EALC 398/550
Artificial intelligence is transforming how images are made, circulated, and understood. But what if cinema has been teaching machines how to see, listen, and feel all along, and learning from machines in return? This interdisciplinary course explores the intertwined histories of cinema, machines, and AI through the lens of Global Asian media cultures. Centering the Chinese-speaking world and the broader Asia-Pacific as sites of technological innovation, knowledge production, and critical imagination, we examine how cinema and machines have shaped one another across time and cultures.
Drawing on film and media studies, Global Asian studies, critical AI studies, and science and technology studies, the course addresses topics including machine vision, automation, surveillance, labor, techno-orientalism, algorithmic policing, AI-generated art, and emerging forms of AI filmmaking. Through films, contemporary artworks, critical readings, and hands-on AI experimentation, students consider the evolving relationships between moving images and intelligent technologies—and the urgent political, aesthetic, and ethical questions they raise. Designed for upper-level undergraduate and graduate students, the course invites students to develop their own critical and creative approaches to AI and moving-image media. Students will complete an original research paper or a research-based creative project tailored to their own interests and research agendas.
Term: Spring 2027
Instructor: Belinda He
Credit: 3 hours
Prerequisite: Junior standing.
EALC 398/550: Cinema and Machines in the Age of A.I.: Asian Intelligence