This seminar in media history, theory and criticism will subject a rediscovered cache of rare silent films to a variety of critical interrogations, exploring the complex intermedial dynamics (relations to theater, variété, literature), establishment of key legitimation discourses (film criticism and theory, the Autorenfilm), development of new narrative forms ("birth" of the feature film the serial detective genre), work of ignored pioneers (the Brothers Skladanowsky, Oskar Messter), gender and class dynamics is the transformation of the public sphere, and issues of technology, politics and the historicity of perception.