This course aims to introduce students to an understanding of the idea and development of animation. From a historical perspective, the course directs focal attention to the narrative and aesthetic devices particular to the animated works produced by major film studios and independent artists alike. The course also seeks to introduce students to an appreciation of animations produced outside North America, in particular those from Europe, Japan and China. Alongside the understanding of the history, narrative and aesthetics of animation in a transnational framework, equally important to the course are issues of contemporary ideologies, industrial imperatives and evolving technologies that have decisively animated and shaped the genre.