EDU 131 - Schools, Cinema, and American Culture

This course explores how “school films” have become authoritative texts on what counts as good education.  We will examine how students, educators, and school communities are represented in film, particularly in regard to race, nation, class, gender, sexuality, and disability.  We will interrogate implicit assumptions and hidden messages in cinematic portrayals of school life with a focus on teachers’ lives, work and careers.  We will re-imagine the cinematic role in shaping educational practices, policies, and law.  Students will write analytical papers and complete a major research project.

Students entering 2012 and after: satisfies the Liberal Studies distribution requirement.