[Syllabus
still under construction at this time,
September 5, 2006.—RWH]
FILM 3220-02: Movies of
(CRN 10270)
Fall 2006: Mondays 6:30-9:15p
Dr.
Robert W. Hill
Office: English Building 117
Office Hours: Mondays and Wednesdays 5:45-6:15p; online, and by appointment
Telephone and voice mail: 770-423-6346
E-mails (always use both
addresses): rhill@kennesaw.edu AND rhill41@gmail.com
RWH’s Web Site: http://ksuweb.kennesaw.edu/~rhill
KSU WebCT http://vista.kennesaw.edu
Nicenet.org http://www.nicenet.org
[CLASS KEY: 6Z73224FZ8]
+ + + + +
Nota bene: KSU
Statement on Academic Honesty (8-17-99)
and
KSU Student Code of Conduct
+ + + + +
KSU CATALOG DESCRIPTION: FILM 3220. Studies in Film. 3-0-3. Prerequisite: ENGL
2110. Analysis of film from such perspectives as
genre, literary and film aesthetics, and literary adaptation. May
include screening of selected films.
TEXTS = The
movies themselves, class notes, handouts, online readings, group
discussions, etc. Nota bene: Do not
suppose that having no formal textbook means you have no readings or studying
to do outside of class. A week between classes does not mean six days free to
forget about this course.
COURSE GRADING:
Response writing: Almost
entirely online, ongoing, at least twice weekly, at a level that
indicates your meaningful engagement with readings and ideas suggested (a) by
your readings, (b) by my occasional study questions, (c) by class discussions,
and (d) by classmates’ online response writings. ("Online"
means in contexts available to me and all your classmates: [1] http://vista.kennesaw.edu and [2] http://www.nicenet.org. You should
alternate between WebCT and Nicenet in order to gain confidence with both, in
case one or the other fail us. Do not duplicate your
writings in one place from another.) Responses are graded twice—as of
noon on October 9 and December 6—not to be graded as formal essays
(spelling, grammar, etc.). Your week’s responses must be serious,
conscientious, not written all in one day: A or F—nothing
in between. Averaged together, response writings are worth 20% of your
grade. (Also see notes on “Response Writing,” below.)
Midterm test, written in a timed
manner, online, outside of class:
30%
Documented essay, a revision in close
consultation with your study group of your midterm, with documentation: 30%
Final examination, written in class at
the scheduled exam time: 20%
SCHEDULE OF IN-CLASS MEETINGS (Mondays only):
August
21: In Darkest Hollywood
(Part I). Dir. Peter Davis and Daniel Reisenfeld.
1993. Mogambo
(Part I). Dir. John Ford. Writ.
Wilson Collison, John Lee Mahin.
Perf.
Clark Gable, Ava Gardner, Grace Kelly. 1953. DVD. Warner, 2006.
August 28: In Darkest Hollywood (Part II).
1993. Mogambo
(Part II). 1953.
September 4: Labor Day: NO
KSU CLASSES
September 11: Out of Africa. Dir. Sydney Pollack. Writ. Karen
Blixen, Judith Thurman, Kurt Luedtke. Perf.
Meryl Streep, Robert Redford, Klaus Maria Brst andauer. MCA/Universal,
1985. VHS. Universal.
September 18: Nowhere in Africa. Dir. Caroline Link. Writ. Stefanie
Zweig,
September
25: Midterm Essay Exam.
October 2: White Mischief. Dir. Michael Radford. Writ. James
Fox, Michael Radford. Perf. Greta Scacchi, Charles Dance,
Joss Ackland, Sarah Miles, Geraldine Chaplin, John
Hurt, Trevor Howard, Hugh Grant. 1987.
October 13: Last day to withdraw
without academic penalty.
October 16: The Constant Gardener. Dir. Fernando Meirelles. Writ. John le Carré, Jeffrey Caine. Perf. Ralph Fiennes, Rachel Weisz. Focus, 2005.
October 23: Something of Value. Dir. Richard Brooks. Writ. Robert
C. Ruark, Richard Brooks. Perf. Rock Hudson, Sidney
Poitier, Wendy Hiller, Juano Hernandez, Samandu Jackson. MGM, 1957.
October 30:
tba
November 6: tba
November 13: tba
November 20: tba
November 22-26: Fall break, no KSU
classes.
November
27: tba
December 4: tba
December 6: Second grade for Response
Writing through noon today.
December
7: Documented Essay due no later than noon today.
December 11: Final examination,
6:30-8:30pm.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Here
are several ways we’ll establish and maintain an active learning community
during this semester:
(a)
Inform me immediately about your access to and skill with computer technology;
(b)
Follow our evolving syllabus at my KSU web site, http://ksuweb.kennesaw.edu/~rhill;
(c)Send
a “Here I am” message to BOTH my e-mail addresses above, including your most
accessible telephone number(s);
(d)
Using the Class Key that I will announce the first night [CLASS KEY: 6Z73224FZ8], join our class
at http://www.nicenet.org;
(e)
Using your WebCT number and PIN number, join our WebCT class at http://vista.kennesaw.edu/;
(f)
Spend at least fifteen minutes twice a week online, writing thoughtful
responses to our readings/viewings, class discussions, classmates’ writings,
etc., being sure all the while to maintain civil, respectful, considerate
rhetoric in dealing with our co-workers in this important enterprise. (I will
read everything but will intrude rarely.)
(g)
Meeting only once a week, we simply must be together in class unless a genuine
emergency prevents (usually medical).
COURSE
OBJECTIVES:
(a)
To read—that is, to view—and analyze movies of
(b)
To examine how movies affect us aesthetically, how they stir and direct our
emotions and intellect at once, how movie-makers employ tradition and
innovation in their art, and how movie-makers have responded to the cultural
framework within which their works have been created;
(c)
To analyze how movie/literary critics think about and explain theories and
practices in movie-making;
(d)
To sharpen and strengthen skills in critical thinking, reading, writing, and
speaking through class discussion and writing assignments in various modes;
(e)
To develop and encourage independent thinking and group participation;
(f)
To experience pleasure in the literary acts of studying movies and written
texts and exchanging ideas and information with other members of a
literary/cinematic community
EVALUATION
PROCEDURES: Your final grade will be determined according to the following
formula:
(a)
Average of two grades on response writings—20% (A or F, graded at midterm and
at end of course)
(b)
Midterm essay exam—30%
(c)
Documented essay, 2000-2500 words (using MLA, APA, or other standard
documentation form) composed in close consultation with study group—30%
(d)
Final essay exam—20%.
ATTENDANCE
POLICY:
Because
this is an upper-division class, I consider attendance a matter of student
responsibility. However, my experience has been that students who miss more
than one week’s worth of classes (that would be only
ONE class, this term) generally find themselves unable to participate or to
perform at acceptable levels. The assumption in all upper-division English
classes, for me, is that students want to be here and thus will be here.
Usually,
we will begin viewing movies no later than 6:45p, following preliminary comments
and/or handouts, with discussion to follow until 9:15p. In my opinion,
persistent tardiness and/or leaving class early is the equivalent of an
absence.
If you are absent, I expect you to communicate with me as soon as possible—in
person, by telephone, or in writing—about any work that you miss. Students
should not miss class on a regular basis with no explanation and expect, at the
end of the course, to receive special consideration of any kind.
CLASSROOM
DECORUM:
Turn off all electronic communication devices—cell phones, beepers, etc.—before
entering the classroom. These devices are inappropriate in the classroom
setting. All students are expected to focus their attention on the class
activity throughout the scheduled meeting time: it’s only 165 minutes a week.
RESPONSE
WRITING:
Response writings will not be graded for grammar, spelling, mechanics, etc.,
but for their regular, conscientious contribution to our ongoing class
discussion. Unless otherwise instructed, you should post these responses to
Nicenet or WebCT for classmates’ edification and delight. Spend at least
fifteen minutes twice a week online, writing thoughtful responses to our
readings/viewings, class discussions, classmates’ writings, etc., being sure
all the while to maintain civil, respectful, considerate rhetoric in dealing
with our co-workers in this important enterprise. (I will read everything but
will intrude rarely.) Do NOT duplicate responses, but you must have roughly
equal numbers of responses at each site.
[I must say that it grieves me to have to lay out such
prescriptive, quantitative details. Writing these responses should become
second nature, proceeding from your active engagement in this conversation of
scholars. When and if you think of this assignment as a task to be completed
only with numerical exactitude, you have already limited the way you can be
drawn into genuine exchanges with your classmates and—to speak somewhat
abstractly—with ideas. Engagement is really the key—honest engagement, which
will inevitably produce more than the minimum of “assignments met.” As students
of yourselves as well as of
subject matter, you ought to feel some obligation to think about how and why
you think the way you do. Playing on the relatively safe testing-ground of
academia, you’ll gain much more strength and subtlety by entering the game
without the impediment of legalistic numbers-counting.—RWH, 10/17/03]
Formal writing assignments, however—especially the documented essay—must
demonstrate a serious effort to deal with writing problems that have been
pointed out in earlier written work. In addition to my comments on your papers
and in class lectures, I will be glad to work with you during office hours to
facilitate your improvement as a writer. You can also work with the
EXPECTATIONS:
I
expect students to take their work seriously, to come to class prepared and
willing to participate, and to treat peers and their ideas with respect.
Response writings serve several functions in this class. They can be the basis
for class discussion when they are written at the beginning of class; they can guide
your preparation for the following class when they are written during or at the
end of the period. Those responses written at the end can also indicate to me
material that needs further explanation or development at the next meeting. I
expect you always to use those writing assignments to develop your ideas and to
improve and strengthen your writing abilities. I see these papers serving you
as an ongoing dialogue with yourself about issues raised in the course
objectives and evolving ideas that will emerge in our class discussions.
All writing and discussion in this course will be formulated with the course
objectives (stated above) in mind; that is, I expect you to consider the works
we study in the context of the issues of 21st-century life and
aesthetics. In addition, you need to be aware that such movies often reflect
realities of the contemporary world in rather graphic ways. If such depictions
are troubling to you, you need to raise those concerns with me at the beginning
of the semester. In some cases, this course might not be the right course for
students with such reservations.
I expect students to read well, think well, write well, and speak well as
members of this FILM 3220 community. And enjoy the ride.—RWH, 8/20/06
[This page
was created 4 Aug. 2004; last revised, 5 Sept. 2006.--RWH]