Mission Statement:
Regent University serves as a center of Christian thought and action to provide excellent education through a
Biblical perspective and global context equipping Christian leaders to change the world.
School of Communication & the Arts Mission Statement:
To prepare emerging and established Christian leaders to inspire, enrich and transform the media, the arts, and
the academy through excellence and innovation in scholarship and practice.
SECTION 1: COURSE OVERVIEW
Regent University
School of Communication & the Arts
SSW 510 Story Structure (3cr)
SPRING 2016 (March 14 – May 7)
8 Weeks
Distance
Instructor: Sean Gaffney
Location: Com 260
Office hours: Tuesday 2pm-4pm; Wednesday 1pm-5pm
Phone: (757) 352-4134
Email: sgaffney@regent.edu
Course Description
This course will cover the essential elements of Story Structure and Text Analysis, particularly as they
apply to film, television and theater storytelling. Attention will be given to the universal story elements
drawn from God’s creation and Biblical storytelling.
Faith Integration
Matthew 13:34-35 says:
Jesus spoke all these things to the crowd in parables; he did not say anything to them
without using a parable. So was fulfilled what was spoken through the prophet: “I will
open my mouth in parables, I will utter things hidden since the creation of the world.”
Ever since God spoke the Word into creation, story has been the main way the questions of
existence have been addressed: who are we, where do we come from and where are we going.
The more we understand and can evaluate the stories of our culture, the closer we can come to
bridging the divide between our Maker’s will and humanity’s condition. This course will not only
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explore the structure of story, but will delve deep into the deeper spiritual meaning of that
structure.
Course Learning Outcomes (with match to Program Outcomes)
Upon completion of this course, students should be able to:
1. Analyze screenplays, teleplays and stage plays for structure, character, theme and other
aesthetic elements
2. Understand and describe the power of Story and the importance of Story in understanding
culture
3. Examine secular and sacred scripts and be able to extract themes and symbols, as well as
determine both Biblical and anti-Biblical meanings found in the work
4. Understand Biblical models for storytelling and how faith integrates with an artist’s creative
process; as well as how understanding a Biblical view of story informs a Christ informed life
5.
Required and Supplemental Resources
Required:
Story, by Robert McKee
The Screenwriter's Bible by David Trottier
Casablanca (the film script) by Howard Koch, Julius Epstein, Philip Epstein
Hamlet by William Shakespeare
Pushing Daisies pilot (provided by instructor)
Recommended:
Aristotle's Poetics
Backwards & Forwards by David Ball
Method of Evaluating Student Performance
Assignments
Reading and Lecture Quizzes
Personal Responses
Film/TV/Theater Responses
Five Sentence Stories
Script Breakdown Exercises
Final
Participation
TOTAL
Last updated: 7/1/16
Points
80
80
160
30
270
300
80
1000
Weight
8%
8%
16%
3%
27%
30%
8%
100%
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