Topic for Spring 2022: Andrei Tarkovsky and Soviet Culture
This class will explore the feature films and theoretical writings of Andrei Tarkovsky. We will situate these works in the context of late Soviet culture from the end of Stalinism through the period of the Thaw and Brezhnev's stagnation. Discussion and readings will address the historical context of Tarkovsky's work. Students will explore his cinematic, poetic, and narrative techniques. We will also investigate Tarkovsky's philosophical aspirations as a Soviet, and therefore global, filmmaker. Students will do daily short writing assignments as well as longer analytical essays.