READING FILM // Syllabus
Fall 2019 // T-TH 1:00PM-2:15PM(FH229) — Screenings: T 4PM-630PM (this could change)// Office Hours: M 1:30–2:20PM or by appointment// Office: 235 U (inside the MLL Department)
squintero@furman.edu
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
“As good a way as any towards understanding what a film is trying to say to us is to know how it is saying it” (Andre Bazin).
This course is about learning how to read films, both at a micro and a macro level. We will focus on how films say what they have to say, from single frames, shots, and narratives. We will also explore the relation between these formal aspects and culture. Now, “Reading Film” serves as an introduction to the study of film, thus it provides students with a basic set of tools for analyzing moving images. We will look at the basic components of film style, including things like mise-en-scène through cinematography to editing and sound; we will consider different principles of narration as well as the construction of non-narrative films. Finally we will familiarize ourselves with the basic terminology for film analysis (at least enough to sound smart when talking about movies ;] )
REQUIRED TEXTS
- The main textbook for this class (abbreviated as FE above) is: Timothy Corrigan & Patricia White, The Film Experience: An Introduction 5th ed. (Bedford/St. Martin’s). You can get this book through Amazon or through their website. You can either rent it or buy it (new or used). You MUST have the printed version of this book (unless you have special accomodations). You will need your own copy of this book by the 3rd week of class. This means you have at least two weeks to get it; meanwhile I will upload the reads to Moodle.
- Other required readings (as shown in the course’s calendar) will be available on Moodle.
ASSIGNMENTS, PARTICIPATION, AND EXAMS:
There will be three graded 2 to 3 page sequence analyses and one JOKER (out of 4 assignments one will not count towards your final grade). Topics and instructions will be announced in lecture and posted posted on the course Moodle approximately a week before the due date. Expect additional short assignments! (e.g.leading a discussion or introducing a clip for analysis.)
There are two in-class exams: The midterm exam will cover the first half of the course. The final exam will cover the second half. The date of the final exam is: December 13, 2019, from 12:00PM to 2:30PM. There will not be alternate dates for the final exam (except, of course, if you need special accommodations and have the proper documentation.) You should complete all papers and examinations if you want to receive credit for the course. Late papers will automatically receive a grade one degree lower for every day it is late!
Medium posts: Throughout the semester we will be using Medium as a means to share our work, including assignments and written sequence analysis. During the first weeks of the course, you will set up a Medium account, complete your profile, and be invited to the course publication. As I mentioned before, some of these assignments will be more structured (i.e. a response to questions I offer), while many of them will be more flexible, allowing you to respond to any aspect of the text/film we are studying. In some cases I will ask you to engage with the responses of some of your colleagues. These responses can come in the form of a comment (in your classmates’ Meduim post) or as a response post all in itself. Responses should be as collaborative as possible; ask questions of each other and use other posts as a jumping off point by answering questions, complicating ideas, etc.
A lot of your work for this course will live publicly on the web within open platforms like Medium. If you would like to remain anonymous, I encourage you to use a pseudonym. If you don’t want to include a photograph of yourself, that is absolutely fine as long as you upload an avatar to represent you and provide me with your info (grading purposes). Please think carefully about these choices.
Grading: This course requires many different kinds of work, and so, different kinds of grading. From viewing and listening, to reading, writing, and discussing your points of views. Your performance in class will be graded in each of these areas. Now, this course will focus on qualitative not quantitative assessment. This means I will be paying more attention to the quality of your work rather than if you are solely completing it. What do I mean by quality you may ask? It means mostly three things: 1) it engages and references the concepts and films we study in class. This means attendance, for example, is crucial for this course (more of this below.) 2) It is carefully crafted. By this I don’t mean it needs to be perfectly written,but it should be well structured and clear. Be straightforward with your arguments, even if you feel it is a controversial point or an obscure idea. This is an intellectual safe space, meaning we are here to rigorously yet repectfully engage with each other’s perspectives. 3) In that same vain, its crucial that you reflect carefully on your own work and the work of your peers. Despite the fact this is a “lecture”, you will find that, like cinema, knowledge comes from organic collaboration. Participate, share, listen, and ask questions. All of these are crucial, even if you are doing a written assignment.
Gradding percentages are: 3 short essays 30%; exams 40% (midterm 20%, final 20%); participation and homework 30%.
Attendance and absences: More than three unexcused absences will automatically lower your participation grade by half a grade. We abide by the attendance policy in the University’s catalogue, which states that first-year students missing more than 15% of class, and upper-class students missing 25% will automatically fail the course without warning (Please note: this policy does not distinguish between excused or unexcused absences.) Absences are excused only for serious illness, participation in a university approved activity, or family emergencies, and need to have the proper documentation.
Classroom étiquette: Please be on time. Any tardiness/ class interruption after 10 minutes of starting the class will count as an unexcused absence. Unless an emergency, please go to the bathroom before or after class, not during class. Finally, this course is devoted to studying the moving image and it recognizes the importance of new technologies as platforms for interacting with the moving image. In come case we might make use of such technologies during class hours, this does not mean, that the course encourages multitasking in the form of browsing, emailing, texting etc. during lecture or discussion. Please save those activities for outside the classroom and keep your electronic devices off. Receiving or writing texts during class is strictly forbidden, and you will be marked absent if l see you doing it.
ACADEMIC INEGRITY:
Each student is responsible for knowing and observing the University’s policy on academic integrity. It is expected that all written assignment will be the product of each student’s own work (or group work) and learning. In general, you should adhere to the guidelines of section F.2, p. 7 of the handbook “Plagiarism and Academic Integrity at Furman University”.
