FRS 002W - Sec. 001 - (2 units) - CRN 93106 - R 2:10 – 4:00 pm - 175A Phy/Geo - Durrell Room

Campus Community Book Project Seminar: Mahatma Gandhi in Context Through Film

Instructor: Kenneth Verosub, Geology, College of Letters and Science

Description: This year's community book project focuses on the philosophical writings of Mahatma Gandhi. But how much do incoming students know about Gandhi, who lived and died before they and in most cases their parents were born? More importantly, how much do they understand about the political and social context in which Gandhi lived and worked? This seminar will use films to provide students with a better understanding of Gandhi, his life and his times. In order to establish an initial frame of reference, we will begin by viewing the award-winning 1982 biography Gandhi, directed by Richard Attenborough. We will then look at Hollywood representations of the British experience in India, ranging from the sensitive (A Passage to India) to the insensitive (Gunga Din). Other more informed films about India, such as those of Ismail Merchant and James Ivory, will then be used to learn about social conditions in India prior to and during the Second World War and about the turbulent events leading up to the partitioning of India and Pakistan, the granting of Indian independence and finally the assassination of Gandhi. At the end of the course, we will re-view Gandhi to evaluate both its accuracy and its relevance to modern times.

Format: The primary goal for student learning will be to demonstrate that films, which students have probably only considered as a means of entertainment, can be the subject of serious discourse and analysis. A secondary goal will be to show students how films can be used to influence our perception of events and individuals. Both of these goals will help awaken in first-year students an understanding of the possibilities inherent in looking critically and analytically at the world around them. The class will be taught as an informal discussion. At times the instructor will lead the discussion; at other times, the students will lead or will make more formal presentations. Viewing of films will take place, for the most part, outside of class. Class time will be spent discussing short clips that will be shown in class. Students will be expected to view at least one full-length film before each meeting of the class and to prepare for a discussion about it. They will also be expected to illustrate the points they make in class by showing short clips from the film. For this reason, access to a DVD player is useful, but not required. (Prior reading of the community book Gandhi's Way is NOT a prerequisite for the course.) Grading: Two-thirds of the grade will be based on the extent and quality of participation in the class discussions using a set of rubrics that will be distributed to students at the beginning of the course. The other third of the grade will be based on the quality of an oral audio-visual presentation that each student will be required to make at the end of the seminar.

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