German Film Class
University of Houston
Film is a powerful art form and means of communication.
The messages embedded in the mesmerizing images often escape us, and we
miss the opportunity to understand something about the culture that produced
it. The study of a culture by examining its films provides direct, fascinating
perspectives, both of the "other" culture and our own.
The study of film includes film techniques, film genres, film history, tools
of analysis, and the history, politics, and culture of the time in which
the film was made. Film study also provides an opportunity to practice aesthetic
judgment in the form of analysis and assessment of film as an art form,
both through discussion and through writing.
The University of Houston offers credit courses in German Cinema each Fall
and Spring Semester as GERM 3395 or GERM 3380. The instructor is Dr. Sandy Frieden.
The topic for Fall 2007 is BEHIND THE WALL--EAST GERMAN CINEMA (GERM 3395). The course
is offered on Tuesdays from 1:00 to 4:00 in 322 Agnes Arnold Hall at UH main campus.
The
Syllabus for Fall and accompanying materials will be posted soon--but meanwhile, you can view the syllabus and other links below from a previous semester to see details about how German film class works! All films are subtitled, and all readings are in
English--there is no foreign language prerequisite. The course counts for Visual and Performing Arts/Criticism Core credit, as well as Women's Studies and Honors (by petition).
Other topics include:
- Films of Fassbinder
- History of German Cinema
- East German Cinema
- Films of Werner Herzog
- Early German Cinema
- Fascism and German Cinema
- Avant Garde German Film
- Gender and German Cinema
- Contemporary Views of Fascism
- Science Fiction & Fantasy in German Cinema
Click for information on majoring in German
at the University of Houston.