I do wish AssDeans would migrate to Bsky.

Exactly

I’ve just finished giving an assignment to my methods class that requires them to contend with a theoretical piece about film and history, choose a film from a list I provide, & create an annotated biblio of primary and secondary sources that could be used to “check” against the film. Happy 2 share.

Yes, been suspecting this for years

Ya think we don't know? It was heartening that every student in my freshman historical methods course was appalled by this student. They all agreed that the student's writing was atrocious & that this was a setup. They kept coming back to the idea that this student didn't cite any sources.

Good point!

8/I realize this list could become gargantuan, but perhaps if you say why you think the film might work for the purposes I've outlined above, I could narrow down the field. Thank you all in advance.

7/The films can also be historical documentaries. Here's a list I've generated thus far, in no particular order: Killers of the Flower Moon; Gangs of New York; Lincoln; Schindler's List; Marie Antoinette; The Battle of Algiers; The Nasty Girl; Michael Collins; Land and Freedom; Reds.

6/can find in English in a decent research library. Our library has some excellent special collections in Native American history, history of the West, and the hist. of science. So, film titles pertaining to those subjects are welcome. I would also like to see films about non-US, non-Euro history.

5/Then they could make some kind of value judgment about the film's rendering of history. So, what would I like from you? Suggestions for films that would serve such purposes for English-speaking students (subtitled films are also fine). They would also need to lend themselves to sources students...

4/ So, for example, if they were to choose *Napoleon,* they would need to create a biblio. with secondary sources on Napoleon and the FR and some primary sources, e.g. memoirs, maps, that could help them both contextualize the film's historical content and understand how film constructs history.

3/ I would like them to choose a film from a list I provide to construct an annotated biblio. about the particular historical event, movement, or person the film portrays. They would also write a short essay that uses Rosenstone's criteria to judge the film's utility for historical understanding.

2/This year I've decided to have them find traditional historical sources that could help them analyze and contextualize historical films. At the beginning of the semester I had them read Robert Rosenstone's theoretical essay, "The Historical Film: Looking at the Past in a in a Postliterate Age."