SSP-100 (001) Africa Through Its Changing Cinema

Hédi Jaouad, Professor of French

In this seminar, we explore through film and other visual documents the causes and effects of colonialism on the African people, their society, and their culture. The colonial experience, in all its political and psychological aspects, provides a historical, economic, social, and aesthetic context in which to study and understand African film. Although our main focus is Sub-Saharan Africa from the Second World War to the present, we will refer, whenever pertinent, to the North African filmmaking experience in our discussions. We will examine the practice of filmmaking in Africa, the forces that shape this practice, and strategies of reading this creative medium.