ENVST 270 : Ecocinema

This course traces Ecocinema as an evolving field of environmental activism at a time when the threat of anthropocentric climate change has captured our global environmental consciousness. According to the Oxford Dictionary of Film, Ecocinema originated in the mid 1990s and “explores the historical, formal, political, and ethical aspects of the relationship between cinema, the natural world, and nonhuman animals.” How have wildlife and nature documentaries changed over time? How are documentaries different from fiction films or animated films in conveying environmental content? In this introductory-level course, students will be exposed to a multitude of environmental topics via engaging filmic content while also learning to critically analyze filmmakers’ intentions and to identify different filmmaking techniques and styles.