HIST 20205 - History Through Film

Course Credit: 0.25
HISTORY THROUGH FILM If, as the old saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words, then is a film about a historical event the equivalent of reading a whole library about it? Can you learn “real history” from a Hollywood blockbuster? What are some of the ways feature films on historical events enhance or undermine our understanding of those events? How can we as moviegoers learn to watch feature films as critical historians? This workshop will introduce students to the pros and cons, as historians see them, of presenting history through feature films. The films we watch will all relate to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This course will count as the required prerequisite for participation in the winter break 2015-16 Wooster In Israel and Palestine program for students who have not completed HIST 22800.