Course Description & Objectives

Traditional definitions of the documentary emphasise its association with the rationalist discourses of factuality, objectivity and empiricism. And yet, any casual survey of its history reveals that the genre is actually quite multi-faceted in its concerns and modes of address. Rather than attempt an historical overview of the documentary, this course aims to explore some of the crucial questions that have determined its various formal permutations over the past century.

• What distinguishes the documentary from narrative and experimental cinema? Conversely, how might these other genres intersect with the form?
• What are the responsibilities of the documentary filmmaker to his or her subjects?
• Should documentaries aspire towards objectivity and the pursuit of “truth?”
• Or, are documentaries the ideal means of self-expression and impassioned political rhetoric?
• How might the documentary contribute to the construction of a national identity?
• How might documentaries be used to represent the social and self-identities of various groups and individuals?

Through the close analysis of several landmark films, we will attempt to define the parameters of the form, and outline some of the basic ways in which the documentary interrogates, explores and engages with various public and private worlds.