English 1201 - Section 03 (Spring, 2015)
Introduction to Film as Literature
Dr. Wes Davis, Professor of English (Office Phone: 706-272-4444)
Office:
216 Liberal Arts Building (English Department) DSC
Office Hours: (Last Updated (12/18/2013) wdavis@daltonstate.edu
Monday and Wednesday, 9:30a.m.-11:30a.m. in the Writing Lab (LIA 315)
Tuesday and Thursday,1:30 p.m.-3:30 p.m. in the Writing Lab(LIA 315)
Description and Purpose:
English 1201 is an introduction to the art of film as literature,
incorporating humanistic, philosophic, historical, and aesthetic
perspectives, as well as critical/interpretive analysis and
synthesis of cinema, from the silent period through the present sound
era. Films are viewed analytically for critical and interpretive
application of these perspectives. The course is also designed to
teach students to think critically through analysis and synthesis by
writing clear, coherent, and correct essays about the films.
Students have the opportunity to interpret the meaning of the films
and to support their ideas or insights with documented evidence from
the films and from secondary sources in the library or online.
Lectures, readings, viewings and quizzes on the films, class
discussions, and objective tests on reading assignments and grammar
will facilitate writing the analyses and syntheses about the films
as literature. Because of this writing requirement, passing English
1101 with at least a grade of “C” is a prerequisite before students
can take this course, as stated in the DSC Catalog.
Textbooks:
Boggs, Joseph & Dennis Petrie. The Art of Watching Films. 8th ed.
Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2008 (Required)
Horner, Webb, Miller. Hodges Harbrace Handbook. 17th edition.
New York: Harcourt Brace, 2010 (Optional).
The American Heritage College Dictionary. 4th edition.
Houghton/Mifflin, 2002 (Optional)
Boston:
Course Requirements
Each student will write four (4) critical/interpretive essays of at
least 650 words each (-11 percentage points for an essay more than
1,000 words) on the various themes, issues, genres, and other elements
of cinema as literature (-30 percentage points for an essay less than
600 words). These essays may be written outside of class. In each
essay, the student must cite and discuss at least eight (8) specific
references in the movie (episodes or scenes, images, quotes, or the
title from the film being analyzed and synthesized), serving as
evidence to support the thesis sentence and any other insights the
student may claim (11 percentage points off for each missing citation
below the eight required references). In fact, the student must back
up any insightful claim with at least one reference of a supporting
episode or scene, quotation or the title in the film, thus making the
student's claim a valid judgment. For at least two of the four
critical essays, each student must also cite a critical/interpretive,
word-for-word quotation about the story directly from each of three
secondary sources (critical reviews by film critics or literary
scholars) from a book, journal or magazine article, course textbook,
Internet sources or CD-ROM in the library, including a "works cited"
page of the primary source (the film) and the secondary sources for
each of these two essays, which will follow the Modern Language
Association (MLA) documentation style. Each of these two writing
assignments will be dropped 22 percentage points for each missing
quotation required from each of the three secondary sources. For
each of these research assignments, the following texts cannot be used
as any of the three required secondary sources: The Bible, the
encyclopedia, the dictionary, Spark Notes, Cliff Notes or Wikipedia.
Use Google Scholar. For all four critical essays, the student must
submit the original copy of each essay, any rough draft, outline, and
research notes. No biography reports on the life of the film director
or the author of the story will be accepted. NO copy-machine essays
will be accepted. Graded essays will be returned one week after they
have been submitted on the original deadline.
In addition to writing the four critical essays, each student will
take objective tests on the reading assignments in the textbook and
on elements of grammar from the college handbook. These tasks, along
with objective quizzes after viewing each film, will help to stimulate
class discussion and to initiate the student's writing process on each
essay assignment about a film viewed in class.
Grading
The breakdown of the final course grade is computed as follows:
30% - Two regular critical/interpretive essays (650 words each)
50% - Two critical research essays, each with a "works cited" page
20% - Chapter tests on the reading assignments in the textbook,
grammar tests based on the handbook, and quizzes on the films
Class Policies
Theme format: Each passing essay, typed or handwritten, must be at
least 650 words and double spaced on loose-leaf paper (30 percentage
points off for an essay less than 600 words).
To receive the final grade earned in the course, students are required
to save all writing assignments and tests in a folder to be collected
at the end of the semester, retained for six months and then destroyed,
by authority of the Board of Regents in the University System of
Georgia, for legal reasons on grade disputes.
Missed objective tests and essays will receive an automatic zero.
Late essays will be marked down one letter grade for each class day
they are late. Any make-up work must be prearranged, as well as
approved by the professor, and completed within a week's time.
The Attendance Policy and the Course Agreement Policy of the
Humanities Division must be signed by each student and returned to
the professor before the student may take the course. Last day to drop
a class without a failure in the course is March 23, 2015.
Each student is responsible for getting to class on time to
participate. Roll will be taken during each class. Students leaving
class early without notifying me will receive one half absence.
Errors in grammar and writing mechanics are also evaluated in
determining the grade for each writing assignment, in addition to
other grading criteria such as paragraph development, essay
organization, clarity of ideas, coherence of sentences and paragraphs
in the whole essay, and evidence supporting a clearly insightful
thesis sentence or any other insightful claim the student makes.
Each student is expected to have mastered the fundamentals of grammar,
writing mechanics, and composition skills, observing the same grading
policies as in English 1101 and 1102 (10 percentage points off for
each of the following serious errors: subject-verb disagreement,
sentence fragment, comma splice, or fused/run-on sentence). Four
(4) points will be taken off for each misspelling or any other
grammatical error. The Harbrace College Handbook and a college-level
dictionary are still useful for grammar, spelling, writing, and
citations in research documentation.
Student Learning Outcomes
1. Students will use technology and gather data to conduct research
from sources, including electronic media, and have an understanding
of plagiarism by citing these sources correctly (Critical Thinking).
2. Students will analyze, evaluate, and give convincing reasons in
support of the thesis, conclusions and arguments.(Critical Thinking)
3. Students will demonstrate the ability to evaluate observations,
inferences, or relationships in works of cinema. (Critical Thinking)
4. Students will demonstrate the ability to make informed judgments
in interpreting works of art, film as literature, or other aesthetic
experiences of cultures worldwide. (General Education Outcomes)
Grading Scale
100% = A+, 95%
89% = B+, 85%
79% = C+, 75%
69% = D+, 65%
59% and below
=
=
=
=
=
A,
B,
C,
D,
F
90%
80%
70%
60%
=
=
=
=
ABCD-
PLEASE NOTE: Cheating and plagiarizing (taking credit for someone
else=s own words, ideas, or writings) will NOT be tolerated. Any
student found cheating or plagiarizing will automatically fail the
test or writing assignment, receiving a zero (0).
Disability Support Services
(Revised July 31, 2013)
Students with disabilities or special needs are encouraged to contact
Disability Support Services on the lower level of the Pope Student
Center. To make an appointment to obtain information on the process
for qualifying for accommodations, the student should contact the
Coordinator of Disability Support Services, Andrea Roberson at
706-272-2524, or visit Disability Support Services Library Guide at
http://libguides.daltonstate.edu/Disability.
DROP/WITHDRAWAL POLICY
Absent students who do not complete the withdrawal procedure or the
course work will receive the grade of F. The student is responsible
for withdrawing from any class by midterm, not the professor. Last
day to drop classes without a failure is March 23, 2015 (midterm).
COMPLETE WITHDRAWAL STATEMENT(Revised July 17, 2012)
The proper form for withdrawing from all classes at the college is
the Schedule Adjustment Form. All students must meet with a staff
member at the Office of Academic Resources in the Pope Student Center
to initiate the withdrawal process. Students will then finalize the
withdrawal process with the staff in the Enrollment Services Office.
SELECTED FILMS FOR VIEWING AND WRITING ESSAYS of 650 Words Each
First Essay Assignment (Due on Friday, January 30th)
1. An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge (1961), by Ambrose Bierce
2. Nosferatu (the Vampire): A Symphony of Silent Horror (1922)
3. Metropolis (1926): Silent Science Fiction Classic Film
4. Barn Burning (1980): Based on William Faulkner’s short story
Second Essay Assignment (Due on Friday, March 13th)
5. All Quiet on the Western Front (1930), by Eric Maria Remarque
6. Gone with the Wind, Best Picture in 1939 from the Golden Age
of Hollywood, or The Deer Hunter (Best Motion Picture in 1978)
7. The Grapes of Wrath (1940), based on John Steinbeck’s famous novel
8. Singin’ in the Rain (1952) Romantic Musical Comedy
Third Essay Assignment (Due on Friday, April 10th)
9. High Noon (1952), based on John Cunningham’s Western--Allegory
10. Lord of the Flies (1963), by William Golding (Symbolism/Allegory)
11. Cool Hand Luke (1967): Prison drama with Symbolism and Allegory
12. Summer of ‘42 (1971): Comical with Serious Themes (Allegorical)
Fourth Essay Assignment (Due on Friday, Mayth1st, at Final Exam Time)
13. Glory (1989), Civil War drama of the 54 Massachusetts Regiment
14. Of Mice and Men (1992), based on John Steinbeck’s short novel
15. Chronicles of Narnia: the Lion, the Witch, & the Wardrobe, 2005
16. Equilibrium (2002) Science Fiction Dystopia of the 21st Century
17. The Lord of the Rings (2001-2003)is optional for the fourth
essay (First fantasy film in the history of the Academy Awards
since 1928 to win an Oscar for best motion picture in 2003)or
The Hobbit (2012-2014), from J.R.R. Tolkien’s classic fantasy.
Emergency Instructional Plan
If the college is closed for inclement weather or other
conditions, please refer to the syllabus for due dates to complete
reading and writing assignments. Check your email for additional
messages, assignments, and due dates. I will be available to answer
questions through email. If I cannot email you because of loss of
power, complete all due assignments and bring them to the next class.
Compensatory make-up days may be required if the total number of class
days lost exceeds the equivalent of one week of class time.