FRS 002KK — Sec. 001 — (2 unit) — CRN 53467 — T 3:10-5:00 PM — 175A Physics/Geology (Durrell Room)
The Archaeology of Technology in Film

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

Description: Films provide a great deal of information about the society that created them. This seminar will focus on what films can tell us about our views of technology and about the changing nature of our relationship to it. We will begin by looking at "advanced" technology as portrayed in early James Bond films and compare that with what we now regard as conventional technology. We then will look at older films (such as, Metropolis by Fritz Lang or Modern Times by Charlie Chaplin) and will discuss how these darker visions of technology might have influenced other aspects of our culture, then and now. We will also look at technology as portrayed in modern films, such as Men in Black or The Matrix, with the goal of determining how we presently view our relationship to technology. As a final exercise, students will be asked to consider how remakes of movie classics, such as Casablanca or North-by-Northwest, would have to be changed in order to accommodate modern technology. 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 would be to show students that they have a complex and changing relationship to technology, which has probably only existed for them as a backdrop to other activities. 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.

Format: 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. Grading: Two-thirds of the grade will be based on the extent and quality of participation in the class discussions. 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.

About the Instructor: Ken Verosub is a professor in the Geology Department and director of the campus-wide Davis Honors Challenge. In his research he uses the magnetic properties of sediments and soils as tracers of paloeclimatic and other environmental processes. He has been a strong supporter of the Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts and also describes himself as a "closet archaeologist." He views this seminar as a wonderful way to combine his interest in science and technology with his interest in the arts and archaeology.