Special Festival Minicourses

Special Festival Minicourses Open to Ithaca College Students

We Have Issues: Exploring the Larger Environmental Context behind Films
[ENVS 10300-01]
Explore the underlying environmental issues in five films from a scientific, cultural, ethical, historical, and political perspective. Emphasis will be placed on how environmental issues are portrayed in the films.  Susan Allan-Gil, associate professor; Rene Borgella, assistant professor; Jason Hamilton, associate professor; Nancy Jacobson, assistant professor; Lisa Paciulli, assistant professor; Michael Smith, assistant professor

Food, Politics, and Health
[HPS 39902-01]
Examine the relationships between the politics of food, the food industry, what we consume, and the public’s health. During FLEFF, students will be expected to attend a minimum of 10 films and events that focus on the issues in the course. Stewart Auyash, associate professor

Sustainability and Business Decision-Making
[BINT 1970-01]
While public policy makers may be viewed as stewards of environmental sustainability, we explore how the many day-to-day decisions made within the business world have profound consequences for the environment and the people who inhabit that environment. James Hagen, instructor

Understanding Documentaries: A Survey of FLEFF Films
[GCOM 29206-01]
This minicourse will enable nonfilm majors to see the festival’s films with a more informed perspective. The course will examine from both a practical and theoretical basis documentary making as a form of story telling. Students will examine their own experiences for content but will learn to think in visual terms and to examine how sound and lighting work in harmony while complementing the story line. Gossa Tsegaye, assistant professor

Water = Life
[GCOM 29207-01]
In this class, we will participate in FLEFF to explore questions such as Why do all ancient cultures have flood stories? Why is water an important part of many religious rituals? Why is water considered “blue gold” by many? This course will develop insight about this essential element and its sustainability from the perspectives of the arts, humanities, and sciences, with a focus on the global politics of drinking water. Mara Alper, associate professor

Playing God: Interactivity in Video Games and Film
[RLST 17700-01]
This course will look at how we interact with video games and film. We’ll ask questions about violence, ritual, how narratives work, and about how we learn through experience. We will explore who “plays God,” the filmmakers, the viewer, the video game designer, or the player? Students will be invited to play brief samples of a few games and also to apply their new skills of analysis to films and to consider how they derive meaning, “religious” or not. Rachel Wagner, assistant professor

Cultural Ecology
[MUNM 17100-01]
Examine the philosophical, sociological, and artistic issues surrounding the transmission and assimilation of cultures. Through the prisms of film, music, and dance, we will question the relationship between cultural diversity, sustainability, assimilation, artistic integrity, authenticity, novelty, and creativity. Peter Rothbart, professor