Interview with Professor Kass Banning
Interview with Professor Kass Banning:
Conducted by Naz Cokisler
NC: Hello, my name is Naz. I’m a third-year student at the University of Toronto, double majoring in Cinema and Italian Studies with a minor in Italian Communication and Culture. I’m also a past Summer Abroad participant. I had the pleasure of studying Modern Italian Culture in Siena, Italy last summer. I now work as a Marketing Assistant at Summer Abroad to promote the incredible once-in-a-lifetime experience of studying abroad in various beautiful destinations around the globe. I’m very happy to be interviewing Professor Banning today. She teaches an incredible Cinema Studies course in Oxford, England. Hello Professor Banning!
KB: Greetings, all! I’m Professor Kass Banning (you may call me Kass once our class begins, given the up close and personal nature of the intensive Study Abroad experience. I am a professor of Cinema Studies (a highly interdisciplinary field). Questions of “difference” and moving image media inspires my teaching and research for decades, teaching undergraduate and graduate courses on race, global screen cultures, black diasporic visual culture, film theory, oceanic imaginaries, moving images in the gallery, and interventions in British, Canadian, Irish, and African cinemas. I’ve published extensively on minor moving image media of Britain and Canada, with a current focus on experimental documentary media and artists’ moving image installation.
NC: What course do you teach in Oxford?
KB: I teach Aspects of a National Cinema; Black Britain (CIN 378Y) at Oxford. From this vantage point we will explore Black British cinema and related moving image media while examining the intersection of race and nation specific to post-Imperial Britain and its Black diasporic subjects’ world-making. Institutional practices and networks that have shaped the development and aesthetics of Black British film cultures from the 1960s to the present, will be highlighted, when, in the words of Stuart Hall, filmmakers sought to “find a new language” to challenge post-war norms and culture that led to seismic shifts towards imagining postcolonial Britain.
NC: Why was Oxford chosen for this course?
KB: Studying Black British media on UK soil offers the opportunity to be immersed in the cultural ethos of Black Britain. Thanks to our proximity to London, we will experience locales and re-visit histories that will inform deeper understanding of the unique moving image works under study.
NC: How do the field trips, such as those to Liverpool and London, enhance students' understanding of the course material?
KB: Advantages of visiting Liverpool are two-fold: visiting Liverpool offers further insight into Britain’s involvement in the Atlantic Slave Trade, and its foundational ecosystem; experiencing the Liverpool Art Biennale first-hand not only promises encounters with recent art works that interpret Liverpool’s history, but you will gain insight into how this Biennale functions, to include exploring its promises and purposes. Our two day-trips to London include a Black History walk, visits to the Museum of London Docklands and various venues that showcase works by Black artists or neighbourhoods that register the historical imprint of Black Britons, ranging from Tate Britain to Autograph, among additional exhibitions and venues that highlight contemporary issues of Blackness and the image in Britain. These outings offer students the opportunity to witness “real life” examples of how notions of Britain and Blackness intersect.
NC: What type of assignments or projects do students typically undertake, and how do these help them engage with the material?
KB: Reflection and discussion are key to thinking through course concepts. Students will write short reflection pieces on their field trips and course readings, compose one discussion question, and write a final test. Responding to test questions will offer the opportunity to synthesize course material. Test questions will be distributed prior to the test’s date to provide ample preparation and a successful outcome.
NC: Can you share a memorable moment or insight from your field research on Black British filmmakers and visual artists?
KB: I’m very fortunate to know the filmmakers I have researched for decades. Sharing these relationships offers additional insight into their development as artists, and the conditions that gave rise to their emergence. Visiting Oxford’s Pitt Rivers Museum especially impacts students’ understanding of collection building and out-dated museum practices in general.
NC: How can students with a background in foundational courses like CIN105 (Introduction to Film Study), CIN201 (Film Cultures I), or CIN301 (Film Cultures II) leverage their prior knowledge to engage more deeply with the themes and materials of CIN378Y0?
KB: My approach is like the goals and methodology of Film Cultures II, which provides national contexts of production in exemplary global contexts, framed by an innovative toolbox that frames films in a productive way towards forging original close readings.
NC: What advice would you give to students who are preparing to take CIN378Y0, and are there any films or other media you recommend watching beforehand to better understand the themes and topics covered in the course?
KB: I recommend that students watch as many contemporary British films as they can, which will provide a useful baseline to compare the media objects we will study.
NC: Thank you for this great and engaging conversation. I’m sure many prospective students will be delighted to have heard more about the course!