Course Description and Objectives: This course provides an introduction to film studies, with emphasis on critical analysis, historical development, cultural significance, and cinematic technique.

This class will offer you ample opportunity to "watch" and to discuss cinema in general and the celluloid word of American film and culture in particular; you will have plenty of opportunities to see a variety of films as well.

As the title of the text suggests, English 375 provides a rather specific introduction to the study of cinema; the course focuses on various aspects of American cinema with a specific emphasis placed upon written analysis of a rich variety of films, from editing to acting. You will also learn about all manner of film “culture,” from film distribution to film history and theory, from the star system to Hollywood during the Cold War.

The class therefore investigates much more than film technique alone; that is to say, we will not confine ourselves to matters such as Lighting, Lenses, Sound, Camera Angles, Editing, etc., though we will certainly take the preceding details into account pretty much each meeting of the class.

Nor does the class take a strict linear approach, going from the silent era to the latest offering from Paramount. Among other things, we will talk about Photography, Mise en Scene, Action, Writing, and Ideology. As you will soon discover, Film Studies includes elements from all the divisions at Peru State College, from Economics to History, from Literature to Physics.

"Scopophilia," the desire to see.

In addition to viewing as many contemporary films as possible this term, we will give special attention to parts of a few classic productions such as Chaplin's Gold Rush, Sergei Eisenstein's The Battleship Potemkin, D.W. Griffith's Birth of a Nation, Orson Wells's Citizen Kane, and shorter films such as An Occurrence at Owl Creek, Robert Enrico's award-winning adaptation of Ambrose Bierce's short story.

I Like to Watch (Chauncy Gardner, Being There)

A film is difficult to explain because it is easy to understand (Christian Metz, Film Language)

To aid you in understanding cinema, the library holdings on cinema includes collections--The American Cinema Series and Martin Scorsese's series on Film and Film History--that will aid in your learning experience this term. Time will not permit our viewing these excellent productions in class; however, I suggest that you take advantage of these resources and others this term to enhance your appreciation of film and its history. In addition, these hour-long productions reinforce reading and related material discussed in class.

You will also be enrolled in Blackboard, the on-line teaching template the college utilizes. We will take advantage of the Discussion Threads to touch base between weekly meetings.

Using our text as our point of departure, we will develop a vocabulary for analyzing films; you will utilize this vocabulary for writing film reviews and critical investigations about those aspects of cinema that interest you. And at the term's conclusion, you will take a vocabulary examination from the terms listed here.

An English course, Film Studies also aims to improve your written and analytical skills. Given the course's wide focus, moreover, English 375 is very much a writing-across-the-curriculum course, allowing each of you to pursue your specific areas of interest, such as Art (Shadows in Film Noir), Sociology (Gender and the Star System), Political Science (High Noon and The Communist Scare), Literature (The Grammar of Seamless Editing), etc.

In other words, Film Studies provides you with excellent avenues to expand you academic interests.

Come to class prepared, therefore, to discuss the reading and the films we will view throughout the semester. The once-a-week format gives us time to view representative films and to discuss them and the reading assignments.

English 375 is a discussion-centered class (even when films run), so come armed with ideas and questions.

To reinforce ideas raised in class, you will also take part in on-line discussions, utilizing the Blackboard Template; weekly quizzes will also be offered on line to allow us to make better use of class time.

Other Goals and Objectives: As the preceding description indicates, Film Studies hardly describes a typical English class; it serves, however, as an appropriate substitution for electives and provides students from other disciplines an opportunity to take an upper division course to fulfill distribution and General Education requirements.

The class, moreover, fits in quite well with the English Department's and Peru State College's objects. With its heavy emphasis on writing and analysis, English 375 stresses coherent and logical communication, both oral and written. In addition, the course takes an across-the-curriculum approach to cinema, which in turn reinforces the college's emphasis on the Liberal Arts.

In their essays, students are encouraged to approach film from various perspectives, some technical ("Sound and Lighting in Film Noir" and others more social in focus ("Gender Conflict in Screwball Comedy"). The conflicts, both political (Hollywood and the Cold War) and cultural (Melodrama and Populism), at the core of the films watched and discussed in class likewise require students to become more aware of how films affect and reflect society, making them in the process more discerning critics.

Providing a strong foundation for further development, the course also underscores the department's and the college's desire to create life-long and successful citizen learners.

Students might also watch films from other countries, including areas described as Non-Western, thus emphasizing the college's efforts to include diversity in the curriculum.

 

Upon completion of this course you should be able to:

1. Discuss the history of American Cinema and the significance for all cinema of the Hollywood Style.

2. Utilize with confidence technical vocabulary related to film.

3. Understand the various genres associated with American Cinema.

4. Appreciate the dynamic relationships between American Cinema and American Culture.

5. Enhance your enjoyment of all movies.

At the beginning of the course, we will discuss how these objectives fit into the College’s and School’s mission and goals.

Expectations & Instructional Approach: In addition to lecture materials offered by the instructor, students in this class will engage in discussions over reading material--these discussions will take place in class and on-line, utilizing the Blackboard Template.

Students will submit work for peer review; essays might be published on the internet for discussion.

Assessment Methods and Student Requirements

To promote academic integrity, Peru State College subscribes to an electronic service to review papers for the appropriate citations and originality. Key elements of submitted papers are stored electronically in a limited access database and thus become a permanent part of the material to which future submissions are compared.

Continued enrollment in a course signifies your permission for this use of your written work.

Should you not wish to agree to this procedure, you may drop the course during the add/drop period before any works are completed and submitted.

Grades: Your final grade will be based on the following (subject-to-change) areas and percentages:

Attendance----------5%

Participation---------14 (On-line Discussion)

Short Essays---------45

Quizzes---------------14

Vocabulary Test-----12

Final Examination---10

Here's looking at you kid. (Humphrey Bogart)

Grading Policy:

A 90-100

B+ 86-89

B 80-85

C+ 76-79

C 70-75

D+ 66-69

D 60-65

F 59 and below

Attendance: Come to class prepared to take part in our discussions, for they will help generate ideas for your written assignments.

Failing to attend class on a regular basis will, therefore, hinder your progress, especially as this is a night class; we view films and discuss them each class period.

If you must miss class, contact me prior to class--and get the assignment from either me or from a classmate; by the second week of class, you will each have an e-mail directory of class members.

Attendance counts for 5% of your final grade; each of you begins this term with 100%. Not attending class lowers this grade at the rate of 10% for the first absence and 20% for each subsequent nonattendance.

"Cinema is life with all the dull parts cut out." (Alfred Hitchcock)

Participation: This class asks that you take part in discussions in and out of class; you will be asked each week to respond to prompts on discussion threads located on the internet. To receive maximum credit on the discussion thread requires that you respond at least three times in paragraph form to the prompt and to what your fellow writers have to say.

You will share your own ideas and respond to what other members of the class have to say. In addition, you should make use of the internet base of information and share interesting links with your fellow film viewers.

These discussions will center on the films shown in class and the assigned readings. You must respond between Tuesday and Sunday at midnight each week. Remember, you must write in paragraph form at least three times to receive minimum credit. So enter the discussions early and often, just as you would in one of my on-line classes--so do not wait until Saturday and Sunday to engage in the discussions.

Short Essays: This class requires that you write about cinema, utilizing concepts discussed in class.

Over the course of the semester, you will write four short essays, each approximately three double-spaced pages.

In general, these efforts require your applying what you learned in the reading assignments and in-class discussions to the films we watch in class or related films you watch on your own.

Inasmuch as going to a movie costs a good deal and renting videos gets expensive, I will make as many films as possible available to you. You will have an opportunity to revise at least three of the four essays.

You will turn in all written work on Blackboard. Therefore, in this class you must use Microsoft Word and not Works.

Revisions: For most written assignments (exceptions include the final essays), you will have an opportunity to revise work and to elevate the grade.

Bear in mind, however, that a rewrite does not automatically raise the essay's grade. If the revised essay receives a higher mark than the original, the better grade goes into the book, replacing the earlier effort. A revision never lowers your grade.

In general, revisions are due a week after the assignment is returned.

Peer Evaluation: I often supply the class with copies of student work on my web page.

Quizzes: Quizzes will address specific vocabulary covered in the assigned readings and the films watched in class. In other words, these tests ensure that you keep up with the readings, attend class, and digest the material.

I will put these generally weekly tests on Blackboard, usually by Thursday morning, so that you can take them as your convenience. However, you must respond by the deadline each week, usually midnight Sunday--generally, the quiz will remain open between Thursday and Sunday.

Plastic, Ben, Plastic. (The Graduate)

Vocabulary Test: As part of the final examination, you will take a vocabulary test, matching identifications with definitions.

The terms will come from the Glossary at the conclusion of the text; you will also find them posted here. I will identify terms for which you will be responsible.

Final Examination: This essay will require your writing about a film seen the last few weeks in class.

You will have a choice of topics (and films) on which to write, putting into practice ideas discussed during the term.

Due Dates and Late Material: Turn in all work on assigned dates. If you must turn in something after the due date, let me know in advance. Grades for late work will be lowered at the rate of one-half a grade each day. In addition, no make-ups are allowed for missed quizzes or for missed short assignments.

Remember that English 375 meets one night a week, so budget your time; and make all your deadlines.

Be prepared to turn in all your written work via Blackboard.

 

Incomplete Coursework Policy

To designate a student’s work in a course as incomplete at the end of a term, the instructor records the incomplete grade (I). Students may receive this grade only when serious illness, hardship, death in the immediate family, or military service during the semester in which they are registered prevents them from completing course requirements. In addition, to receive an incomplete, a student must have completed substantially all of the course’s major requirements.

Unless extenuating circumstances dictate otherwise, students must initiate requests for an incomplete by filling out an Incomplete Grade Completion Contract, which requires the signature of the student, instructor, and Dean. The Incomplete Grade Completion contract cites the reason(s) for the incomplete and details the specific obligations the student must meet to change the incomplete to a letter grade. The date by which the student agrees to complete required work must appear in the contract. The Dean, the instructor, and the student receive signed copies of the Incomplete Grade Completion Contract.

Even if the student does not attend Peru State College, all incomplete course work must be finished by the end of the subsequent semester. Unless the appropriate Dean approves an extension and if the student does not fulfill contract obligations in the allotted time, the incomplete grade automatically becomes an F.

Academic Integrity Policy

The College expects all students to conduct themselves in a manner that supports an honest assessment of student learning outcomes and the assignment of grades that appropriately reflect student performance. It is ultimately the student’s responsibility to understand and comply with instructions regarding the completion of assignments, exams, and other academic activities. At a minimum, students should assume that at each assessment opportunity they are expected to do their own original academic work and/or clearly acknowledge in an appropriate fashion the intellectual work of others, when such contributions are allowed. Students helping others to circumvent honest assessments of learning outcomes, or who fail to report instances of academic dishonesty, are also subject to the sanctions defined in this policy.

Instances of academic dishonesty may be discovered in a variety of ways. Faculty members who assign written work ordinarily check citations for accuracy, run data base and online checks, and/or may simply recognize familiar passages that are not cited. They may observe students in the act of cheating or may become aware of instances of cheating from the statements of others. All persons who observe or otherwise know about instances of cheating are expected to report such instances to the proper instructor or Dean.

In order to promote academic integrity, the College subscribes to an electronic service to review papers for the appropriate citations and originality. Key elements of submitted papers are stored electronically in a limited access database and thus become a permanent part of the material to which future submissions are compared. Submission of an application and continued enrollment signifies your permission for this use of your written work.

NSCS Board of Trustees Policy 4220 states that each College “. . . will establish a distance learning assessment policy that will include, at a minimum, a substantial culminating experience that is proctored.” Peru State College’s policy is that each course that is offered entirely online will feature a proctored final exam that substantially measures the extent the course’s stated learning objectives are achieved. Online course syllabi will clearly state that, regardless of grades earned previously, the proctored final exam must be passed in order to receive credit for the course. Courses which feature graded site-based activities (e.g., teaching demonstrations) and/or video-taped presentations that occur near the end of the term, and that are designed to substantially assess the achievement of learning objectives, can be considered in compliance with this policy. Project-based capstone and graduate courses utilizing real-time discussions held by web-cam, phone or in person with the faculty member as part of the assessment process can also be considered in compliance with this policy.

Should an occurrence of academic misconduct occur, the faculty member may assign a failing grade for the assignment or a failing grade for the course. Each incident of academic misconduct should be reported to the Dean and the Vice President for Academic Affairs (VPAA). The VPAA may suspend students for two semesters found to be responsible for multiple instances of academic dishonesty. The reason for the suspension will be noted on the student’s transcript.

A faculty member need present only basic evidence of academic dishonesty. There is no requirement for proof of intent. Students are responsible for understanding these tenets of academic honesty and integrity. Students may appeal penalties for academic dishonesty using the process established for grades appeals.

 

Title IX Compliance Notice

Peru State College is an equal opportunity institution. PSC does not discriminate against any student, employee or applicant on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability, religion, or age in employment and education opportunities, including but not limited to admission decisions. The College has designated an individual to coordinate the College’s nondiscrimination efforts to comply with regulations implementing Title VI, VII, IX, and Section 504. Inquiries regarding non-discrimination policies and practices may be directed to Eulanda Cade, Director of Human Resources, Title VI, VII, IX Compliance Coordinator, Peru State College, PO Box 10, Peru, NE 68421-0010, (402) 872-2230.

Students requesting reasonable accommodation and tutoring services should contact the Center for Achievement and Transition Services (CATS).

 

Tentative Course Schedule: We will read in the following areas, in the following order. In general, we will devote approximately one week to each of the text's chapters. Each chapter listed includes a film representative of the topic; we will see some of the films listed here.

Class assignments will be posted on the class web site. Here you will also find information about reading assignments, quiz dates, essay due dates, discussion threads, etc.

Each week, I will also post the title of the film we will see.

We will utilize the following reading schedule; film titles are subject to change from week to week:

January 11: The Emergence of the Cinema as an Institution--Modern Times

January 18: Classical Hollywood Cinema: Narration--Some Like it Hot

January 25: Classical Hollywood Cinema: Style—Casablanca

February 1: The Studio System and The Star System—The Rear Window

February 8: Silent Film Melodrama--A Corner in Wheat ; The Crowd

February 15: The Musical—Singin’ in the Rain

February 22: American Comedy—Bringing up Baby

March 1: War and Cinema—In the Valley of Elah

March 15: Film Noir: Somewhere in the Night--Murder My Sweet

March 22: The Making of the West--High Noon

March 29: Horror and Science Fiction--Invasion of the Body Snatchers or Blade Runner

April 12: Hollywood and the Cold War--Dr. Strangelove

April 19: Hollywood in the Age of Television and The 1960s: The Counterculture Strikes Back—The Graduate

April 26: The Film School Generation and Into the Twenty-First Century—Taxi Driver

May 3: Final Examination

Remember that "Movies are magic; real life is tragic" (Brian Wilson).

Film Studies Syllabus PDF

Film Studies Syllabus in Word

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http://www.hpcnet.org/peru/schoolartsandsciences/language/clemente/spring2006/film/syllabus

Last Modified: 12/30/2009