FAMS 271 Film, Media, and Popular Culture in Africa

Media are often associated with the West, but this course provides an opportunity to explore how visual technologies circulate in other parts of the globe. From its colonial origins to the postcolonial present, cinema has long been at the forefront of African cultural production, connecting the continent to global media circuits. But in thinking about film on the continent, much more than art-house cinema is involved. Indeed, by linking the study of film with interdisciplinary approaches to popular culture, the class foregrounds the diverse roles roles that media play in sociocultural life. In readings and discussions, we will examine how diverse African social worlds have actively shaped and been altered by the creation and reception moving images, focusing on documentary, video films, hip-hop, film festivals, and other domains of popular cultural expression.

Cross Listed Courses

A&S 271

Instructor

Bissell