CITY COLLEGE OF SAN FRANCISCO

Cinema Department

Fall 2025

Instructor: Kevin Sherman

Time: Online Course/Canvas

Email: Canvas Inbox or ksherman@ccsf.edu

RAM ID Portal

Canvas Support Hotline (833) 249-3993 available 24/7

Cinema Department Website

Course Description

Exploration of the distinctive qualities of documentary film and how visual rhetoric shapes sociopolitical landscapes. Learn about how the aesthetics and structure of documentary films affect considerations of ethics, point of view, and persuasion. Topics of study include the voice of documentary, documentary modes, the influence of social media, cultural and national representation in documentary, and digital technology in the context of nonfiction.

Films

All films for the class will be embedded in Canvas via streaming resources provided by the CCSF Library. Once you use your RAM ID to access Canvas you will be able to stream the films directly in each Module. You do not need to rent or purchase films for this class.

Cinema Research Guide for CCSF Libraries

Succeeding in Online Classes

Required Text

 Introduction to Documentary (4th Edition) by Bill Nichols with Jaimie Baron

The textbook is available as a free e-book via the CCSF Library

Student Learning Outcomes

*Explain how people in diverse cultures have produced culturally significant documentaries that promote social awareness

*Analyze the social and historical contexts of documentary film in meaningful ways

*Evaluate how the aesthetics and structure of documentary films affect ethics, point of view, and persuasion in visual representation

Course Schedule

Introduction

Definitions of Documentary

READING:

Nichols, “How Can We Define Documentary Film?” (pp. 7-22)

SCREENING:

Time (Garrett Bradley, 2020)

Documentary Elements

READING:

Nichols, “What are the Constituent Elements of Documentary Film?” (pp. 23-39)

SCREENING:

Flee (Jonas Poher Rasmussen, 2021)

The Ethical Issues of Documentary

READING:

Nichols, “What Ethical Issues Arise in Documentary Filmmaking?” (pp. 40-57)

SCREENING:

The Act of Killing (Joshua Oppenheimer with Christine Cynn, 2012)

Documentary Voice

READING:

Nichols, “What Characterizes the Voice of Documentary and Its Relation to Storytelling?” (pp. 58-73)

SCREENING:

Yours in Sisterhood (Irene Lusztig, 2018)

What Makes Documentaries Engaging and Persuasive?

READING:

Nichols, “What Are The Rhetorical and Poetic Contributions to Documentary?” (pp. 74-95)

SCREENING:

The Thin Blue Line (Errol Morris, 1988)

Representing the Past

READING:

Nichols, “How Has Documentary Represented the Past” (pp. 114-127)

SCREENING:

Shirkers (Sandi Tan, 2018)

Documentary Modes: Expository

READING:

Nichols, “What are the Expository and Performative Modes of Documentary?” (pp. 128-144)

SCREENING:

Room 237 (Rodney Ascher, 2012)

Midterm

Documentary Modes: Performative

READING:

Nichols, “What are the Expository and Performative Modes of Documentary?” (pp. 144-152)

SCREENING:

Four Daughters (Kaouther Ben Hania, 2023)

Documentary Modes: Observational

READING:

Nichols, “What are the Observational and Participatory Modes of Documentary?” (pp. 153-159)

SCREENING:

Honeyland (Tamara Kotevska & Ljubomir Stefanov, 2019)

Documentary Modes: Participatory

READING:

Nichols, “What are the Observational and Participatory Modes of Documentary?” (pp. 159-173)

SCREENING:

Time Indefinite (Ross McElwee, 1993)

Documentary Modes: Poetic

READING:

Nichols, “What are the Poetic and Reflexive Modes of Documentary?” (pp. 174-180)

SCREENING:

Koyaanisqatsi (Godfrey Reggio, 1982)

Documentary Modes: Reflexive

READING:

Nichols, “What are the Poetic and Reflexive Modes of Documentary?” (pp. 181-190)

SCREENING:

Cameraperson (Kirsten Johnson, 2016)

The Nation-State and Documentary

READING:

Nichols, “How Did the Nation-State Affect Documentary's Approach to Social Issues?” (pp. 191-207)

SCREENING:

Welcome to Chechnya (David France, 2020)

Political and Social Issues in Documentary

READING:

Nichols, “How Have Documentaries Responded to Identity Politics and Social Issues?” (pp. 208-231)

SCREENING:

iHuman (Tonje Hessen Schei, 2019)

Final

Add Policy

Before the class begins: Once the class is full, students are able to request placement on the wait list before the class begins. The wait list has ten spots. If a spot opens up in the class before it begins, the registration system will contact the first person on the wait list via CCSF email to offer them the spot. Wait list students are given a window of time (24 hours) to add the class before their spot is offered to the next student on the wait list. You must check your CCSF email every day. If you are offered a spot in the class and you miss your window, you will be removed from the wait list and your spot will be offered to the next student on the list.

After the class begins: Once the class has begun, the wait list is no longer valid. After the course has begun, all students who were previously on the wait list need to add themselves to the “Class Add Request” list ASAP. Any student can add themselves to the “Class Add Request” list. If there are any open spots in the class after it begins, I will authorize adds for as many spots that are available from the “Class Add Request” list in numerical order on the first day of class and throughout the first few days of the course. You must check your CCSF email every day. If you are offered a spot in the class and you miss your window, you will be removed from the “Class Add Request” list and your spot will be offered to the next student on the list.

IMPORTANT: I will not add any students to the class after the first week. I cannot give extensions on assignments due at the end of Week 1 for students adding the class late in Week 1. As soon as the class enters Week 2, the roster is set, and the class moves forward.

Placement on the wait list or “Class Add Request” list does not guarantee a spot in the class. Please continue to look for other open CCSF classes and assume that you will not get into the class. IMPORTANT: The registration system might indicate that spots are open in the class when in fact those spots are waiting to be claimed by those on the wait list or “Class Add Request” list. Please do not email me about adding the class. Registration will contact you via CCSF email if any spots are available. Thank you.

Attendance

Students must login and complete work on Canvas in order to stay in the class. Students who do not complete all work (both discussion post assignments and quiz in Module 1 & 2) from the first week by Sunday, September 7 at 11:59pm may be dropped from the class. Students who do not complete two consecutive discussion assignments (both the initial post and response post) and do not communicate with me may be dropped from the class. Any student who falls below a 60% (total grade) at any point before the Last Day to Drop With 'W' deadline and does not communicate with me may be dropped from the class. I will maintain grade book records via Canvas.

Please see the City College of San Francisco's standards for Substantive Interaction for Distance Learning Courses for information about requirements as described in California Code of Regulations, Title 5: Education, under Chapter 6, Article 1 on Distance Education.  

Online and Hybrid Courses: Substantive participation is considered necessary for normal progress in an online or hybrid class. Therefore, a student taking an outline or hybrid course must participate in the class during the first week, and regularly participate throughout the term according to the requirements listed on the instructor's syllabus. Otherwise, the student may be dropped by the instructor as stated in AR 5075 Course Adds, Drops, and Withdrawals or as stated on the instructor's syllabus. Faculty will define required participation in the syllabus for an online or hybrid course and will determine the consequences of a lack of participation.

Completing quizzes or tests is not considered substantive interaction to satisfy attendance in this class. You must complete both the initial post and response post in each discussion assignment to meet the standards of 'instructor-to-student contact' and 'student-to-student contact' as outlined in CCSF's Substantive Interaction for Distance Learning Courses. Completing the response post and refraining from completing the initial post in each discussion assignment does not satisfy the attendance requirement in this class.

I will make my best effort to contact students at least once before dropping them from the course, but keep in mind I typically have hundreds of students per semester. Students are responsible for withdrawing from the course before the posted deadlines (see "Important Dates"). Keep in mind that I must report accurate census reports for all my classes after the first three full weeks of instruction. I also must report accurate records of midterm and final grades. Failure to do so may result in several consequences for CCSF, myself, and my students: the most serious accusation being involvement with financial aid fraud. I will contact students via Canvas Inbox. Please make sure that you check your Canvas Inbox or link Canvas messaging to your CCSF email or preferred email address.

Important Dates

Day Class Begins: September 2

Last Day to Drop Class for 100% Refund: September 11

Last Day to Add: September 19

Last Day to Drop Without 'W': September 19

Last Day to Drop With 'W': November 20

Last Day to Elect C/NC: November 20

Day Class Ends: December 19

Grades Available via myRAM Portal: January 8

Assignments

The class opens at 8am on Tuesday, September 2 and consists of 17 Modules. We cover all 17 Modules in 16 weeks. The class covers one Module each week except for the first week when we cover two Modules (Modules 1 & 2). You will be able to read material, watch films, and complete assignments for each week beginning each Monday at 8am. Assignments opened on Mondays at 8am must be completed by 11:59pm the following Sunday. Most Modules will require completion of a discussion post, response post, and quiz.

The class requires a minimum of about 6-8 hours of work per week. You will fall behind if you do not plan ahead and complete the work throughout each week. You will have a more difficult time watching feature films, completing the reading (and taking quizzes on the reading) and writing a discussion post/response post for each Module if you wait until the weekend to complete the work. Discussion assignments make up most of the final grade and they require time to receive full points.

This course is not self-paced. I cannot open Modules before their scheduled time to accommodate travel plans, vacation, working ahead of schedule etc. Each week, Modules will open with assignments that have posted due dates.

Each Module page contains the most relevant information from our textbook. I have created hundreds of clips to visually show you most of the films covered in reading. I have also embedded tutorials and short documentaries in the Modules when appropriate.

Discussions

All students will be separated into two discussion groups for each discussion assignment. The discussion groups allow you to engage with fewer posts in more detail each week. The people in your discussion group may change as I try to maintain even numbers in each group as the semester progresses. When you enter a discussion assignment, your discussion group will be visible to you at the top of the page.

I have provided detailed grading rubrics in each discussion assignment that outline how posts are graded. The discussions are graded from 0 points to 3 points. You must meet word count requirements, include embedded media (image/YouTube clip) in your initial post, and respond to at least one classmate to earn full points for each discussion assignment.

Quizzes

All quizzes contain five questions. There is no time limit for each quiz, but you are only allowed one submission. Some questions will present you with images from the clips in the Modules and ask you to identify the film the image is from. Other questions will present a shot from the Discussion film in the Module and ask you to describe events or identify characters in relationship to that shot. IMPORTANT: You must watch the feature film in each Module carefully: take notes on character names, relationships between people, pivotal scenes, and events in the film etc. The quizzes are designed to give easy points to those who navigate the Modules and watch the film each week. Questions are marked correct or incorrect (no partial credit).

All correct answers to the film identification questions are on the Summaries on the last page of each Module. If a possible answer does not appear on a Summary, then it cannot be an answer that will be marked as correct. I grade every quiz individually. No auto-grading in my classes. Several people get 100% on all the quizzes every term. You just have to spent the 6-8 hours per week with the material.

I will grade the quizzes as soon as I can after the deadline. Correct answers will not be revealed to you until I grade your quiz. Please take quizzes via an Ethernet (or Wi-Fi) connected computer (desktop/laptop). Do not take quizzes using the Canvas Student app for iOS or Android; there are many problems each semester with the compatibility of the Canvas Student app with quizzes/tests. You have one attempt for each quiz in the course.  

Midterm

The midterm consists of 25 questions that ask you to identify films that are illustrated by single images (much like the questions in each weekly quiz). All images will come from the clips in the Modules. IMPORTANT: You must study and watch every film clip listed on the midterm study guide to pass the midterm (i.e. the films listed under FILMS in each section of the midterm study guide). You will have 60 minutes to complete the midterm. The midterm covers Modules 2-8. All correct answers to the midterm are on the midterm study guide. If a possible answer does not appear on the study guide, then it cannot be an answer that will be marked as correct.

I will grade your midterm as soon as I can after the deadline. Correct answers will not be revealed to you until I grade your midterm. Please take the midterm via an Ethernet (or Wi-Fi) connected computer (desktop/laptop). Do not take the midterm using the Canvas Student app for iOS or Android; there are many problems each semester with the compatibility of the Canvas Student app with quizzes/tests. I cannot reschedule the midterm. You have one attempt to take the midterm.

Final

The final consists of 25 questions that ask you to identify terms that are illustrated by single images (much like the questions in each weekly quiz). All images will come from the clips in the Modules. IMPORTANT: You must study and watch every film clip listed on the final study guide to pass the final (i.e. the films listed under FILMS in each section of the final study guide). You will have 60 minutes to complete the final. The final covers Modules 10-16. All correct answers to the final are on the final study guide. If a possible answer does not appear on the study guide, then it cannot be an answer that will be marked as correct.

I will grade your final as soon as I can after the deadline. Correct answers will not be revealed to you until I grade your final. Please take the final via an Ethernet (or Wi-Fi) connected computer (desktop/laptop). Do not take the final using the Canvas Student app for iOS or Android; there are many problems each semester with the compatibility of the Canvas Student app with quizzes/tests. I cannot reschedule the final. You have one attempt to take the final.

Grading

 Discussion Posts & Response Posts (60% of Final Grade - /45)      

Quizzes (20% of Final Grade - /70)

Midterm (10% of Final Grade - /100)

 Final (10% of Final Grade - /100)

Late assignments cannot be accepted except in severe circumstances. Also, please keep an eye on the “Announcements” link on the left side of the course homepage. Recent Announcements will also appear on the course home page. 

Final Grades 

100-90 = A

89-80 = B

79-70 = C

69-60 = D

< 59   = F  

Standards of Conduct

Students who register in CCSF classes are required to abide by the CCSF Student Code of Conduct. Violation of the code is basis for referral to the Student Conduct Coordinator or dismissal from class or from the College. See the Office of Student Affairs.

Collaborating on or copying of tests or homework in whole or in part will be considered an act of academic dishonesty and result in a grade of 0 for that test or assignment. I encourage students to share information and ideas, but not their work. 

PLAGIARISM = copying/citing the words, images, videos, or ideas of others without giving them credit.

DSPS Accommodations

Disabled Students Programs & Services

If you need classroom or testing accommodations because of a disability, or have emergency medical information to share with me, or need special arrangements, please make an appointment with me as soon as possible.

Students seeking disability related accommodations are encouraged to also register with Disabled Students Programs and Services located in Room 323 of the Rosenberg Library (415) 452-5481. Please see the DSPS website for more information and alternate locations.