SSI1 115  Imaging Blackness  The study of film is a key aspect
of visual rhetoric, a growing area of academic interest linking
film studies and rhetorical theory. This seminar focuses on the
study of popular visual images as public argument. Students
examine the political economy (ownership, production,
dissemination), engage in a textual/visual analysis (what
meanings are embedded), and examine audience reception of black
film (how do audiences understand and use these media images).
Students explore how these films function as public argument
advocating particular views of black identity while contesting
counter arguments as part of a larger agenda of promoting blacks
and shaping US public life. Affiliate department: African
American Studies.