Cinema Beyond Borders

​​​Project Summary:

• In this program, students from Chicago and Spain worked together in small groups to understand cinema globally, both as a transnational system and as a repository of a rich, contradictory, and often conflictive global cultures. The groups had weekly discussions based on films made in the U.S., Spain, or trans-nationally. They also shared ideas through two synchronous meetings and a joint class. Discussions encouraged students to analyze the films’ topics, stories and styles, as well as how films relate to their context of production. Members of each group collaborated to submit a group’s statement that reflected their final discussion. They also submitted an individual final paper that was enhanced by previous discussions with their international partners.

Project Length:

• 6 Weeks

Technology Tools Used:

• D2L
• Zoom
• VoiceThread

Communication Type/ Interaction Mode:

• Synchronous
• Asynchronous

Learning Outcomes:

• Students analyzed formal and thematic elements of Spanish and U.S. films.
• Students compared and contrasted cross-cultural interpretations of specific films.
• Students identified traits of contemporary Spanish and U.S. film cultures as they relate to their specific historical contexts.
• Students wrote a final paper and a group statement based on a collaborative discussion with their international peers.
• Students a​ssessed the ebbs and flows of a global online work environment.

Reflection Component:

• Students were required to write a 1 page paper or record a 1-2 minute video to reflect upon the GLE component of the class.

Empathy Building Component:

• Video Introductions via VoiceThread, followed by synchronous Zoom meeting, which served as an icebreaker.

Luisela Alvaray

Institution: DePaul University
Discipline: Media and Cinema Studies
Course name: History of Cinema III, 1975-present

Celestino Deleyto

Institution: Universidad de Zaragoza
Discipline: English, Film Studies
Course name: Trends and Contexts of English-language Cinema 2