Ithaca College

Seven pass/fail mini courses connected to FLEFF just announced. Courses begin after spring break. Students can sign up for these one credit liberal arts courses on Homer. Courses are offered by faculty from all schools. Courses are listed on Homer under IISP (Interdisciplinary Studies Program) and also cross listed in each school.

Checkpoints:  Markets, Crisis, Disaster

Examines how various economic and financial controversies have been portrayed in popular and documentary films. Students will explore such topics as the Enron fiasco, the Great Depression, and more recently the collapse of the banking industry and the housing market. Students will use their knowledge to analyze and compare FLEFF 2011 films. 1 cr. LA John McKinley, Thursday 6-7:15 pm.  [IISP 10100-01] CRN 43199

Too Late to Stop Now:  Tipping Points 

The tipping point is the moment of critical mass, the threshold, the boiling point.  It is the moment when protests become revolutions, popular you-tube videos become viral, and deforesting becomes devastating.  We will consider the forces that bring about tipping points, including the power of individuals to fuel and/or restrain such moments.  Topics will be determined by students’ interests. Our only constraint is that we be informed by our reading of Malcolm Gladwell’s, The Tipping Point, and our participation in FLEFF events and screenings. 1 cr. LA Professor Jodi Cohen, Communication Studies, Thursdays 12:15-1:30 pm [IISP 10100-02] CRN 43200

Checkpoint: Can Games Change the World

Can games make the world better? Can they encourage cooperation, problem-solving, and altruism in ways that affect ordinary lives and address social and economic problems? In this mini-course, we’ll read Jane McGonigal’s new book Reality is Broken and engage her thesis that games can change the world for good.  We will play a “checkpoints” game and decide if simulations can teach us something about the real world and the problems associated with a utopian vision. Students will attend several FLEFF films and examine how the "rules" at work in real-life social situations challenge the thesis that games can teach us how to change the world. 1 cr. LA Rachel Wagner, Assistant Professor, Philosophy and Religion, MW 4-6 pm [IISP 10100-03] CRN 43201

Garbage, Oil, and Other Dirty Stuff: Environment, Commodities, and Film in the Americas

The course will treat two themes: human and natural agency as portrayed in films & the history of "environmental films" in the Americas. 1 cr. LA Associate Professor Jonathan Ablard, History and Assistant Professor Michael Smith, History MW 2:00 pm-2:50 pm [IISP 10100-04] CRN 43202

Tying Story to Environment: the Checkpoint as Drama 
A river forces its way through rock.  A four lane highway chokes down to one. A huge line forms at airport security.  Checkpoints occur in both the natural and man-made world.  Where pressure builds, drama will soon follow. This mini-course examines the recurring theme of a checkpoint as a source of drama film.  We will analyze FLEFF screenings, plus classic recent indie and Hollywood features where the narrative is tied directly to a specific environment; physical, political and otherwise.   1 cr. LA Andy Watts, lecturer, Cinema, Photography, and Media Arts M 6-8:30 pm [IISP 10100-05] CRN 43203 [GCOM 10200-01]

Cultural Ecology 

Examines the philosophic, sociological and artistic issues surrounding the transmission and assimilation of cultures. Through the prisms of film, music and dance, we will question the relationship between cultural diversity, sustainability, assimilation, artistic integrity, authenticity & creativity. 1 cr. LA  Professor Peter Rothbart, Music, Theory, History, and Composition Fridays 1:00-1:50 Whalen Room 2330. [IISP 10100-06 or MUNM 25200 – 01] CRN 43204

Public Health, Media, & Lifestyle
Explores the foundations and applications of public health through readings and the films and events of FLEFF.  Students will explore the role of media in generating ideas, propagating myths, and influencing decisions about health. Students will attend films and participate in FLEFF events during the Festival week. 1 cr. LA Associate Professor Stewart Auyash, Health Promotion and Physical Education W 4-5:15 Hill 54. IISP 10100-07 CRN 43205 or HLTH 39901-01 CRN 42735

* For additional mini course information contact Warren Schlesinger, FLEFF mini course coordinator [warren@ithaca.edu]. All mini courses are pass/fail and one credit.