CMCL-C
207: Topics in Cultural Analysis and Interpretation
(Topic: Poisonous Potions,
Charming Curses, and the Dark Arts: Harry Potter and Rhetorico-Magics of
Justice)
Class
Number: 15323 (6W1)
MTuWTh,10:20 AM-12:10 PM, C2 203
Carries CASE A&H Credit
Carries GenEd Breadth of Inquiry A&H Credit
Instructor: Jeremy Gordon
E-Mail: jeregord@indiana.edu
Office: C2 248
Phone: 855-2365
In the Encomium to
Helen, Gorgias, an ancient rhetorician, defends the famous spark of the
Trojan War by claiming that her soul could have been seduced by the
"divine sweetness" in the enchanting language of love.
"Speech is a powerful lord," argues Gorgias, "that with the
smallest and most invisible body . . . can banish fear and remove grief and
instill pleasure and enhance pity." Gorgias situates such power in
terms of magic, claiming that the "force of incantation is wont to beguile
and persuade and alter it [the soul] by witchcraft . . ." Thus, the
charms and curses of rhetoric might be considered a form of magic that beguiles
and bewitches. Gorgias' sentiments are alluring and a flick of the wand
away in Hermione Granger's conjuring of the confundus charm in Harry
Potter and the Half Blood Prince, or a stir away from Professor Serverus
Snape's alchemical arts, "the beauty of the softly cauldron with its
shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins,
bewitching the mind and ensnaring the senses . . . I can teach you how to
bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death." Rhetoric and magic are
dynamic, lively, and animating, full of potential, for "good" and
"ill." Both are risky and subtle and require nuance. And
both are absolutely necessary for deciding on matters of justice and how a just
society should be arranged. Just as the magical arts are central for the
wizarding world, rhetoric is central for our Muggle realm, especially when it
comes to judgments of virtue/vice, innocence/guilt, good/bad, and what are just
deserts. If, as Professor Snape asserts, potions can creep and bewitch
and ensnare for a multitude of ends, how do we know when to brew/use a certain
draught, and when not to? Similar questions might be asked of Gorgias and
his sweet rhetoric. In short, the ethics of rhetoric and magic become a
primary concern in how we (witch)craft justice.
CMCL-C 392: Media Genres
(Topic: The Sci-Fi Film: Science Fiction as Cultural Mirror)
Class Number: (6W1)
MTuWTh, 3:00 PM-4:50 PM, C2 203
Required film screening: TuTh, 7:15 PM-10:15 PM, WY 015
Carries CASE A&H Credit
Instructor: Joshua Vasquez
E-Mail: jrvasque@indiana.edu
Office: C2 214
Phone: 856-5367
Science Fiction is one of
the most enduring genres, circulating across multiple media forms, including
popular and literary novels, as well as comic books, videogames, and music, and
especially the mass arenas of television and film. Sci-Fi is capable of asking
questions of the profoundest scope and of the narrowest focus, from inquiries
into the nature of existence and the infinite to interrogations of
spectatorship and fandom as well as industrial practice. As with many genres,
when we look closely at Science Fiction we have the opportunity to peer into
the workings of culture itself and interact with the shifts in, and mediations
circulating through, social structures, sentiments, fears, and fascinations.
This class will focus
specifically on Sci-Fi film as a way to not only explore the styles and stories
of a single genre but rather an entire constellation of culturally inscribed
and embedded narratives, themes, and representations. It seems that we keep
coming back to Science Fiction as a way to explore ourselves. What can Sci-Fi’s
generic adaptability tell us about the cultural usefulness of a genre primed to
explore topics as continually socially relevant as fears of the Other,
environmental disaster, forces of oppression and resistance, and questions of
being and the self?
Assignments will include a
Take-Home Midterm, quizzes and short written responses, and a final exam.
Screenings may include Blade
Runner, Looper, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Inception,
The Fly, Solaris, and Star Trek Into Darkness.
CMCL-C 190: Introduction to Media – required class for CMCL major and minor
Class Number: 13828 (8W1)
MTuWTh, 12:40 PM-1:55 PM, SY 004
Required film screening: TuTh, 7:15 PM-10:15 PM, WY 005
Required for all majors in the Department of Communication and Culture
Carries CASE A&H Credit
Carries GenEd Breadth of Inquiry A&H Credit
Instructor: Christopher Miles
E-Mail: chrimile@indiana.edu
Office: C2 212
Phone: 855-7238
References to the power and
prevalence of “the media” are commonplace. But what are “the
media?” How do they work and for whom? As media increasingly
pervade the fabric of daily life, and as fewer and fewer entities dominate
media ownership, the urgency of asking and answering these questions only grows
in importance.
Yet, these questions are
incredibly difficult to ask—much less to answer—owing in part to the ways in
which the structure and functioning of the media remain, for many of us, taken
for granted, perhaps even something of a mystery. This course will introduce
you to the basic vocabularies of visual and media literacy and hone your skills
at analyzing media texts, institutions, apparatuses, and audiences critically.
We will focus on four prevalent media genres—film, radio, television, and
the internet—and our goal will be to explore the relationships between and
among form, content, ownership, and meaning with respect to each. C190
will help you to appreciate more fully the complex ways in which the media
inhabit and affect social, cultural, political, and economic life. More
importantly, it will provide you with the analytical, interpretive, and
critical skills by which to navigate and begin to make sense of the densely
mediated landscapes we inhabit.
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