Last Updated: Mon, 01/05/2026
Syllabus
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General Class Information
Academic year:
2026
Semester:
Spring
Course prefix:
CP
Course number:
4040
Section:
NG
CRN
31603
Instructor first name:
Emily
Instructor last name:
Lasser (Smith)
Catalog Description

The "Cinema and City" course explores how cinema uses the urban scene as a landscape of the imagination. The assumption underlying this effort is that films help structure our understanding of urban affairs, influence public perception, and reflect our collective societal attitudes toward city life. Movies can tell us much about our urban pasts, presents, and futures and provide insights into our collective hopes, fears, fantasies, and phobias. The course focuses on a number of complementary and competing images of our cities in cinema over the last century.