Blacks, Film, and Society
Studies interpretations of the African American past in theatrical films and television, their relation to popular culture images, and societal trends.
Summary
Past student reviews · Thulani Davis
One student described the class as consisting of lectures about movies assigned to watch outside of class, rather than in-class screenings.
What you’ll be able to do
Describe basic forms and uses of film, its early history both as entertainment and as a tool for documenting aspects of African American life.
Describe different kinds of films produced by African Americans in different periods with the constant innovations in film technology and changes in public events that were replicated in commercial films.
Demonstrate the necessary skills to write about visual imagery and narrative strategies in African American films, as well as some practice in personal critiques of the effectiveness of the works they have seen.
Conduct extensive archival research using the methodologies and practices by scholars of African American film.
Source: UW Guide
Grade history
↗All recorded terms · compare terms & instructors
Prerequisites
Course mapSophomore standing
- Sophomore standing
This is a best-effort interpretation; check the catalog requirements above.
Prerequisite text tree
- Sophomore standing
Professors
Spring 2027No instructors recorded for this selection.
Historical instructors & teaching patterns
THULANI DAVIS is recorded teaching in Spring 2015, Fall 2015, Fall 2017, Spring 2018, Fall 2018, Spring 2019, Fall 2020, Spring 2024. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.
Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.
Calendar & sections
Spring 2027Schedule loads here as you scroll.
| Section | Mode | Enrolled / capacity | Waitlist |
|---|
Times are Central. Select a meeting for details; export includes recorded dates for the selected sections.
Meeting source records
No records available.
Student experience
the class
Past student reviews · Thulani Davis
The course offered unique insights into Black film, though student feedback varied on the lecture style and clarity of grading.
Recent recorded grades — Spring 2019: 3.18 GPA, 50.0% A/AB (n=34 letter grades); Fall 2020: 3.36 GPA, 60.0% A/AB (n=25 letter grades); Spring 2024: 3.53 GPA, 83.3% A/AB (n=18 letter grades).
difficulty & workload
Past student reviews · Thulani Davis
One student described the class as consisting of lectures about movies assigned to watch outside of class, rather than in-class screenings.
Past student reviews · Thulani Davis
Opinions differed on the teaching quality, with one student finding the lectures boring and another finding the content interesting but the grading unclear.
Topics
- Interpretations of the African American past in theatrical films and television
- Relationship between film/TV representations and other images of blacks in popular culture
- Relationship between media representations and societal trends
- Films produced by African Americans across periods, film technology innovations, and public events
Skills
- Describing film forms, uses, and history; analyzing African American film production across periods
- Writing about visual imagery and narrative strategies; critiquing film effectiveness
- Conducting archival research using scholarly methodologies for African American film
Grades
Latest available · Spring 2024— not enough history to project Spring 2027.
Grade distribution · % of letter grades
Grades over time
Through Spring 2024
More grade details Grade mix, volume & source data
Not enough comparable courses for Spring 2027 in UW–Madison.
Sources & history
Catalog & offerings
Descriptions, prerequisites, and recorded course offerings.
Catalog observation history
Observations at scan time; dates do not imply when a catalog change took effect.
Selected offering source records
No offering records for the selected term.
Raw records
[]
Student reviews
Original comments behind the course and instructor summaries.
Read original reviews
Grade history
Recorded grade distributions by term, section, and instructor.
Explore recorded gradesRecorded 2026-10-14
Model outputs & technical records
LLM outputs across runs
Full model traces
Recorded model configuration, reasoning, and tool conversations.
Model & dataset provenance
{
"model": "Qwen/Qwen3.8-27B",
"model_revision": "1d4bf0f2ff6012fd82039f2fa52739d0dd7c60c0",
"task_version": "17",
"output_id": "07f8de95c75dba1c3906e3d20c70a0a64d4617a57409301f0dc735bc2b826414",
"requirements_status": "valid",
"dataset_revision": "fc1811fa52e581ea57a35c0cf3343f8740a8ffbf",
"observed_at": "2026-10-14 17:50:09.728220+00:00"
}