Ecocinema: Environmentalism, Film and Politics (FYS)
GRST 176F
Fall 2026
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01
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We live in the age of the Anthropocene; planet earth is being transformed by human activity at an accelerating scale. In the environmental humanities, we study the changing relationships between human experience and the no-longer-quite natural world. This seminar will address cinema¿s contributions to the environmental humanities as a medium engaging with and reflecting on the transformations of our natural environs through human activity. The course centers around the ways in which the constructing and reconstructing of the natural world in film pertains to questions of war, devastation, resource exploitation, colonialism, representations of the non-human as well as ecological utopias and dystopias. Ecocinema will focus on films by directors such as Fritz Lang, Leni Riefenstahl, Werner Herzog, Bong Joon-ho, Denis Villeneuve, Hayao Miyazaki, and Ridley Scott, among others as case studies allowing us to explore key shifts in the Anthropocene and the complex intersection of environment, politics, and aesthetics in modern and contemporary history. All materials will be available in English (or with English subtitles) on Moodle and the films will be connected to the class website for viewing. |
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| Credit: 1 |
Gen Ed Area Dept:
HA GRST |
| Course Format: Seminar | Grading Mode: Student Option |
| Level: UGRD |
Prerequisites: None |
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Fulfills a Requirement for: None |
| SECTION 01 | | Special Attributes: FYS |
Major Readings: Wesleyan RJ Julia Bookstore
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Course pack will be available to purchase.
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Examinations and Assignments:
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Additional Requirements and/or Comments:
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| Instructor(s): Simova,Ina Times: ..T.R.. 02:50PM-04:10PM; Location: FISK121; |
| Total Enrollment Limit: 15 | | SR major: X | JR major: X | | |
| | GRAD: X | SR non-major: X | JR non-major: X | SO: X | FR: 15 |
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