ENGL 6385
Summer, 2007
M, W 2-4:45 p.m.
Dr. Angela Insenga
Media Matters: Focus on Film in Secondary Education
“If all the serious lyrical poets, composers, painters and
sculptors were forced by law to stop their activities, a rather small fraction
of the general public would become aware of the fact and a still smaller
fraction would seriously regret it. If
the same thing were to happen with the movies, the social consequences would be
catastrophic.”
--Erwin Panofsky, 1934
Contact
Information/Office Hours:
Office: 315 Pafford
Office hours: M and W, 3:30-5 p.m.; TR, 1-2 p.m.
E-mail: ainsenga@westga.edu
Website: http://www.westga.edu/~ainsenga/
Course Description
Inevitably,
when students face the daunting task of reading a long text, they ask teachers,
"Did they ever make a movie outta this book?" But what if the text is
a film? How do we best instruct our students to think critically and write
about visual texts, especially given learners’ cultural assumptions about them?
This class will work to answer such questions by focusing on the increasing
need for media literacy in an academic culture where the deployment of film in
the classroom setting is now the norm. It will consider the notion that, as
critical pedagogy practitioners Henry Giroux and Janet Wolf believe, movies are
“public pedagogy,” that they "function as ‘teaching machines’ [. . . and]
have more power and more influence than actual teachers in actual classrooms.”
During our eight-week semester, we will first explore why film enjoys a
booming reputation in classrooms and why many teachers consider it a powerful
teaching tool and then move into how we can harness that power through close investigation
of the myriad ways to implement film in learning environments.
Course Objectives
- To introduce
students and teachers in training to the history of media literacy and its
critical application to the educational experience
- To introduce
theoretical foundations of film theory and film studies as a discipline
- To practice
application of film theory and film studies concepts through active
viewing, sustained classroom dialogue, the written word, and oral
presentation
- To learn to craft
assignments that evidence an understanding of how media literacy, in
particular film study, can enhance students’ learning experiences and
critical thinking skills
Required Texts/Course Sub-sections
TEXTS:
-Mary T. Christel and Ellen Krueger. Seeing and Believing: How to Teach Media Literacy in
the English Classroom;
-Joseph
Conrad. Heart of
Darkness.
-Arthur
Miller. Death of a Salesman.
-James
Monaco. How to Read a Film: The World of Movies, Media, Multimedia
-Various
articles, handed out to you, listed in electronic form on your class’s resource
page, or found on Docutek (see syllabus for specific direction)
FILMS*:
“Mock-You-Mentary”: Reading Social
Satire on Film:
Bamboozled (Spike Lee)
C.S.A.:
The Confederate States of
Re-Visioning: Film Reads Literature:
American
Beauty (Sam Mendes) (paired
with Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman)
Apocalypse
Now (Francis Ford Coppola)
(paired with Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness).
Girl(s), Interrupted, Girls Interpreted:
the Adolescent Female on Film:
Heathers
(Michael Lehmann)
The
Virgin Suicides (Sofia Coppola)
*You can
purchase all films at the University Bookstore, though you may also purchase
them from an outlet like amazon.com or join a movie service like Netflix. Whatever you choose, having access to the
films is a must.
Major Assignments/Percentage Breakdown
- Oral Presentation
(leading class discussion on one of the assigned readings) (20%)
- Analytical journal
writing (3-4 pages per week) (35%)
- 12-15 pg. final, capstone, MLA documented project (30%)
- Annotated
Bibliography (eight sources) (15%)
Description of Major Assignments
Oral
Presentation: after signing up for a specific assigned
article or pair of short articles, each student will prepare to lead class
discussion for approximately thirty minutes.
During this allotted time period, I expect you will present not on what
the author says, since we will have all read the article(s), but on how
and why the arguments apply to our course objectives. I imagine, too, that you will relate your
specific essay(s) to others in the class and/or to previous class discussion. You may begin such a discussion with driving
theoretical questions that ask the class to situate the article(s) alongside
others or juxtapose the article(s) against others. Those of you who sign up to present on
articles that read one of the films may choose to discuss how the author(s)
read the film in question and apply that reading further. You can, if you present on a film, use scenes
to illustrate points or counterpoints you’d like to make. The base goals, then: to generate class discussion about the
articles and how they apply to our course objectives and ongoing discussion of reading
film and teaching it in the classroom setting.
Analytical
journal writing: Your first journal entry, due at the end of
the second class period, will be 2-3 pages long and experiential in nature; see
the syllabus for details. Beginning the second week of class, you will complete
3-4 MLA documented/formatted pages of analytical, thesis-driven almost every week. Ideally, you will craft these analytical
entries as you see fit, making critical connections between readings, “talking
back” to writers we read, linking our course materials to your own experiences
in the classroom, and/or discussing the films we view in a focused fashion. I wish to give you leeway here so that you
can find analytical pathways that work best for you. Those of you who already work in the
classroom, for example, may find that writing about how theoretical ideas could
apply practically will work best. For
those of you interested in a particular film technique or genre, writing about
how those techniques exist in the films/articles we discuss will be
productive. You may also find yourself
responding to a particular presentation article or performing a reading of a
film we have viewed. The overall goal,
whatever you choose, is to develop and support a main idea born out of the
course’s reading/viewing.
I will
collect journal entries on five designated Wednesdays this semester, excluding the
first Wednesday of the semester and the week of the Fourth of July
Capstone
Project: Your final 12-15 page project is a tripartite
endeavor. First, you’ll choose a film—one
we have not studied together—and perform an advanced reading of it using your
own ideas and secondary source materials. Your second goal is to argue for the
pedagogical import of the film in a particular classroom setting (college,
secondary ed., middle grades, etc.). Thirdly, you will create a detailed lesson
or unit plan that presents specific ways in which you would go about teaching
the film to the audience you defined in the second portion. Essentially, then, you will theorize about
the film, argue for its implementation in a course of study, and put forth a
detailed plan of action: a critical reading, a pedagogical approach, and practical
implementation.
Annotated
bibliography: Along with your final project, you will
complete an annotated bibliography of at least eight of the sources you utilize. This exercise, I have found, helps you to
assess a source’s value and enter into the scholarly conversation. If you have never completed an annotated
bibliography, examine the Annotated
Bibliography link from Purdue’s OWL
for guidelines, suggestions, and models.
Course Polices/Procedures
Attendance
Summer
courses present challenges, for we must cover in eight weeks what we would
cover in sixteen. Graduate courses
during the summer present further challenges, as the workload is intensive and
focused. For these reasons, missing more
than two of our fourteen class meetings can be detrimental to your performance
and grade. Any student who misses more than two class periods cannot pass the
course and should drop if those absences occur before the drop date, June 26th.
Plagiarism
The
Department of English defines plagiarism as taking personal credit for the
words and ideas of others as they are presented in electronic, print, and
verbal sources. The Department expects that students will accurately credit
sources in all assignments. Plagiarism
is grounds for failing this course.
Classroom Decorum
Please turn off
all electronic communication devices before entering our classroom. These
devices are inappropriate in the classroom setting. If you must have access to
such communication, please be sure that the device is set to signal you
silently.
As for
classroom etiquette, I will only say that I expect passionate intensity during
our discussions about the course material.
I am here as a guide, not a lecturer, and your full attention and
participation are a must.
Special Needs
Any student who has a special need
should inform me during the first week of class. We will then set up a
conference to discuss the specifics of the official paperwork you have from the
appropriate department
Website
All
information for this course can be found on my website. The Resource Page and
Syllabus offer guidelines for the course and pertinent articles. Check these pages often.
Required Format
All
coursework must be MLA documented and formatted. If you need a refresher on this documentation
system, please examine the MLA link from
Purdue’s OWL, or come see me.
Detailed Daily Syllabus
Note:
several assignments below are either hyperlinked or housed on Docutek, UWG’s
Electronic Course Reserve System. You
may print them out for yourselves. I will be handing out a few articles to you
as well.
Directions
to get to Docutek:
- Go to http://www.westga.edu/~library/
- Click on “Course
Reserves” underneath “Find Information”
- Click on
“Electronic Reserves and Reserves Pages”
- Enter the
information requested (course number—6385—or instructor name—Insenga)
- Click on course
number (6385)
- Enter password
(read); click on “accept”
- Find and print out
reading(s)
June 4
Course
Introduction: theoretical frameworks, classroom practice and procedure
Sign up
for Presentations
For
next class:
-Read the
following authors’ essays all found on Docutek: Adams and Kline, Baker, McCann,
Reimer, and Stern
-Write and
bring to class a 2-3 page journal entry in which you fashion “current personal
film narrative.” You may discuss your own experiences teaching film, analyzing
film in previous courses, or detail reasons why you believe/do not believe film
to be a vital part of a student’s educational experience. This first entry is
experiential in nature, while the rest will be analytical in nature.
June 6
The Early
Years: How and Why Media Began to Matter
Our film
experience inside and outside the classroom
Finish signing
up for Presentations
For
next class:
-Read the
following hyperlinked texts (click on links below or on the resource page):
--Homicz
and Dreiser, Popular Movies in the Writing Classroom: Working with Resistance
and Pleasure
--Theodosakis,
The Director in the Classroom: How Filmmaking Inspires
Learning
--Mazer, Film and
the Composition Classroom: Using Visual Media to Motivate First-Year Writers
--Kortner-Aiex, Using
Film, Video, and TV in the Classroom
-Read the
following author’s essay found on Docutek: Foertsch
June 11
Media
Matters in the Classroom: Practical Issues and Theoretical Abstractions
Presentations
One and Two
For
next class:
Read:
-Read the
following author’s essay found on Docutek: Beyerbach
-Read:
Dunbar-Odom, “Resistance and Authority: Film as a Tool to Train Teachers”
(handout)
-First
journal pages due
June 13
Turn in
journals
Presentations
Three and Four on Beyerbach and Dunbar-Odom
Approaches
and Applications: Film as Tool to Teach Ourselves about Ourselves
For
next class:
Read: Krueger
and Christel, chapters 1, 4, and 5
-Read
-Read the
following authors’ essays found on Docutek: Barlowe, Doherty, and Epp
-View: Bamboozled
June 18
Discuss Bamboozled
and related articles
Presentation
Five on Barlowe and Epp
For
next class:
-Read: about
a quarter of Heart of Darkness
-View: C.S.A.
-Second
installment of journal entries due
-Read a
chapter from Gerd Bayer’s Artifice and Artificiality in Mockumentaries (handout—specific
chapter assignment TBA)
June 20
Turn in
journals
Discuss C.S.A.
and related article
Presentation
Six on Bayer
For
next class:
-Finish: Heart
of Darkness
-View: Apocalypse
Now
-Read the
following author’s essay found on Docutek: Vargas
-Read:
Krueger and Christel, chapter 6 and 7
June 25
Discuss Heart
of Darkness and Apocalypse Now
Presentation
Seven on Vargas
For
next class:
-Read:
first half of Death of a Salesman
- Read
the following authors’ essay found on Docutek: Bachmann and Norris
-Third
installment of journal entries due
June 27
Turn in
journals
Discuss Heart
of Darkness, Apocalypse Now, and related articles
Presentation
Eight on Bachmann and Norris
For
next class:
-Finish: Death of a Salesman
-View: American
Beauty
-Read the
following author’s essay found on Docutek: Karlyn
July 2
Discuss Death
of a Salesman, American Beauty, and related article
Presentation
Nine on Karlyn
For
next class:
-Read the
following author’s article found on Docutek:
Booth
-Read:
Krueger and Christel, chapters 8-10
-Read
July 4: No regular class—Fourth of July
July 9
Discuss Death
of a Salesman, American Beauty, and related article
Presentation
Ten on Booth
For
next class:
- Read
the essay on Docutek by the following author: McKelly
-View: Heathers
-Fourth
installment of journal entries due
July 11
Turn in
journals
Discuss Heathers
and related article
Presentation
Eleven on McKelly
For next
class:
-Read the
essay on Docutek by the following author: Weiner
July 16
Discuss Heathers
and related article
Presentation
Twelve on Weiner
For
next class:
-Read the
following author’s essay found on Docutek: Giroux
-View: The
Virgin Suicides
-Fifth installment
of journal entries due
July 18
Turn in
journals
Discuss The
Virgin Suicides and related article
Presentation
Thirteen on Giroux
For
next class:
-Read the
following chapter, hyperlinked here and on the resource page:
--Foucault’s “Panopticism” from Discipline
and Punish: The Birth of the Prison
-All four
previous journal installments due again (I will have the fifth)
July 23: last class meeting
Turn in
all journals
Course
Evaluations
Discuss The
Virgin Suicides and related article
Presentation
Fourteen on Foucault
Final
projects and annotated bibliographies due at my office by 5 p.m. on July 27th