American documentary film: projecting the nation

Novelties, spectacles and the documentary impulse. Case studies: Blacksmith scene (1893), Buffalo dance (1894), Mess call (1896)

Virtual travels and the tourist gaze. Case study: Nanook of the north (1922)

Serious play: documentary and the avant-garde. Case study: Manhatta (1921)

Activism and advocacy: the Depression era. Case study: The plow that broke the plains (1936)

Idea-weapons: documentary propaganda. Case study: The Memphis Belle (1944)

'Uncontrolled' situations: direct cinema. Case study: Grey Gardens (1975)

Relative truths: documentary and postmodernity. Case study: Tongues untied (1989)

Media wars: documentary dispersion. Case study: Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004).