Houston Community College
Dr I.M. Lancaster
English 2341: Literature and Film
Class Location: Online (A Skype account will be set up for conferences. Face to Face meetings
have to be scheduled in advance.)
My Number: 713.313.7653 (All calls must be made between 9am and 6pm. I teach other classes,
so if I do not answer, please leave a message, and I will get back to you within 24 hours.)
E- Mail: iris.lancaster@hccs.edu (Remember to allow a 24-hour response time (sometimes longer)
when communicating via email and/or telephone with a professor and/or counselor. Do not submit a
request to discuss withdrawal options less than a day before the deadline.)
Textbook: There is no textbook required for this class. However, you do have to purchase two
novels: William Shakespeare’s No Fear Shakespeare Othello and Of Mice and Men. (A few short
stories and other materials will be placed on reserve at the library…by the fourth week of
school.) Because your major essays will ask you to look at these novels and their film versions,
please make sure you buy the editions I list below.
Of Mice and Men: Paperback: 108 pages/Publisher: Fontal Lobe Publishing (September 22,
2011) ISBN-10: 1907590331
No Fear Shakespeare: Paperback: 320 pages/ Publisher: SparkNotes; Trade Paperback
Edition edition (July 3, 2003)/ ISBN-10: 1586638521/ ISBN-13: 978-1586638528
Books must be complete by March 18th. Get your books and put yourself on a reading schedule!
Course Description and Objectives: This course provides an introduction to film studies, with emphasis
on critical analysis, historical development, cultural significance, literary theory, and cinematic technique.
This spring, the course will focus on both READING and ANALYZING film.
Upon completion of this course you should be able to:
1. Discuss the marriage of literature and film
2. Utilize with confidence about the significance of literary theory when READING film
3. Understand the social and political concepts at the heart of film
4. Offer well-developed arguments on film the context of literature and cultural conflicts.
5. Enhance your critical thinking skills in the context of scholarly articles written about films seen in
class.
What will you learn in this class?
To aid you in understanding cinema, the library holdings on cinema includes collections several
books that will help you this semester. I suggest that you take advantage of these resources and others this
term to enhance your appreciation of film and its history.
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.
An English course such as Film Studies aims to improve your written and analytical skills. Given the
course’s wide focus, English 2341 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 (Wall Street and the
White House), Literature (The Grammar of Seamless Editing), etc. In other words, Film Studies provides
you with excellent avenues to expand your personal academic interests.
Keep yourself Organized!
Discussions/Participation: Always prepare yourselves accordingly. View all the films and be
prepared to discuss them on the discussion board. The once-a-week format gives us time to
view representative films and to discuss them and the reading assignments. English 2341 is a
discussion-centered class, so come to the DBs armed with clear, analytical discussions/input.
Most Discussion Boards: You have to post one comment about the films/readings for the week. Also,
you have to respond extensively to a minimum of three classmates. Students, please move beyond the "I
agree with your post." You want to create a dialogue with your classmates. I WILL NOT ONLY GRADE
ON HOW MANY POSTS YOU HAVE, BUT I WILL ALSO GRADE ON HOW WELL YOU
HAVE DISCUSSED CERTAIN TOPICS, AND YOU WILL BE GRADED ON WHEN YOU
POST. DO NOT WAIT UNTIL THE LAST MINUTE TO POST.—
Boards will open Tuesday and close on Saturday at 11:59pm.
Writing Assignments: In your essays, you are encouraged to approach film from various
perspectives, some technical (“Sound and Lighting”) and others more social in focus (“Gender
Conflict”). The conflicts, both political (Hollywood) 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 the way he/she reads and views LITERATURE.
Essays: Students will maintain the reading/viewing schedule and will submit writing assignments on
the designated deadline. In the event of an emergency, students should email the work to a partner in
the class so he/she can submit the work on time. It is simply too confusing to accept work past the
deadline…in my email…or in any other format Your essays WILL BE UPLOADED ON
TURNITIN.COM.
Journals: Periodically through the semester, you will be asked to submit a journal. (The format for a
journal will be released soon.) All journals will be saved as Doc, Docx or Rich Text Format Docs,
THEN uploaded to Moodle. Journals submitted any other way will not be graded.
Withdrawal Policy: The State of Texas has begun to impose penalties on students who drop courses
excessively. That is, if you repeat the same course more than twice, you have to pay extra tuition. In
addition, as of Fall 2007, students are limited to no more than SIX total course withdrawals throughout
their educational career at a Texas public college or university. To help students avoid having to
drop/withdraw from any class, HCC has instituted an Early Alert process by which your professor will
"alert" you and Distance Education (DE) counselors that you might fail a class because of excessive
absences and/or poor academic performance. Currently students cannot withdraw themselves; they must
receive approval from a instructional or counseling faculty-- or the faculty member may submit an online
form. If you do not withdraw before the deadline, you will receive the grade that you
are making in the class as your final grade. (If you do not feel comfortable contacting your professor to
withdraw, you may contact a DE counselor. However, please do not contact both a DE counselor and
your DE professor to request a withdrawal; either one is sufficient.)
If your goal is to earn a grade higher than an "F," as I hope it is, you should attend class regularly and
turn in all of the work. Missing class over 6 (2 during a Mini semester) hours and missing
assignments (or turning them in late) may lead to a lower grade than you would hope.
Please find out the final deadline for withdrawing from class!
The Grade of "I" for Incomplete: If you receive an Incomplete in the course, you are agreeing to
complete work not submitted within 6 months from the end of the course - by December 2013.
But! You must be passing the class with a "C" or better to receive this grade. You cannot receive an "I"
simply because you just decided to stop coming to class. Processing incompletes takes time--I must read
and review work, and paperwork must be submitted to the college; this process can take a month or
longer. An Incomplete not "completed" by the end of the next long semester will become an I/F. An
incomplete "completed" will become an "I/A,"I/B,"I/C," or "I/D." **Receiving an Incomplete can have a
negative effect on future financial aid from the College; contact Financial Aid for information on this.
A grade of "Incomplete" is appropriate when a student has experienced an event or condition at the end
of the semester that makes it difficult to impossible to complete remaining assignments. Persons
experiencing similar problems before the withdrawal date should consider requesting withdrawal. After
this deadline, an Incomplete can help someone complete the course and not receive a grade of "F."
Writing Requirements
Errors in usage and mechanics will diminish the grade on written compositions as follows:
o Major errors are defined as lack of thesis (or ineffective thesis), weak or nonexistent
topic sentences, lack of support, lack of unity, development, and coherence, failure to adhere
to assignment, fragments, comma splices, agreement, verb forms and tenses, quotation
format, awkward syntax, incoherence, development, and pronoun case.
o Minor errors are defined as non-standard spelling, capitalization, punctuation,
identification of titles, or contractions.
Grammar is important! If you are lacking in this very important area, please use
the PPTs or the list of interactive grammar quizzes in the News Forum on Moodle.
Evaluation and Grading Scale:
Journals/Discussion Groups/Chats:
Quizzes
ExamsEssays:
Final:
Overall Class Performance:
25%
25%
35%
10%
5%
**Commandeer a phone buddy!!! Exchange numbers (and email addresses) with a classmate as soon as
possible (Emergencies can and will arise, so always be protected.) **Remember you can email students
through BB, but try to get a phone number as well.
Tentative Schedule
Changes May Occur..always, always check Moodle.
1. Sign up for Netflix (Most of the films you will view this semester can be viewed on Netflix. For 7.99$
a month, you can sign up for the Netflix (Online Movies/Stream Movies and TV Shows instantly). When
you sign up for this service, you are given the option to sign up for the 30 day trial version. You can get
this version, and watch the films early. Or, you can sign up for Netflix until the class session is over. I
will check with the library about putting some materials on reserve; you will have the information on this
by the second week of school.
2. Sign up for turnitin.com. This is where your essays will be submitted this semester.
Class ID: 5927647
Password: lovinenglish
3. View: Brian's Song (1971 version) and Kramer vs. Kramer (Both are available on Netflix)
On the discussion Board, you will write a one page response to both of these films. Responses
are due Sunday by 9pm. In order for you to participate in the discussion next week, you have to
post your response papers the first week of school. Enjoy the films!
First Week:
1. Sign up for Netflix (Most of the films you will view this semester can be viewed on Netflix. For 7.99$
a month, you can sign up for the Netflix (Online Movies/Stream Movies and TV Shows instantly). When
you sign up for this service, you are given the option to sign up for the 30 day trial version. You can get
this version, and watch the films early. Or, you can sign up for Netflix until the class session is over. I
will check with the library about putting some materials on reserve; you will have the information on this
by the second week of school.
2. Sign up for turnitin.com. This is where your essays will be submitted this semester.
Class ID: 5927647
Password: lovinenglish
3. View: Brian's Song (1971 version) and Kramer vs. Kramer (Both are available on Netflix)
On the discussion Board, you will write a one page response to both of these films. Responses
are due Sunday by 9pm. In order for you to participate in the discussion next week, you have to
post your response papers the first week of school. Enjoy the films!
Second Week:
It’s about the theory of things…
Check Moodle for Week Two Assignments
Vocabulary for the Week: Psychoanalytic Criticism, Reader-Response, Feminist Criticism, Gender
Criticism, Class Based Theory, Race-Based Theory
Discussion Board 2: Analyze the films from the perspective of one theories listed above. This week you
will be analyzing film (last week you were only evaluating film).
Third Week:
Figuratively Speaking…
Check Moodle for Week Three Assignments
Continue to study theory..however, this week we will begin to look at the use of literary devices in film
and literature.
Vocabulary for the week: simile, metaphor, hyperbole, personification, foreshadowing, imagery, etc.
Reading for the Week: The Story of an Hour
Viewing for the Week: Episode of “Law and Order” SVU: Season 11 Episode 3
Discussion Board 3: A closer look at the psychoanalytic theory as it plays out in two different mediums. .
Fourth Week
Figuratively Speaking…
Check Moodle for Week Four Assignments
Review literary theory and literary devices
Quiz 1 (Open Saturday-Monday)
Fifth Week
What about those movies…
Check Moodle for Week Five Assignments
Vocabulary: Types of Movies/Six Major American Genres
Viewing for the Week: 1st American Genre Film: True Grit (2010 version)
Journal #1: Due February 17th by 11:59 pm (Post on DB)
This journal will be a response to the film True Grit. You must use some of the vocabulary and
literary concepts you have recently learned.
Sixth Week
This week we move on to the Horror film (my least favorite…because I’m a scary cat). But this week, it
will be a little different. You will not have to read the information on “The History of the Horror Film,”
but you will also need to read the short handout on adaptation. Now while the film for the week, the
Raven, is not based on an entire work, parts of the film are loosely connected to Edgar Allen Poe’s short
story: The Murders in the Rue Morgue, (1841) by Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849).
Your assignments for the week:
Assignment One: Read History of the Horror Film
Assignment Two: Read “ Literary Adaptation”
Assignment Three: Study Freytag's Pyramid and Conflicts
Assignment Four: Read the short story "The Murders in the Rue Morgue"
Assignment Five: Watch The Raven (Netflix film)
Assignment Six: Study notes on Western film and horror film (There will be test next week over the three
(next genre: Science Fiction) films and the history of the two genres you have studied.)
Seventh Week
This week you will be getting a lesson Greek mythology in addition to a lesson on literary adaption, and
finally the next genre: Science Fiction.
Film: Immortals (This film is loosely based on Greek myths of Theseus and the Minotaur and the
Titanomachy.
Assignment One: Read handout on Science Fiction.
Assignment Two: Read information on Theseus and the Minotaur and Titanomachy.
Assignment Three: Read information on the Titans (they play a role in this film).
Assignment Four: Re-read information on adaptation.
Assignment Five: View _The Immortals_ (on Netflix).
Assignment Six: Discussion Board//This week you will discuss the three films, how they connect to the
information on the genres or how they disconnect). You will need to really involve yourselves in the
discussion. I not only want to read your feelings about the film, but I also want to read your analyses of
each film. You can include the literary devices, theories, or any of the terms/concepts you have learned
thus far. This week your discussion grades will be determined by how much 'new' knowledge you bring to
the table.
You will need to create two (2) substantial thread of your own...in addition to responding to at least five
of your classmates.
This Week's test will open this Saturday morning and close Monday evening at 11:55pm.
Week Nine: Your first paper will be due!
(Assignment is in Week 9. Check it out!)
Eighth Week
We are almost done with the genres; we have The Musical and Gangster films remaining. We will look at
these two genres after Spring Break.
This week:
Assignment One: Complete your essays!
Assignment Two: Check handout for MLA requirements. I will take points off if you don't follow the
guidelines.
Assignment Three: If you have any questions this week concerning your essay, post them in the Essay1
Forum. I will check the forum on Monday and Wednesday of next week.
Assignment Four: Study Freytag's pyramid, character types, and point of view --these elements will come
into play when you begin your reading of the novels.
Assignment Four: It's time for us to begin to talk about literature and literary adaptation, so please make
sure both books, Othello and Of Mice and Men are finished by March 18th.
Use the 'down time' this week to complete your essays. Essays are due March 9th. Because you are
getting this week to prepare, no late assignments will be accepted.
Week Nine
Writing Assignment #1 Due (Check out Eagle for details…)