Dr. Karen U. Fulton, Professor
Tel: 271-4317(English) 271-5995 (Study Away)
email: fulton@missouriwestern.edu
Office: 222H Eder Hall 11-12 and 1:30-3M and 1:30-3 T; Study Away Office 10-12 and 10-3 W; other hours by appointment
Final Examination
Thursday, May 1 at 2 pm
Leonard, Elmore. Out of Sight. New York: Dell, 1996.
Millhauser, Thomas. The Barnum Museum. Normal, IL: The Dalkey Archive Press, 1997.
English 210 fulfills Category IV General Studies requirements. These goals can be found on http://www.mwsc.edu/~engdept/genstud.html. All English 210 sections provide practice in reading poetry, prose fiction, and drama.
Film 210 means
Academic Honesty Policy and
Due Process
Academic honesty is required in all academic endeavors. Violations of academic honesty include any instance of plagiarism, cheating, seeking credit for another’s work, falsifying documents or academic records, or any other fraudulent activity. Violations of academic honesty may result in a failing grade on the assignment, failure in the course, or expulsion from the University. When a student’s grade has been affected, violations of academic honesty will be reported to the Provost or designated representative on the Academic Honesty Violation Report Form.
Please see the 2007-2008 Student Handbook and Calendar for specific activities identified as violations of this policy and the student due process procedure. This handbook is also available online at http://www.missouriwestern.edu/handbook/index.pdf
It is required that students submit their own work in this class. Students who are guilty of plagiarism or cheating in any form will automatically receive a zero for the assignment involved and will place themselves in jeopardy of failing the course.
Students who have a disability which might prevent their maximum performance in the class should make this known to the instructor immediately so that provisions may be made for any assistance needed.
This is a college class and you are expected to behave as a mature college student.
By choosing to take this section of ENG 210: Approaches to Literature, you are committing to being a fully participating audience member. In spite of the wizardry of modern technology, films are meant to be viewed collectively, so that your response may join with others and so that you become aware of the fact that a given film may affect you in a far different manner than someone else in the class.
When we are viewing films, the “writing lights” will be left on, so that you can take notes or make responses as you are watching the film.
Distractions must be kept to a minimum so that you can watch the film with your full attention and also be aware of others’ responses. Therefore no cell phones, pagers, instant messaging devices or other electronic equipment are allowed to operate in this classroom. Cell phones must be turned off when you enter the classroom and may not be turned on until the plane has reached the gate (oops, wrong announcement—same idea). Electronic equipment may not be used for game-playing or instant messaging. It can distract others; it will certainly distract you. If you have a situation that requires that you can be reached, talk with the instructor prior to class about putting your cell phone on vibrate and take the call outside the classroom. If I see an electronic offense, you will leave the classroom, take an absence for the day, and not be allowed to complete any out-of-class or in-class assignments.
I begin class when the computer shows 3:30. If you are not in your designated seat by that time, you will not be allowed to take any quiz or complete any work from that class. The class is scheduled to run until 6:20. Frequently, the films we watch make it possible to be out earlier than that, but the class is not over until I dismiss it. Do not plan on meeting someone at 6:15. If you leave before class is dismissed you will take an unexcused absence for the day. To facilitate our limited time together, there will always be an Agenda printed on the screen as soon as I arrive.
As an audience participant, you should be courteous to others. Conversation and whispering during the film is distracting to other students. During the instructor’s presentation of material, students should be listening and taking notes. If questions are asked by others, listen carefully to the question and the answer, so that the material does not have to be repeated. It is rude (as well as distracting) to talk or whisper during this class. If I note problems in this area, I will require that students sit with at least one space between them.
You are expected to be an active participant in this class. Therefore a sleeping student will be awakened and will receive an absence for the day.
As a responsible member of the audience, you will turn in all work on time and in the format specified. If the work does not conform to specifications or is late, it will be penalized by a loss of points.
Chapters of the Film 2008 Book are placed on the O/P drive as are cast lists, paragraph assignments, and other material to enrich your viewing. The material on the O/P drive will always be placed there one week ahead of the time you will be responsible for it. See the cover letter for how we will handle this due to my absence from the first class.
I post grades on the O/P drive five times during the course of the semester. At our second meeting, you will be given a nom de film under which your points will be posted. No one should know your nom de film except you and your instructor.
Four False Assumptions about this Class
(I will go
over these in more detail next week.)
Assumption 1: There is no reading in the class; we only watch films.
Assumption 2: All work is done in class; there is no homework.
Assumption 3: The films have been chosen entirely based upon student enjoyment; therefore I will like every film in this class.
Assumption 4: Every film we see will be a comfortable experience for me; all films will reinforce my moral belief system.
Grading Policies
The class grade is computed on the basis of 200 points divided into halves.
1. Class work (100 pts. Total) Eleven of these exercises will be given; the lowest score will be dropped.
· Multiple choice quizzes over reading and films
· Short answer applications of written material to films
· Take home written responses
2. Tests (100 points total)
ü 10 point survey (all or nothing)
ü 50 point take-home essay (5-6 page maximum)
3. Total points possible 200 pts.
· Opportunities to earn a maximum of 15 points extra credit are given during the second half of the semester. These extra credit assignments are all or nothing.
Some Important Formatting
Issues
Ratings Journal
ü All classes will end with you handing in your "rating" slip for the film; there is space on the quiz sheets I hand out for this. Otherwise you will turn in a rating with your name and the film’s name on notebook paper. The notebook paper is required to be a complete sheet and not have squiggles hanging from it. If the sheet is torn or “squiggly,” 2 points will be deducted from your next 10-point assignment.
ü You are expected to keep a rating journal over the course of the semester, listing your own rating as well as the class rating of the film and the Internet Movie Data Base (IMDb) rating which will be found on the P-drive under Tally. The journal will be reproduced as part of the Final examination survey.
Calendar
ENG 210-06 Calendar
Approaches to Literature
Film Literature
Class 1
(1/15) No class due to death in the family. Fill out information sheets.
Class 2
(1/22) Syllabus coverage, introduction to O/P-drive, methods of working this
semester. View “Sherlock
Jr.” View “You Must Remember This”
Class 3 (1/29) Prior to
class, read Chapters 1 “A (Extremely) Brief (and Biased) History of (American)
Film” and 3 “The Classic Film”. View “Casablanca.” Preview “Memento.”
Class 4 (2/5) Prior to class
read Chapter 4 “Accepting Uncertainty—the Modern Film.” View “Memento” and
“Making of a Scene in ‘Memento.’”
Class 5 (2/12) Prior to
class, read Chapter 5 “Genre and Comedy”. View “The Lady Eve” During the next
two weeks, you should be reading “Eisenheim, the Illusionist.”
Class 6 (2/19) Prior to
class, read Chapter 6 “Crime Films and the Film Noir.” View “The Usual
Suspects”
Class 7 (2/26) Prior to
class, read Chapter 2”The (Very) Least You Should Know about Film (and
Literature)” and Appendix A “Writing Persuasively.” View “The Illusionist”;
topics for mid-term essay handed out.
Class 8
(3/4) Mid-term due. View
“Stranger than Fiction”
Spring Break
Class 9 (3/18) Prior to
class, read Chapter 7 “The Visionary Film.” View “Children of Men.”
Class 10 (3/25) Prior to
class, read Chapter 8 “The Action Film.” View “The Searchers.”
Class 11 (4/1) Prior to
class, read Chapter 9 “Music and Musicals.” View “Top Hat.”
Class 12 (4/8) Prior to
class, read Chapter 10 “Foreign Films.” View “Pan’s Labyrinth.”
Class 13 (4/15) Prior to class, read Chapter 11 “Truth or Dare:
Documentaries.” View “An Inconvenient Truth.”
Class 14 (4/22) View “Out of
Sight.” Final Essay Question and Survey handed out.
Final
Thursday May 1 at 2 pm. Turn in surveys and writing.