3:35pm over film and readings |
Monday, January 24
| View for Monday: | The Imitation of Life via D2L or via Netflix (Douglas Sirk, 1959, 124 min.) (Study Guide) |
| Skim: | Krin Gabbard, "Black Angels in America" Ch. 5 from Black Magic, skim (not skip) pages 143-176 on D2L |
| Quiz: | on Monday at 3:35pm over film and readings |
Wednesday, January 26
| View for Wednesday: | Guess Who's Coming to Dinner via D2L or via Netflix (Stanley Kramer, 1967, 108 min.) (Study Guide) |
| Reading & Quiz: | 1. Susan Courtney, “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner with Eldridge Cleaver and the Supreme Court, or reforming popular racial memory with Hepburn and Tracy.” from Hollywood Fantasies of Miscegenation (2005), pages 250-253 and 265-294; skim 254-264 for context |
| 2. Ed Guerrero, “The Rise and Fall of Blaxploitation” from Framing Blackness, pages bottom of 71-78 only |
| Quiz: | on Wednesday at 3:35pm over film and readings |
| Additional clips and recommended films: |
| The Green Mile (Frank Darabont, 1999) |
| The Brother from Another Planet (John Sayles, 1984) |
Monday, January 31
| View for Monday: | Nothing But A Man via YouTube (Michael Roemer, 1964, 90 min.) |
| Reading: | David C. Wall and Michael T. Martin, "Introduction: Nothing But A Man and the Question of Black Film," from The Politics and Poetics of Black Film: Nothing But A Man (2015), pages 1-19 (okay to skim p. 2-5). |
| Quiz: | on Monday at 3:35pm over film and readings |
| Exam 1 available on D2L from Monday at 5:00pm - Tuesday at 12:00pm noon MOVED TO WEDNESDAY 5PM - THURSDAY 5PM (Note: This 30-minute closed note, timed exam requires Responus Lockdown Browser and Webcam) |
Wednesday, February 2
| View for Wednesday: | 1 Eyes on the Prize: The Black Panther Party segments 1-10 via Films On Demand (0:00-31:50) and 2. Black Arts Movement on YouTube (7.33) 3. Night Catches Us via D2L or via Netflix (Tanya Hamilton, 2010, 89 min.) (Study Guide) |
| Reading: | 1. Gladstone Yearwood, "The Emergence of the Black Independent Film Movement", Chapter 2 from Black Film as a Signifying Practice, pages 46-49 |
| 2. Facets Features film review, "From the Aisles of the Cinematheque: Night Catches Us" | |
| 3. Read through the Black Panther Party website including its Vision, Ten Point Platform, and Legacy (including FBI COINTELPRO) | |
| 4. Video interview with Tanya Hamilton on D2L |
| Quiz: | on Wednesday at 3:35pm over film and readings |
| Additional clips and recommended films: |
| Nothing But a Man (Michael Roemer, 1964) |
| The Cool World (Shirley Clarke, 1964) |
| Bush Mama (Haile Gerima, 1979) |
| The Making of Do the Right Thing (St. Clair Bourne and Spike Lee, 1989) |
| Malcolm X (Spike Lee, 1992) |
| Get on the Bus (Spike Lee, 1996) |
| The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975 (Göran Hugo Olsson, 2011) |
Monday, February 7
| View for Monday: | Baad Asssss Cinema via YouTube (Issac Julien, 2002, 56 min.) |
| Reading & Quiz: | Ed Guerrero, “The Rise and Fall of Blaxploitation” from Framing Blackness, pages 69-111 |
| Quiz: | on Monday at 3:35pm over film and readings |
Wednesday, February 9
| View for Wednesday: | Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song via D2L (Melvin Van Peebles, 1971, 79 min.) (Study Guide) |
| Quiz: | on Wednesday at 3:35pm over film |
| Additional clips and recommended films: |
| Shaft (Gordon Parks, 1971) |
| Superfly (Gordon Parks, Jr., 1972) |
| Coffy (Jack Hill, 1973) |
| Cleopatra Jones (Jack Starrett, 1973) |
| Foxy Brown (Jack Hill, 1974) |
| Undercover Brother (Malcolm D. Lee, 2002) |
| Black Dynamite (Scott Sanders, 2009) |
Monday, February 14
| View for Monday: | Ganja & Hess via D2L or via Netflix (Bill Gunn, 1973; 110 min.) (Study Guide) |
| Reading: | Manthia Diawara and Phyllis Klotman, “Ganja and Hess: Vampires, sex, and addictions” Jump Cut 35 (April 1990), pages 30-36. |
| Quiz: | on Monday at 3:35pm over film and readings |
| Exam 2 available on D2L from Monday at 5:00pm - Tuesday at 12:00pm noon (Note: This 35-minute timed exam requires Responus Lockdown Browser and Webcam) |
| Additional clips and recommended films: |
| Blacula (William Crain, 1973) |
Wednesday, February 16
| View for Wednesday: | Killer of Sheep via D2L or via Netflix (Charles Burnett, 1977; 83 min.) (Study Guide) |
| Reading: | 1. Allyson Nadia Field, Jan-Christoper Horak, and Jacqueline Najuma Stewart, “Introduction: Emancipating the Image—The L.A. Rebellion of Black Filmmakers” in L.A. Rebellion: Creating a New Black Cinema (2015), pages 1-6, 15-17, 21-29. |
| 2. Gladstone Yearwood, "The Emergence of the Black Independent Film Movement", Chapter 2 from Black Film as a Signifying Practice, pages 38-41 | |
| 3. Chale Nafus, Killer of Sheep Austin Film Society, 2011 |
| Quiz: | on Wednesday at 3:35pm over film and readings |
| Additional clips and recommended films: |
| To Sleep with Anger (Charles Burnett, 1990) |
| My Brother's Wedding (Charles Burnett, 1983) |
| The Glass Shield (Charles Burnett, 1994) |
| Namibia: The Struggle for Liberation (Charles Burnett, 2007) |
Monday, February 21
| View for Monday: | Bush Mama via D2L (Haile Gerima, 1979, 97 min.) (Study Guide) |
| Reading: | 1. Gladstone Yearwood, "The Emergence of the Black Independent Film Movement", Chapter 2 from Black Film as a Signifying Practice, pages 54-62 |
| 2. Allyson Nadia Field, Jan-Christoper Horak, and Jacqueline Najuma Stewart, “Introduction: Emancipating the Image—The L.A. Rebellion of Black Filmmakers” in L.A. Rebellion: Creating a New Black Cinema (2015), review pages 23-29. |
| Quiz: | on Monday at 3:35pm over film and readings |
Wednesday, February 23
| View for Wednesday: | Sankofa via D2L (Haile Gerima, 1993, 125 min.) (Study Guide) |
| Reading: | Mark Reid, "Black Independent Film: Haile Gerima's Sankofa" pages 112-118 on D2L |
| Quiz: | on Wednesday at 3:35pm over film and readings |
| Additional clips and recommended films: |
| 12 Years a Slave (Steve McQueen, 2013) |
| Hour Glass (Halie Gerima, 1971) |
| Adwa (Haile Gerima, 1999) |
| Teza (Haile Gerima, 2008) |
Monday, February 28
| View for Monday: | 1. Illusions via D2L (Julie Dash, 1982; 34 min.) (Study Guide) 2. The Kitchen via D2L (Alile Sharon Larkin, 1975; 7 min.) 3. Your Children Come Back to You via D2L (Alile Sharon Larkin, 1979; 30 min.) 4. Water Ritual #1: An Urban Rite of Purification via D2L (Barbara McCullough 1979; 4 min.) |
| Reading: | 1. Virginia Bonner, "A Different Image: Women Filmmakers of the L.A. Rebellion" on D2L 2. Toni Cade Bambara, Preface to Daughters of the Dust: The Making of an African American |
| Quiz: | on Monday at 3:35pm over films and readings |
Wednesday, March 2
| View for Wednesday: | Daughters of the Dust via streaming on Netflix or Amazon (Julie Dash, 1991, 113 min.) (Study Guide) |
| Reading: |
| Quiz: | on Wednesday at 3:35pm over film and readings |
| Exam 3 available on D2L from Wednesday at 5:00pm - Thursday at 12pm noon (Note: This 40-minute timed exam requires Responus Lockdown Browser and Webcam) |
| Additional clips and recommended films: |
| Losing Ground (Kathleen Collins, 1982) |
| The Kitchen (Alile Sharon Larkin, 1975) |
| Your Children Come Back to You (Alile Sharon Larkin, 1979) |
| A Different Image (Alile Sharon Larkin, 1982) |
| Incognito (Julie Dash, 1999) |
| The Rosa Parks Story (Julie Dash, 2002) |
| Water Ritual #1: An Urban Rite of Purification (Barbara McCullough, 1979) |
Monday, March 7 - Friday, March 11
| No class meetings during Spring Break |
Monday, March 14
| View for Monday: | She's Gotta Have It via D2L or via Netflix (Spike Lee, 1986, 84 min.) (Study Guide) |
| Reading & Quiz: | 1. Paula Massood, "Welcome to Crooklyn: Spike Lee and the Rearticulation of the Black Urbanscape" Chapter 4 from Black City Cinema 2003, pages 117-130. (Okay to skim 118-120.) |
| 2. bell hooks, "Whose Pussy is This?" from Reel to Real: Race, Sex and Class at the Movies pages 294-302 | |
| Optional reading: | 3. Houston A. Baker, "Spike Lee and the Commerce of Culture" in Black American Cinema, pages 154-top of 167 |
| Quiz: | on Monday at 3:35pm over film and readings |
Wednesday, March 16
| View for Wednesday: | Do the Right Thing via D2L or via Netflix (Spike Lee, 1989, 119 min.) (Study Guide) |
| 1. Paula Massood, "Welcome to Crooklyn: Spike Lee and the Rearticulation of the Black Urbanscape" Chapter 4 from Black City Cinema 2003, pages 130-143. | |
| Optional reading: | 2. Houston A. Baker, "Spike Lee and the Commerce of Culture" in Black American Cinema, pages 167-176 |
| Optional reading: | 3. Amiri Baraka, "Spike Lee at the Movies" in Black American Cinema pages 145-153 |
| Quiz: | on Wednesday at 3:35pm over film and readings |
| Additional clips and recommended films: |
| Krush Groove (Michael Schultz, 1985) |
| School Daze (Spike Lee, 1988) |
| The Making of Do the Right Thing (St. Clair Bourne and Spike Lee, 1989) |
| Malcolm X (Spike Lee, 1992) |
| Crooklyn (Spike Lee, 1994) |
| Get on the Bus (Spike Lee, 1996) |
| 4 Little Girls (Spike Lee, 1997) |
| Bamboozled (Spike Lee, 2000) |
| Ethnic Notions (Marlon Riggs, 1986) |
| A Huey P. Newton Story (Spike Lee, 2001) |
| When the Levees Broke (Spike Lee, 2006) |
| BlacKkKlansman (Spike Lee, 2018) |
Monday, March 21
| View for Monday: | Boyz N the Hood via D2L or via Netflix or Amazon (John Singleton, 1991, 112 min.) (Study Guide) |
| Reading: | Paula Massood, “Out of the Ghetto, into the Hood” Chapter 5 from Black City Cinema 2003, pages 145-174. |
| Quiz: | on Monday at 3:35pm over film and readings |
Wednesday, March 23
| View for Wednesday: | Menace II Society (Albert and Allen Hughes, 1993) via D2L (Study Guide) |
| Quiz: | on Wednesday at 3:35pm over film and readings |
| Additional clips and recommended films: |
| Menace II Society (Albert and Allen Hughes, 1993) |
| Poetic Justice (John Singleton, 1993) |
| Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood (Paris Barclay, 1996) |
| Fresh (Boaz Yakin, 1994) |
| New Jack City (Mario van Peebles, 1991) |
| Bamboozled (Spike Lee, 2000) |
| Get on the Bus (Spike Lee, 1996) |
| Hollywood Shuffle (Robert Townsend, 1987) |
| When the Levees Broke (Spike Lee, 2006) |
Monday, March 28
| View for Monday: | Set It Off via D2L or via Netflix (F. Gary Gray, 1996) (Study Guide) |
| Reading: | 1. Mark Reid, "Black Female-Centered Film" pages 89-90 on D2L |
| 2. BlackFilm.com Interview with screenwriter Takashi Bufford (2011) | |
| 3. Kara Keeling, "'Ghetto Heaven': Set It Off and the Valorization of Black Lesbian Butch-Femme Sociality" pages 36-40 on D2L | |
| 4. Ann M. Ciasullo, "Making Her (In)Visible: Cultural Represenmtations of Lesbianism and the Lesbian Body in the 1990s" pages 597-598 and 604 on D2L |
| Quiz: | on Monday at 3:35pm over film and readings |
Wednesday, March 30
| View for Wednesday: | Just Another Girl on the I. R. T. via D2L or via Netflix (Leslie Harris, 1993, 92 min.) (Study Guide) |
| Reading: | 1. Mark Reid, "Black Female-Centered Film" from Black Lenses, Black Voices pages 86-88 on D2L |
| 2. Video Interview with director Leslie Harris and actor Ariyan Johnson Part 1 and Part 2 (35 min total, 2013) |
| Quiz: | on Wednesday at 3:35pm over film and readings |
| Additional clips and recommended films: |
| Just Another Girl on the I. R. T. (Leslie Harris, 1993, 92 min.) |
| Girls Town (Jim McKay, 1996) |
| Our Song (Jim McKay, 2000) |
| Monster's Ball (Mark Forster, 2001) |
| View for Monday: | Tongues Untied via D2L (Marlon Riggs, 1989, 55 min.) (Study Guide) |
| Reading: | Sheila Petty, "Silence and Its Opposite: Expressions of Race in Tongues Untied" from Documenting the Documentary, pages 416-428 |
| Quiz: | on Monday at 3:35pm over film and readings |
Wednesday, April 6
| View For Wednesday: | Pariah via D2L or via Netflix (Dee Rees, 2011, 86 min.) (Study Guide) |
| Reading: | Video Interview with Director Dee Rees (2011, 7:40 min.) on D2L |
| Video Interview with Director Dee Rees and Lincoln Film Society (2012, 10:49 min.) on D2L | |
| Optional Reading: | Andrea B. Braidt, “Queering Ethnicity, Queering Sexuality: A Paradigmatic Shift in the Politics of Cinema Representation in Cheryl Dunye’s The Watermelon Woman (1996)" on D2L |
| Quiz: | on Wednesday at 3:35pm over film and readings |
| Exam 4 available on D2L from Wednesday at 5:00pm - Thursday at 12pm noon (Note: This 50-minute timed exam requires Responus Lockdown Browser and Webcam) |
| Additional clips and recommended films: |
| The Watermelon Woman (Cheryl Dunye, 1996) |
| When Night is Falling (Patricia Rozema, 1995) |
| Love and Basketball (Gina Prince-Blythewood, 2000) |
Monday, April 11
| For Monday View: | Eve's Bayou via D2L or via Amazon (Kasi Lemmons, 1997, 109 min.) (Study Guide) |
| Reading: | 1. Mark Reid, "Black Family Film" (19-36) from Black Lenses, Black Voices on D2L |
| 2. Video interview with Director Kasi Lemmons (4:38 min.) |
| Quiz: | on Monday at 3:35pm over film and readings |
Wednesday, April 13
| For Wednesday View: | Beasts of the Southern Wild free via Amazon prime or hulu OR DVD on reserve in library (Benh Zeitlin, 2012, 93 min) (Study Guide) |
| Reading: | Scott Foundas, "Louisiana Story," from Film Comment May/June 2012 |
| Quiz: | on Wednesday at 3:35pm over film and readings |
| Additional clips and recommended films: |
| Soul Food (George Tillman Jr., 1997, 115 min.) |
Monday, April 18
| View Required: | When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts I & II via D2L (Spike Lee, 2006, 128 min.) (Study Guide) |
| View Recommended: | When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts III & IV via D2L (Spike Lee, 2006 129 min.) |
| Reading: | Anna Hartnell, "When the Levees Broke: Inconvenient Truths and the Limits of National Identity" (2012), pages 22-25 and 29-31 |
| Quiz: | on Monday at 3:35pm over film and readings |
| Online Course Evaluations this week |
Wednesday, April 20
| View: | 13th streaming on Netflix (Ava DuVernay 2016, 100 min.) |
| Reading: | Interview with director Ava DuVernay and Oprah Winfrey streaming on Netflix (36 min.) |
| Quiz: | on Wednesday at 3:35pm over film and readings |
| Additional clips and recommended films: |
| When They See Us (Ava DuVernay 2019) |
| I Am Not Your Negro (Raoul Peck 2017) |
| The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975 (Göran Hugo Olsson 2011) |
| 4 Little Girls (Spike Lee 1997) |
| Paul Robeson: Here I Stand (St. Clair Bourne 1999) |
Monday, April 25
| View: | Sorry to Bother You via D2L (Boots Riley 2019) |
| Reading: | 1. Take notes on how the film relates to our class themes & other films |
| 2. Video Interview with director Boots Riley (5:41) via D2L | |
| 3. RogerEbert.com review of Sorry to Bother You via D2L | |
| Quiz: | on Monday at 3:35pm over film and readings |
| Assignment: | Closing Feedback Survey assigned on Monday |
Wednesday, April 27
| BRING YOUR LAPTOP OR SMARTPHONE TO CLASS ON Wednesday Online Course Evaluations this week |
| Final Exam Review: | Bring your study questions to class |
| Assignment: | Closing Feedback Survey due before class |
| Class party potluck on Wednesday: Bring food to share with your classmates! |
| Additional clips and recommended films: |
| BlacKKKlansman (Spike Lee 2018) | Dear White People (Justin Simien 2014, 108 min.) |
| Judas and the Black Messiah (Shaka King 2021) | Precious (Lee Daniels 2009) |
| Sorry to Bother You (Boots Riley 2019) | 12 Years a Slave (Steve McQueen 2013) |
| Fruitvale Station (Ryan Coogler 2013) | Medicine for Melancholy (Barry Jenkins 2009) |
| Antebellum (Rick Castr 2020) | Black Panther (Ryan Coogler 2018) |
| American Son (Kenny Leon 2019) | Moonlight (Barry Jenkins 2016) |
| Mudbound (Dee Rees, 2017) | Middle of Nowhere (Ava DuVernay 2006) |
| Atlanta (Donald Glover/Hiro Murai 2016-2022) | Slam (Marc Levin 1998) |
| The Harder They Fall (Jeymes Samuel 2021) | Get Out (Jordan Peele 2017) |
| Us (Jordan Peele 2019) | If Beale Street Could Talk (Barry Jenkins 2018) |
| Them (Jordan Peele 2021) | |
| Monday, May 2, 3:35-4:50pm in UC 267. Bring a
scantron, 2 pencils, and 2 pens. Exam format includes Part 1 (short answer) and Part 2 (T/F, matching, & multiple choice) |