Ithaca College

Earn 1-2 credits by enrolling in mini courses connected to the Finger Lakes Environmental Film Festival. In these courses you will attend films, meet guest speakers and attend other events connected to the Festival.

Finger Lakes Environmental Film Festival Mini Courses*

Beyond Microtopias: Making Change from the Local to the Global

This course will explore how people working for change work individually, locally, or in mass global movements. French art critic Nicolas Bourriaud helped focus ideas about the value of microtopias, saying, “It seems more pressing to invent possible relations with our neighbors in the present than to bet on happier tomorrows.” We’ll begin by asking, “Who are our neighbors in a globalized world?” We’ll ask what we can learn from Foucault’s call for a society with multiple “heterotopias”--complex spaces that link the imaginary with the space in which we live. Through short readings and film screenings we’ll look at how people work to re-imagine and reform their worlds.

1 cr. LA Asst. Prof. Catherine Taylor, Writing, see HOMER for meeting times. [IISP 10100-01] CRN 43002

Utopias, Dystopias, and Microtopias

Through readings and FLEFF films we will address the subject of utopias, dystopias and microtopias. If the Greek root, “topia” can be understood to mean ‘landscape’ or ‘place,’ then we will interrogate how small communities, particularly migrants traveling from one homeland to another, perceive various socio-politico-legal communities, repressive, police states as well as the migrant's place within these states. We will examine the underlying causes of migration from perceived dystopias to perceived utopias and the ways in which migrants come to negotiate hybrid identities within ever-changing socio-politico-legal landscapes.

1 cr. LA Assoc. Prof. Maria DiFrancesco 1-1:50pm MWF Smiddy 112 Block II[IISP 10100-02] CRN 4343003

Seeking Sustainable Relationships Under War and Occupation
This course will offer students an opportunity to study how films involving environmental issues under the constraints of war and occupation have born witness to repeated attempts to form sustainable communities in unstable conditions. The class will discuss a few common readings about documentary films and contemporary environmental issues in Palestine. The course culminates in final group presentations, for which students will interview film makers of the Palestinian documentaries featured at FLEFF.

1 cr. LA Assoc. Prof. Beth Harris, Block II 4 - 5:15 pm MW Friends Hall 209. [IISP 10100-03] CRN 43004

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 Rothbart, Music, 2:05 pm - 2:55 pm Tues. Whalen Center 2201. [IISP 10100-04 or MUNM 25200 – 01] CRN 43005

Healthutopias: Fantasy or Reality?
Remember Ponce de Leon’s 16th century search for the “Fountain of Youth” in Florida to restore health? The search, however, is not over. This mini-course explores modern developments in the search for utopias promising longevity, quality of life, and good health. Is it in our food, physical activity, mind or brain? Maybe we can find a pill or herbal remedy? We explore these questions and a range of theories and practices that claim healthutopias.

1 cr. LA Assoc. Prof. Stewart Auyash, Block II 4- 5:15 pm Tues. Friends Hall 203. IISP 10100-05 CRN 43006

Microtopian Business

This course will take a critical perspective through readings and film about the characteristics and attributes of a successful business enterprise and the environment which supports that success. Issues being discussed in the Occupy Wall Street Movement will also be discussed and evaluated relative to films shown in class and during the Festival.1.5 cr. NLA Asst. Prof. John McKinley Block II 12-12:50 pm MWF BUS 202 ACCT 10301-01 CRN 43563

The Eschatology of Microtopias

Students will read relevant journalism & attend FLEFF films to explore microtopias. Microtopias can be understood as a reaction to the overwhelming pressures of mass society and modernity. It is the utopian drive in a dystopian present and can take on many forms, from farmer’s collectives to communal living, from micro-economies to cult-like communities. We will investigate how our understanding of microtopias is determined by the media. 2 cr. Asst. Prof Todd Schack [Search on Homer or contact Prof. Schack]

* For additional mini course information contact Warren Schlesinger, [warren@ithaca.edu].