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Few regions in the world have aroused as much interest as the Amazon. A myriad of texts and images dating back to 1500 have conjured up diverse and often paradoxical notions of the region as a “virgin paradise” and a “green hell,” as a place outside of time and history and the land of the future, as an inexhaustible source of wealth and an endangered place in risk of extinction, as awe-inspiring and monotonous. Throughout the twentieth century, there has been a spate of films, photographs, and multimedia work that have created, reinforced, or deconstructed clichés about the Amazon. In this seminar, we’ll examine multimedia work about Amazonia ranging from European and Latin American cinema, visual ethnography, experimental photography and film, and recent work made by Amazonians, including indigenous filmmakers and activists. The course contains a Study Abroad component to the Amazon during Spring Break. Recommended Course Background: Some knowledge of Portuguese or Spanish.