Professor John G. Morris
Eng. 2053-22372 Spring 2016
Office: NB 2027
Office Phone: 581-2329
FAX: 581-2897
johnmor@cameron.edu
Office Hours:
10 - 11:30 M W
2 – 3
M W F
1:30 - 3
T R
10 - 10:45
F
and by appointment
Film as Literature
Texts:
1. Barbery. The Elegance of the Hedgehog. Trans. Anderson. ISBN: 9781-933372-60-0
2. Dick. Anatomy of Film. 6th ed. ISBN: 978-0-312-48711-9
3. Gibaldi. The MLA Handbook For Writers of Research Papers. 7th ed.*
ISBN: 978-1-60329-024-1
4. Letts. August: Osage County. ISBN: 978-1-55936-330-3
Catalogue Course Description: The study of film as an educational,
verbal, and visual medium for storytelling.
Emphasis on literature
adapted for film and on literary aspects of non-adapted great films.
Lecture 3 hours.
Course Objectives:
1. Students will gain proficiency in close reading of film texts and
expand and refine their critical vocabularies
2. Students will acquaint themselves with the productions of selected
great films and films adapted from literary texts
3. Students will gain skills in writing about literature
English Program Course Objectives:
1. Students will be able to think and read critically
2. Students are knowledgeable about a diversity of literary traditions
and genres
3.
Students will be able to write well, with an understanding of
rhetorical situation
English Education Program Objectives:
1. Students will demonstrate knowledge of reading processes
2. Students will demonstrate knowledge of, and uses for, an extensive
range of literature
3. Students will demonstrate knowledge of, and skills in the use of, the
English language
General Education Program Objective:
Outcome 5: Aesthetics: The student will make informed and reasoned
responses to questions of aesthetics.
Requirements
1. Reading assignments completed when indicated below.
2. Two short-answer and essay examinations, the midterm and the final.
3.
Participation in the class Film Log: In addition to oral remarks
offered in class discussions of films, you will observe, respond, react
and comment about the films we view as a class in written responses that
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you will read at the beginning of the following class. Attendance at and
entries about two of the films shown during the three Magic Lantern Film
Society evenings scheduled during the semester are required; attendance
and entries about the other evening will provide extra credit. Ask me if
there are other films you wish to write about. In addition to personal
responses (which, keeping in mind Henry James' remark in "The Art of
Fiction" that there is no substitute for the good old-fashioned liking of
a thing, are natural, but which should always be anchored by references
to specific details), your remarks should analyze camera angles, shots,
sequences, and elements (such as sound, musical motifs and themes, and so
on) that contribute to the construction of theme of the films. While
they can be longer, each of the entries should be a minimum of the
equivalent of a typed page at 12 characters per inch (cpi), about 250
words. I will make remarks on your entries, which you will turn in.
Remember at all times to be respectful of your classmates' opinions and
feelings even if you disagree with some of those opinions. Keep in mind
how you want your own ideas and opinions to be received.
4. Two short, two-to-three page, reviews, one of a classic film and one
of a film currently in the theaters; I encourage you to make use of Magic
Lantern offerings for the classic film. More about these in a subsequent
handout.
5. A critical paper of five-to-seven complete pages, exclusive of Works
Cited page, the final draft of which will be DUE on Friday, 20 April.
More about this in a subsequent handout.
Policies:
1. Attendance and Absences: Attendance is important for success in this
course, especially since "notes" for our discussions of films will not
necessarily translate well.
While there is no direct penalty for
absences, there is an indirect penalty. I will not accept late written
responses to the films, and there is no way to recreate our class
discussions of the films. If you miss two class periods or fewer, two
weeks of class, you should be okay; if you miss more, please make an
appointment to see me.
2. Weather Policy and Emergency Communication System: Please see the
Student Supplement and Syllabus Attachment.
3. Dropping and Withdrawing: See the Student Supplement and Syllabus
Attachment.
If your name is still on my roster at the end of the term,
I must award you a grade; please do not make me fail you for nonattendance. I will be happy to sign a drop slip during the period when my
signature is required with a W.
3.
Accommodations for Students with Disabilities: See the Student
Supplement and Syllabus Attachment.
4. Evaluation and Grading: I will evaluate you in terms of the following
percentages. Each of the two film reviews will count ten percent of your
final grade; the course essay will count twenty percent. The Film Log,
the average of the peer evaluation sheets, and the average of the quizzes
will count fifteen percent. The midterm examination will count fifteen
percent, and the final examination twenty percent. Finally, I will award
ten percent of your grade based upon my perception of your oral class
participation.
5. Emergency Egress: In case of a weather emergency, please note the
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following. The tornado shelter in Nance-Boyer is in the basement. To get
there, exit NB 3033 to your left (north) to the stairwell and walk down
three flights. In the case of a fire drill, exit NB 3033 to your left,
take the stairwell down two flights of stairs to the first floor, head
right (north) and exit the glass doors immediately west of the ramp. Be
sure to walk far enough away from the building to permit others to leave.
6. Academic Dishonesty: See the Student Information Sheet and Syllabus
Attachment.
In regard to plagiarism, please make sure that you understand
what this very grave error entails and avoid. The student handbook
indicates a range of penalties: “The student’s grade in the course or
on the examination or other academic work affected by the dishonesty
may be reduced to any extend, including a reduction to failure” (sec.
5.08). If I can prove that you have plagiarized deliberately, I will
fail you for the course.
NB: Please note that I will require you to submit rough and final
drafts to SafeAssign, which is part of Blackboard; failure to submit
either draft by the final deadline will result in a subtraction of a
letter grade per failure.
7. Changes to Syllabus: Though I do not anticipate having to do so, I
may have to make changes in the daily calendar below, which changes I
will announce in class. You are responsible for any changes made
during these announcements even if you are not present when I announce
them. I will be willing to tell you of changes in the calendar in you
inquire.
Calendar
January
8
Introduction; preliminary discussion of film and film terms; My
Darling Clementine
15 My Darling Clementine: discussion; “The Western,” AoF, 133-141; clip;
Quiz #1 over clip; “Understanding the Medium,” AoF 1-20; “Film, Space,
and Mise-en-Scène,” AoF 51-98
22 “Enhancing the Image: Color, Lighting, and Visual Effects,” AoF 99118; Quiz #2 over terms; Casablanca
29 Casablanca: discussion; “Graphics and Sound,” AoF 21-50; Citizen Kane
February
5 Citizen Kane: discussion; “Citizen Kane”(handout); “Film Subtext,” AoF
200-37; Quiz #2 over film clip; The General; rough Draft of Film Review
#1 DUE for peer evaluation
12 The General; discussion; “The Film Director,” AoF 238-67; sample film
review, issues
19 Ida: discussion; “Taking Essay Exams About Literature” (handout):
sample examination, sample answers; Film Review #1 DUE
26 Midterm Examination (My Darling Clementine-Ida); review of expository
prose, MLA style: MLA Handbook 4.1-4.9, 116-2; 5.1-5.3.6, 1126-35; 5.7.3,
197-98; 6.1-6.3, 214-19; “Film Analysis,“ AoF 321-44; “Film Theory and
Criticism,” AoF 345-85
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March
4
“Film and Literature,” AoF 268-320; Barbery, The Elegance of the
Hedgehog; discussion
11 The Hedgehog; discussion; Letts, August, Osage County; discussion
18 Spring recess; no class
23 Letts, cont.; August, Osage County: discussion
April
1 “The Musical,” AoF 122-33; The Bandwagon; discussion; Film Review #2
DUE
8 “Film Noir,” AoF 147-52; The Grifters
15 The Grifters: discussion; The Spectacular Now; rough draft of course
essay DUE for peer evaluation
22
The Spectacular Now: discussion; sample draft of course essay,
issues; evaluation
29
Final draft of course essay DUE; last-chance proofreading; Smoke
Signals; discussion
May
6
12:30-2:30 Final Examination (Hedgehog-Smoke Signals)
Last Date to Withdraw with an Automatic W:
Last Date to Withdraw from a Single Class:
Wednesday, 6 April
Wednesday, 20 April