Reading & Composition

In this course we will examine how the interdisciplinarity of animation creates immersive worlds in which viewers participate through mediated multi-sensory stimulation from screens. A special focus of this course is on comparative animation cultures, which reflect the aesthetic, social, spiritual, and technological politics of each case study through the special conditions and techniques used in the animation. We will explore animation from Japan, China, Iran, Israel, and the United States.

The main methodology of the course with its emphasis on writing will involve "close readings" of each required animation or film. To do this, we will use specific theories from animation and media studies, along with specifically culture-based histories of theories and practices of media, sound, image, movement and character/narrative production. We will focus on concise description and application of theory to performance and media examples. We will development these skills through a variety of essay forms. These will include short descriptive and analytic essays, argument forms with supportive close readings, a collective critical essay, and a research essay. This is not a lecture course. Every class is a participatory learning experience, which requires individual and collective responsibility and risk taking.

Critical reading is central to this course. Everyone must read and prepare the articles assigned for each section or week. You must be prepared with examples from the texts and the animated films. Readings will sometimes be divided among small groups, who will have the responsibility to lead the discussion of the article and its application to animation examples. 

Course Objectives

1 To review and practice a variety of writing forms and styles, which can be applied to present and future academic work.

2 To engage in writing as a creative and critical process

3 To practice critical thinking in visual, performance, mediated, and textual contexts

4 To apply critical theory to an artwork and create an argument for your application of that theory.

4 To become aware of communication as an interdisciplinary and intercultural activity

5 To gain a greater knowledge of the significance of popular cultures and the significance of artistic interventions in a variety of cultural contexts and the intersectional relationship of popular culture, media, and politics

6 To create your own sense of how written, performed, and visual forms shape thought and behavior