Instructor: Monica Montelongo Flores
Email: monica.montelongo.flores@ttu.edu
Skype:
monica.montelongo.flores
Office: 456
Office Hours:
Monday, Wednesday, & Friday 9:00am-10:00am
Course Website: www.ttueng2388spring2016.blogspot.com
Course Description:
In this course, students will become familiar with
the history of film and its relationship to the representation, identification,
and construction of gender on screen. Students will acquire a language to
discuss, analyze, and write about film and examine the relationships between
gender and culturally specific perspectives in the developments of film,
including audience reception, production, and distribution. This course
examines history and technologies of cinema, its trends, styles, and genres and
students will become familiar with their impact on societal notions of gender. We
will study a variety of historical, national, cultural, and political
backgrounds including Western and Non-Western perspectives in order to understand
how cinema represents gender in multiple cultures. This course covers a wide
range in film and students explore issues including but not limited to:
pre-cinema, early cinema, silent films, German Expressionism, Surrealism,
Soviet Montage, early sound, American auteurs, Third World Cinemas,
transnational cinemas, and digital cinema. Students will become literate in
film analysis, paying particular attention to mise-en-scène, cinematography,
narrative structure, editing, and sound.
Humanities Core Curriculum Requirement:
This course fulfills the Humanities requirement for
TTU’s Core Curriculum. The objective of the humanities in the core curriculum
is to expand the student’s knowledge of the human condition and human cultures,
especially in relation to behaviors, ideas, and values expressed in works of
human imagination and thought. Students will engage in critical analysis and
develop an appreciation of the humanities.
Expected
Learning Outcomes:
1.) Students will become familiar
with reading and analyzing film and practice the use of terminology specific to
film studies.
2.) Students will become familiar
with the history of cinema, specifically the technology, trends, genres, major
movements, and audience reception.
3.) Students will become familiar
with the study of gender, paying particular attention to the relationship between
the construction of gender on screen and in society.
4.) Students will practice the
process of critical reading, thinking, and writing, practice their own writing
process, and develop techniques for revision.
5.) Students will be competent
and comfortable engaging in discussions, asking thoughtful
questions, and responding to
challenging topics.
Required Texts:
Book:
Book:
Mast, Gerald, and Bruce F.
Kawin. A Short History of the Movies. Abridged. 11th edition.
Boston: Pearson, 2012.
ISBN: 978-0-205-21062-6
Selected readings on course
website
Films:
Rebecca (1943)
High Noon (1952)
The
Searchers (1956)
Touch of Evil (1958)
Psycho (1960)
Star Wars (1977)
Pulp Fiction (1994)
Winter’s Bone (2010)
Pariah (2011)
Note on
Screenings:
Only the films listed in the
required texts are required for you to either purchase or rent. Films listed as
“required texts” may be rented on Netflix, Amazon Prime, etc…
Films listed as “Screen on your
own” in the course schedule require you to have watched the film prior to the
class day it will be discussed. (Some of the early films listed as “Screen on
your own” are available in the “Films” tab on the course website.)
Films listed as “In-Class
Screening” will be shown in class and you are not required to watch prior to
class.
*These films may
include graphic violence, sexual content, and controversial or challenging
topics. If at any time you feel uncomfortable with the material, feel free to
exit the classroom and return once the screening has concluded.
Assignments:
Participation:
10%
Note-taking Exercises 10%
Responses
10%
National Cinemas Presentation 10%
Film Review 10%
Mid-Term
25%
Final
Exam:
25%
Participation:
Participation equals a total of 10%
of your average. Your class participation grade will be made up of the
following:
Individual in-class writing
assignments
Students will complete writing
activities, such as free-writing assignments, in-class. These are “pop”
participation grades, meaning I will pick them up without announcement.
These assignments will be graded as credit/no credit.
In-class group activities
These are group activities that
will be completed in class. I will assign you groups to work with for
each activity. These are “pop” participation grades, meaning I will pick them
up without announcement. They will be graded as credit/no credit.
Reading Questions
These questions can be found in
the “Reading Questions” tab on the course website. Students will answer these
questions while completing the assigned reading. These questions/answers will
serve as part of your study guide for the mid-term and final examinations.
These are “pop” participation grades, meaning I will pick them up without
announcement. These assignments can be typed or hand-written (legibly). These
assignments will be graded as credit/no credit.
Discussion Questions
You will create your own
discussion questions on the films screened for class. These can be typed or
handwritten. They will be graded as credit/no credit.
Quizzes
Quizzes will be over major topics
from screenings. These will be graded with a numerical score. These quizzes
cannot be made-up if absent. There will be twelve quizzes over the semester as
listed on the course schedule.
Note
on Participation Assignments:
You should note that many of
these assignments will be done or due in-class, so if you
miss class or are late to class you will be forfeiting a portion of your
participation grade. These assignments cannot be made-up or
turned in late. Students are expected to come to class prepared, having
done reading and screening assignments, as well as bring reading materials to
class. If you know you are going to miss a class and have an assignment due,
please email the assignment to me prior to class for credit.
Note-taking
Exercises: (Submit on Turnitin)
Using the Note-Taking Worksheet,
you will view a shot, a scene, or a sequence and take notes over it. You will
find that as you get more comfortable with the template, you may want to add to
it. This is fine, and expected as you begin to develop your own note-taking
process when viewing film. These notes will be used to develop your response
papers. They will be graded as credit/no credit. Please see course website for
further instructions.
Response Papers:
(Submit on Turnitin)
In your
response papers, you will generate your own close analysis and write a short
argument over the shot, scene, or sequence. These responses will, in part, come
from the notes you have taken using the Note-taking worksheet, where you will
turn your notes into clear and concise prose. They will also respond
to a topic or question assigned. Your response papers should be no less than
400 words and double-spaced in 12 point font. They will be graded as credit/no
credit. Please see course website for further instructions.
Re-Do
Policy:
For your Note-Taking Exercises
and Response Papers, I apply a “Re-Do” policy occasionally and at my
discretion. These exercises are meant to
help organize, synthesize, and apply your ideas to the topics and films we will
cover, so you should put time and effort into these assignments. These
exercises are graded as “Credit,” “Re-Do,” or "No Credit." A “Re-Do” must be revised and resubmitted
within 48 hours to receive credit. If a “Re-Do” assignment is not resubmitted
within 48 hours it will receive a “0” or a "No Credit." These will be
resubmitted on Turnitin.
*I do not accept
late work. This includes all Participation Assignments, Note-Taking Exercises,
or Response Papers.
National Cinemas
Presentation: (Presented in class)
Either
in a group or individually, you will research and present on the history and
cinematic traditions of a nation. You are required to make a one page handout
(front and back) for your classmates over the nation you present and analyze a
short scene from a selected film with a focus on the ways gender is represented.
These presentations should be no longer than 7-8 minutes, including a 2 minute
scene or sequence. Please see course website for further instructions.
Film Review:
(Submitted on Turnitin)
Your
film review is meant to assess the quality of a cinematic work with particular
attention to issues such as technique, style, and thematic content. You will approach the film review as a cinema
scholar, building off of the histories and concepts you have learned throughout
the semester. The film review should be no less than 600 words, double-spaced,
and in 12 point font. Please see course website for further instructions.
Exams: (Taken in
class)
Your Mid-Term and Final exams
will consist of multiple choice, note-taking, and short essay questions. The
Reading Questions should be used as a study guide for your exams, along with
lectures, and screening topics.
*If you cannot
take the exam on the scheduled day, you must inform me at least one week in
advance and make appropriate arrangements with academic testing services to
take the exam before the scheduled exam day. I will not permit
exams to be taken after the scheduled day.
Grading Scale
A = 100-90, B = 89-80, C = 79-70,
D = 69-60, F = 59 or below.
Credit/No Credit: This is a
pass/fail scale, where a student who has “passed” (C or better) will receive
full credit on an assignment. This scale is only used for select participation
assignments, Note-Taking Exercises, and Response Papers.
Attendance:
Attendance is an important
component to succeeding in this course. If you must miss class, you are
required to email me at monica.montelongo.flores@ttu.edu as soon as
possible. Written assignments must still be completed on time if
you miss class. If you are more than 10 minutes late to class you will be
counted absent. Students are not allowed to leave early. If you are
required to miss more than 4 days of class, you might want to consider dropping
the course. Students are permitted three absences without
grade penalty. Upon the fourth absence, you will
receive a 5% reduction on your final course average. For each continual absence
you will receive another 5% reduction (i.e. 5 absences= 10%, 6 absences=15%)
In the case of a personal
emergency or illness, please contact me ASAP regarding your absence. I
occasionally, and at my discretion, may make exceptions for issues including,
but not limited to, emergency hospitalizations, funerals, etc.
Classroom Environment:
This course is made up of
lecture, discussion, activities, and screenings. All four components of this
classroom environment are necessary in our study of film. Students are expected
to adhere to the following etiquette while in this course:
Lecture
I will provide lecture for many
of the topics in this course. Students are expected to take notes and actively
listen. I do not provide Power Point slides or notes on my course
website. If you are absent, please contact a classmate prior to contacting me
for these notes.
Discussion
Students are expected to discuss
historical and analytic topics in this course. Discussion is an important
part in film analysis. I encourage discussion that engages multiple views,
discourses, and even disagreements. Please feel free to speak up in the
classroom. Please refer to the behavior policy listed below and respect your
classmates and myself in our discussions.
Activities
Individual or group activities
are expected to be completed in class. Students are expected to take the entire
allotted time to best complete the activity. Spending three minutes of an
allotted fifteen minutes on an activity is not considered participation. This
will result in a grade of “no credit.”
Screenings
In-class screenings are to be actively
watched. At times, I may ask you to take notes over a screening. Under no
circumstances, should there be talking, texting, or any other distracting
activity during these screenings. Students who break these screening
policies will be asked to leave the theater and counted absent for the day.
Behavior:
Students are expected to use
language appropriate for the academic setting and show respect to the classroom
instructor and the students, both in-class and during online
correspondence. I encourage an open class discussion in both the in-class
and online environments. During these class discussions, keep in mind that you
need to use discretion with your language and respect disagreements with myself
and other classmates.
Technology:
When you come to class your cells
phones and other electronic devices (including laptops) should be turned off
and remain off for the time spent in class. Texting, checking social media
sites, and other uses of electronic devices are a distraction, so these
activities are not allowed in class. If you break any of
the preceding technology policies, you will be asked to leave and counted
absent for that day.
Correspondence:
The best way to get in contact
with me is through email at monica.montelongo.flores@ttu.edu.
Please include your section
number in your correspondence. You can expect a response within 48 hours.
Keep in mind that I may not respond until 48 hours later, so if you have
questions concerning an upcoming assignment it is better to do it as soon as
possible.
Office Hours:
Office hours are intended for you
to get help with your writing assignments, your readings for class, or any
other issue that might pertain to this course. If you are unable to meet with
me during regular office hours, we can set up a Skype appointment, or I am
always available to help you via email. Please do not hesitate to contact me if
you have questions or concerns over an assignment.
Contesting a
Grade:
If you choose to contest a grade
you must wait 48 hours from the time the grade was submitted
to contact me. You may wait no longer than 5 days from when the grade was
submitted to contact me. This only gives you a 72 hour time period to contest a
grade. When you contest a grade you must write and submit to me via email a 400
word essay explaining why your grade is inaccurate and how your assignment
achieved or mastered the assignment requirements. Keep in mind, if you
choose to contest a grade there is a possibility that I may in fact lower the
score previously submitted. A grade contest does not guarantee
a higher grade. Please consider this before you contact me.
Students with
Disabilities
Any student who, because of a
disability, may require some special arrangements in order to meet course
requirements should contact the instructor as soon as possible to request
necessary accommodations. Student should present appropriate verification from
Student Disability Services. No requirement exists that accommodations be made
prior to the completion of this approved university process (TTU OP 34.22,
p.2).
For more information, you may
visit Student Disability Services in 335 West Hall, call at 742-2405, or visit:
http://www.depts.ttu.edu/students/sds/
Plagiarism/Academic
Integrity
I do not tolerate plagiarism in
this course. If you are found to have plagiarized someone else’s work, you will
fail that assignment, and may be subject to failing the entire course. Note
that plagiarism includes self-plagiarism, i.e. recycling materials you may have
written for another course. For more on the university’s policies on plagiarism
see:
http://www.depts.ttu.edu/studentconduct/academicinteg
*I reserve the
right to alter the course schedule as will best suit the needs of the class
during the semester. I will inform students of changes both in class and
online.
