FS 006 PZ -Environmental Documentaries: Controversy, Evidence, Persuasion, & Critical Analysis

Institution: Pitzer

Description: This course introduces students to environmental controversies and the intercultural and social justice issues surrounding them through their documentation in film. Through class discussion and writing assignments, we will analyze methods of persuasion and types of evidence these documentaries use to examine how effective films are at conveying messages and inciting viewers to action. Readings range from excerpts from Aristotle’s Rhetoric to popular blogs on persuasive writing to scholarly materials that provide background, additional evidence, and counter-arguments on the subjects of the documentaries. Topics include petroleum and environmental justice in the Amazon, Niger Delta, and Louisiana, water and food, and the exploitation of rare species.

Prerequisite(s): None

First-Year seminars are not listed on the course schedule. Incoming students will be assigned to a first-year seminar and registered automatically.