This course introduces students to the subject of eco-cinema within the emerging field of environmental humanities. Students will learn about the foundations of eco-cinema and ecocriticism theories, as well as appreciation and critical analysis of representative eco-cinema works. These works will be contextualised within the historical, cultural, and political development of both local and international societies.
A special focus will be given to contemporary urban practices and current academic works on Chinese environmental humanities. This course will approach eco-cinema as a holistic, material, and open category, engaging with ecological issues through the medium of film (from analogue to digital) and its actors (from commercial production to grassroot video works). The course will also consider the more-than-human assemblage, encompassing nonhuman agency and cinema’s mechanical, vegetal, and animistic components and traditions beyond a singular green agenda.
Lectureswill ground students’ understanding in key ecocriticism concepts such as the Anthropocene, natureculture, and more-than-human perspectives. Students will also reflect on eco-cinema’s intersectionality with gender politics, environmental justice and care ethics.
In parallel with theoretical knowledge, students will engage with creative and sustainable practices imbued with environmental care through screenings, presentations, fieldwork, and film workshops involving local sustainable communities such as urban farming and eco-art collectives. Towards the end of the course, students will each produce a short film with ecological subjects to consolidate their knowledge.