Dr. Karen U. Fulton, Professor
Tel: 271-4317 (English Department)
271-5995 (Study Away office)
email: fulton@missouriwestern.edu
Office hours: 222H
Office hours: 101 Hearnes 10-12 and 1-2 W
Other times by appointment
Final Examination
Millhauser, Thomas. The
Wallace, Daniel. Big Fish.
English 210 fulfills Category IV General Studies requirements. These goals can be found onhttp://www.mwsc.edu/~engdept/genstud.html. All English 210 sections provide practice in reading poetry, prose fiction, and drama.
Film 210 means
It is required that students submit their own work. 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.
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
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.
False Assumptions about this Class
Assumption 1: There is no reading in the class; we only watch films.
False. There is actually quite a bit of reading in this class. The class will read “Eisenhiem, the Illusionist,” a short story, and Big Fish, a novel.
The text for this class is a book written by the instructor and posted on the O/ P-drive. Instead of asking you to spend money on a book like Anatomy of Film (which I used previously; it runs about $45), chapters of a book, as well as cast lists, will be posted on the O/P-drive. The first three chapters are already posted on the P-drive. You will be responsible for having read them prior to the next session of the class. In future weeks, the average reading will be one short chapter. No reading is assigned for the days when you have a major assignment due.
Assumption 2: All work is done in class; there is no homework.
False. You will be doing outside writing in the take-home portion of the final, in the mid-term, and in the paragraph written responses. The extra credit assignments (if you choose to do them) also demand written work.
Assumption 3: The films have been chosen entirely based upon student enjoyment; therefore I will like every film in this class.
False. While I hope you enjoy the majority of these films, I primarily choose films based on their learning value and for the range of the film experience they represent. Therefore, we will see a silent film today and several films in black and white. If you are taking this class because you are a big fan of "Dumb and Dumber" or "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" and expect class films to be similar, you may want to rethink your decision to take this section. Because this class is offered as an English offering, ENG 210, (as opposed to a mass media one), the emphasis of this class falls on such things as narrative, character, and dialogue (as opposed to special effects.)
Assumption 4: Every film we see will be a comfortable experience for me; all films will reinforce my moral belief system.
False. One of the goals of this class is to expose its members to films which may challenge preconceptions of film and its subject matter. While my choice of films is not terribly "avant-garde" or "cutting edge," I do try to select some films that expose you to cultural, religious, and sexual points of view that you may not have considered before or be comfortable with. If you feel that you will have trouble being open to this kind of experience and reflecting that openness in your written responses, you may want to rethink your decision to take this section.
Grading Policies
The class grade is computed on the basis of 200 points divided into halves. Eleven of these exercises will be given; the lowest score will be dropped.
1. Class work (100 pts. Total)
· Quizzes over reading and films
· Take home written responses
2. Tests (100 points total)
ü 10 point survey (all or nothing)
ü 50 point take-home essay portion
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.
A. A 10 point all-or-nothing survey.
B. A take-home component which will be based on reading Big Fish and watching the film “Big Fish.”
Course Procedures
Materials
Film-based materials are posted on the O/P-drive one week ahead. At the end of today's first class, material for next week's film will already by up on the O/P-drive and I will go through the steps to access the O/P-drive. You are responsible for mastering the background material. It may be the basis for quizzes, which are given to insure that you are keeping up with reading.
Agenda
Since we meet only once a week, our time together is likely to be very full. Therefore class will start on time. When you come into the room, check the screen for the day’s agenda. Every class will begin with an agenda posted on the screen.
There is usually a short lecture by the instructor on the reading and how it applies to the film and the film itself. Sometimes in place of the lecture, we will view a short “making of” featurette so that you can hear and see the people directly involved in the film.
Depending upon the length of the film (and films are getting longer), question time will follow.
If a film's length is under 2 hours, we will view it with no break; instead our break will come before viewing the film.
If a film's length is over 2 hours, we will take a short (no more than 5 minutes) break around the middle of the film.
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.
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.