All work in this class is conducted in French.

The history of cinema is usually narrated as a history of Great Men — from the Lumière brothers to Jean-Luc Godard to Quentin Tarantino. But some of the most original and enduring works of French-language cinema have been authored by women. In this course, we will study films by Agnès Varda, Chantal Akerman, Catherine Breillat, Claire Denis, Céline Sciamma, Mati Diop, and others, examining their distinctive contributions to the aesthetics and politics of cinema. These films span topics including gender relations, the family, sexuality, colonialism, and religion, and genres from experimental, to documentary, to narrative fiction. We will ask: in a collaborative medium like the cinema, what is an author? Is the so-called politique des auteurs (“auteur theory”) that has come to dominate accounts of French film history inherently masculinist? Is “women’s cinema” a coherent category, or do differences of gender and sexuality, as well as race, religion and culture attenuate its usefulness? What is a “woman” in this context? Alongside a weekly film screening, we will read works of feminist and queer theory that cast light on some of the questions they raise. Class discussions and most readings are in French.

Completion of FR102, Placement Exam, or Native Language Fluency Required for Enrollment. MUST HAVE TAKEN FRENCH 4 AT UC BERKELEY OR A FRENCH DEPARTMENT PLACEMENT TEST - For placement testing, please contact vrodic@berkeley.edu.