TSL First Fridays: Dr. Tani Barlow on using films as instructional materials

Speaker: Dr. Tani Barlow, Professor of Humanities

Dr. Tani Barlow is the George and Nancy Rupp Professor of Humanities and Professor of History at Rice. Her research focus is Chinese intellectual and women’s history. She has authored three books, including In the Event of Women (Duke University Press,, 2018),  and has edited or co-edited nine more. Dr. Barlow was Inaugural Director of Rice’s Chao Center for Asian Studies, and is also a co-founder of the Chinese Commercial Advertising Archive.  Her most recently published articles include “What is the Problem? Digital Studies and Professional Historians, in Digital Humanities: Between Past, Present, and Future”, and “Commercial Advertising Art in Late 19th and early 20th Century China”.

This monthly event is part of a Teaching and Scholarly Learning series that will feature instructor successes and will be a place for anyone who is teaching to ask questions, give feedback, share success stories, and get advice. 

Date: November 5, 2021

Summary: Dr. Barlow spoke about her use of film in her teaching of HIST 218, including the inspiration behind this use, the challenges she overcame in developing the course, creating a digital film library for instruction, and the pedagogical aspects of using films as instructional materials for a history course.

From the Rice University course catalog:

HISTORY THROUGH FILM IN EAST AND NORTHEAST ASIA

Can we learn history by analyzing movies? Using documentary and feature films from Asian film culture’s beginnings, we view 19th-20th century Chinese, Japanese, and Korean history. Collective in-class film viewing, discussion and reading required.