Freshman and Sophomore Programs

Celluloid America: Explorations in Film and History Instructor(s): James Campbell Prerequisites: None
In this course, we will explore the history and culture of the United States through film, examining both the history of this quintessentially American medium and the ways in which American history has been represented in movies. Topics include the invention of moving picture technology, the creation of cinema “language,” the rise and fall of the Hollywood studio system, the emergence and evolution of film genres (westerns, romantic comedies, film noir, science fiction, Blaxploitation, etc.), the quest for overseas markets for American movies, race and film, and the future of movies in the digital age. Among the films we will be discussing are Birth of a Nation, The Jazz Singer, Stagecoach, It Happened One Night, Citizen Kane, Casablanca, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, American Graffiti, Superfly, Taxi Driver, Bladerunner, Unforgiven, Bamboozled, Saving Private Ryan, Children of Men, and In the Valley of Elah. The course will include daily readings and discussions as well as a number of required screenings. In addition, students will complete short research projects on topics of their own choosing

James Campbell received his B.A. from Yale University and his Ph.D. from Stanford. He taught at Northwestern University, Brown University, and the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa, before returning to Stanford in 2008 to take up a position as the Edgar E. Robinson Professor in United States History. His research interests include African American history, history and memory, and the history of American popular culture, particularly in regard to issues of race. His publications include Race, Nation and Empire in American History (co-edited with colleagues Robert Lee and Matthew Guterl), Songs of Zion: The African Methodist Episcopal Church in the United States and South Africa, and Middle Passages: African American Journeys to Africa, 1787-2005, which was a finalist for the 2007 Pulitzer Prize in History.