Engl 343/CES 316 - South Asian Film
"We have been trying to theorize identity as constituted, not outside but within representation; and hence of cinema, not as a second-order mirror held up to reflect what already exists, but as that form of representation which is able to constitute us as new kinds of subjects, and thereby enable us to discover places from which to speak". – Stuart Hall
With India being the largest producer of films in the world, it is impossible to ignore the cultural, economic and pedagogical impact of this commercial industry. This course will explore the interaction of South Asian directors and South Asian film through close literary, theoretical and historical readings to initiate a multi-sited inquiry into discourses of ethnicity, caste, gender, sexuality, and nationhood in contemporary South Asia . Particular attention will be paid to cinematic representations of women and South Asian diasporas in the U.S. , Canada , and Britain .
This is a 3 Credit class with 2 hours of lecture and 3 hours of lab. The class hours will consist of lecture, guest lectures and discussion, with only brief clips shown in class for illustrative purposes. The lab hours will be for the screening of the films.Required Texts
Shamita Dasgupta, ed. A Patchwork Shawl. 1998.
Gayatri Gopinath. Impossible Desires: Queer Diasporas and South Asian Public Cultures (Perverse Modernities). 2005.
Stanley Tambiah. Leveling Crowds: Ethnonationalist Conflicts and Collective Violence in Sough Asia. 1996.
Jyotika Virdi. The Cinematic Imagination: Indian Popular Films as Social History. 2003.
Films
The Buddha of Suburbia. Hanif Kureishi. 1993.
Train to Pakistan. Pamela Rooks. 1998.
War and Peace. Anand Patwardhan. 2001.
Water. Deepa Mehta. 2005.
36 Chowringhee Lane. Aparna Sen. 1981.
Bandit Queen. Shekar Kapur. 1994.
English August. Dev Benegal. 1994.