English 368 -- History of Film, Part I:
From the 1890s to 1939

Fall 2008
English Department
Centenary College of Louisiana
304 Jackson Hall
Tu/Th 2:00-5:00

Instructor: Jefferson Hendricks
Office: 307D Jackson Hall
Office hours: Mon 1:30 - 4:00;  1:15 - 1:50 T/TH  and by appt.
Office ph.: 869-5086 /5254
Email: jhendric@centenary.edu

Texts:
Course Objectives:  Film History I is designed to enable you:
Course Requirements:

Grading:
 
Quizzes                                 10% Mid-term essay              10%
Weekly Blog                        20% Final Research Essay     20%
Final exam                            20% Work Ethic                      10%


Here are some models of essays that might help you write about certain topics.  You are expected to write two out-of-class 1000-word essays (about 4-5 typed pages).  Your writing should engage with the conversation of other knowledgeable critics/scholars wrestling with your subject.   You should consult both printed and online sources in writing your essays. Further information about these essays will be given in class.  You will be allowed to revise as many times as you'd like before the essay is due.  I will be glad to meet with you during office hours to review any drafts that you'd like to submit for comments.   


Attendance and class participation:

To be successful in this class you need to be in class (on time, naturally) and prepared to listen, observe, and talk intelligently and passionately. More than two absences will lower your "work ethic" grade. You may make up for absences and tardiness, and also obtain extra credit, by writing 250-350 word reviews of approved out-of-class films, normally films shown at either the Centenary Film Society or the Robinson Film Center in Shreveport.  

General On-Line Resources for Film History Before WWII:

Nota bene:  Not all web sites are created equally.  Learn to evaluate them as you would more traditional print resources.  The following guide from Cornell University  is a good initial step in that direction: "How to Critically Analyze Information Sources."
English 368:  Course Schedule

Week One -- Aug 26 and 28:
"Introduction:  Reading Classical Hollywood Cinema"

Film:

Readings: Background Readings:
Week Two -- Sept 2 and Sept 4:
"D.W. Griffith and the Rise of Classical Hollywood Cinema"

Film:

***   Th Sept 4:    Quiz # 1

Readings:
Background Readings:

Week Three -- Sept 9 and 11:
"Hollywood in the Twenties:  The Genius of Silent Comedy -- Keaton and Chaplin"
Film: ***   Th Sept 11:  Quiz # 2


Readings: Background Readings:
Week Four -- Sept 16 and 18:
"German Expressionist Film of the Twenties:  Fritz Lang"  

Film:

***   Th Sept 18:    Quiz # 3

Readings:


Background Readings:
Week Five -- Sept 23 and 25:
"Radical Politics, Modernist Style:  Silent Film from the Soviet Union"

Film:

***   Th Sept 25:  Quiz # 4

Readings:
Background Readings:  
Week Six -- Sept 30 and Oct 2:
"Modernism and Film:  From the Avant Garde to Animation"

Film:



Readings:
Background Readings:
Week Seven -- Oct 7 and 9:
"Genre, Auteurism, and the American Studio System, Part I:  
The Gangster Film and The Musical"

Film

Readings:

Background Readings:
Week Eight -- Oct 14 and 16:
Mid-term exam  --  Fall Break
Week Nine -- Oct 21 and 23:
"Genre, Auteurism, and the American Studio System, Part II:
Screwball Comedy  --  Frank Capra and Preston Sturges"

Film:



Readings: Background Readings:
Week Ten -- Oct 28 and 30: 
"Documenting the Depression:  The Rise of the Documentary Film"  

Film:

Readings:

Background Readings:

Week Eleven -- Nov 4 and Nov 6:
"The Personal as Political in 1930s Cinema"

Film:



Readings:

Background Readings:

Week Twelve -- Nov 11 and 13:
"From Genre, Auteurism, and the American Studio System, Part III:
Screwball Comedy:  Howard Hawks"

Film:



Readings:

Background Readings:

Week Thirteen -- Nov 18 and 20:
"Genre, Auteurism, and the American Studio System, Part IV:  
John Ford and the American West"
Film:

Readings:

Background Readings:



Week Fourteen -- Nov 25 and 27:
No Class:  Thanksgiving Break


Week Fifteen -- Dec 2 and 4:
"Challenging the Hollywood System: 
Welles's Kane"

Film:



Readings:

Background Readings:



Week Sixteen -- Dec 9 and 11:
Tutorials for Final Essay 

Film:


Final Exam  --  Tuesday, December 16 @ 4 to 7 pm in Jackson Hall 304