Laurinda Hartt-Fournier is a Ryerson Instructor who has, since the fall of 2001,taught the "Politics and Film" course at Ryerson both through the Department of Politics and Public Administration and through the G. Raymond Chang School of Continuing Education Laurinda holds a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Dance and Film and a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Film, both from York University, in addition to a diploma in Journalism from Canadore College (North Bay, Ontario). She was an active participant in Canada's film industry in the mid 1970s and was a respected Canadian film critic for 20 years in various publications including Cinema Canada. In the past 10 years Laurinda has shifted her focus primarily to the political and social implications and impact of film (and other media, especially television) on our perceptions of, and interactions with, our world and each other, and has worked hard to raise public awareness of how we must play a more active role in our interaction with, and understanding of, such media. Professor Hartt-Fournier has taught the York University course "Film, Television and Society" for over 13 years, but has been particularly inspired by what she has learned during her work as a part-time instructor working within the CAW-McMaster Labour Studies Certificate Program, designed to encourage union members to pursue university credits and expand their social consciousness. During the terms she is not teaching at Ryerson, Laurinda
travels from union hall to union hall throughout south central and south-western
Ontario demonstrating to union members how they have been represented
and misrepresented in feature films and documentaries, past and present,
and discussing with them what they can do to alter public understanding
through a greater awareness of how the media shape society's political
perspectives of unions and the role of the worker.
| |||||||||||||||
politics.ryerson.ca