Editor’s Note: The following story is part of a series featuring Oakland University courses offered in the 2009 Summer Semester. It is designed to highlight diverse opportunities for students to continue their education year round. For more information, visit
www.oakland.edu/summer.
By Amanda Benjamin, student writer
The “PS 309: Politics through Film” course taught by Professor John Patrick Piskulich will take place 6:30-9:50 p.m. on Mondays throughout Summer Session I and serves as part of the social science requirement.
Each class consists of an introduction, film and discussion. The purpose is to analyze political concepts, public policy, political behavior and visions of politics and society as presented in film.
Susan Deardoff, who graduated from Oakland in December with a degree in political science, heard great things about Piskulich and the class so she decided to take as an elective.
According to Deardoff, the discussions after the films were exciting because the professor let people say what they wanted to say, they were very interactive and it was good to break away from regular lecture classes.
“The discussion after the movie was always eventful,” said Heather Klucka, a junior political science major who was recommended to the class by a friend.
According to the class syllabus, viewing and discussing the films together can spur thought and insight about politics and film.
“Everyone’s going to pull different things out of a movie,” said junior political science major Anthony Ivone. He said that he liked the way Piskulich was able to convey ideas and that the class was very open. “It was a great atmosphere to have.”
Keith Koerber, a senior political science major, said the best things about the class were the choice of films and the professor because of his enthusiasm and depth of knowledge.
“He teaches the material in a fashion that you can understand the first time,” said Nicholas Sinishtaj, a senior international relations major who has also taken Piskulich’s statistics class.
According to Koerber, he is now able to find messages through films that he otherwise wouldn’t be finding if he didn’t take the class. “It really showed me how politics were portrayed through film.”
Klucka said she learned to analyze movies and pull the politics out of them. “You kind of learn a little bit from each film,” she said.
“Battle of Algiers” was Ivone’s favorite movie the class watched because of the historical connotations it had and because it was based off a historical event, he said. It was also Sinishtaj’s favorite because “it has a clear political message that is relevant in today’s terms.”
“You learn a lot and you get to watch really good movies,” Sinishtaj said.
“It was really one of the better classes that I’ve taken at Oakland,” Koerber added. “And that’s saying a lot because I’ve had a lot of great classes at Oakland.”
Current students may register for this class online at
https://blitz.sys.oakland.edu. Guest students interested in taking this course should follow the undergraduate or graduate link on
this page.
