SOC 342 - Sociology of Film

Students will become familiar with basic information on the sociology of films and the film industry, and the course will provide the conceptual and theoretical tools to understand and analyze the ways in which movies are related to larger socio-cultural processes and relationships. They will also learn to apply general principles of sociology in analyzing particular movies, and they will learn to be able to critically evaluate the relationship between movies and social life. Throughout the course, we will pay attention to the ways in which movie production (e.g., casting) and movie content represent (or not) classic concerns of sociology, including race/class/gender issues, "the other", masculinity, dominant ideologies, resistance, assimilation/conformity, and so on. Group discussions, movie viewing, assigned reading, in -class exercises, individual presentations and traditional lectures will be used to achieve these learning objectives.