English 368 -- History of Film, Part I:
From the 1890s to 1945

Fall 2010
English Department
Centenary College of Louisiana
304 Jackson Hall
Tu/Th 2:00 - 4:30

Instructor: Jefferson Hendricks
Office: 307D Jackson Hall
Office hours: Tu/Th  9:45-11:00; 1:15-1:50 -- 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% Final exam                       20%
Mid-term essay                    10% Final Research Essay     20%
Weekly Blog                         20% Work Ethic                      20%


Linked below are some models of essays that might help you write about certain topics.  You are expected to write two out-of-class essays this semester; one 1000-word out-of-class mid-term essay and one 2000-word final research essay.  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 -- or by appointment -- to review any drafts that you'd like to submit for comments.   


Work ethic:  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 and, consequently, your final 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.   These reviews should be posted to your blog.  

General On-Line Resources for Film History Before 1946:

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 24 and 26:
"The Early Years of Cinema"

Film:

Readings: Background Readings:

Week Two -- Aug 31 and Sept 2:
"D.W. Griffith, Frank Borzage, and the Rise of Classical Hollywood Cinema"

Film:

***   Th Sept 2:    Quiz # 1

Readings:
Background Readings:


Week Three -- Sept 7 and 9:
"German Expressionism in the 1920s"  

Film: ***   Th Sept 9:  Quiz # 2


Readings:
Background Readings:
Week Four -- Sept 14 and 16:
"Radical Politics, Modernist Style:  Silent Film from the Soviet Union"

Film:

***   Th Sept 16:    Quiz # 3

Readings:

Background Readings:

Week Five -- Sept 21 and 23:
"Hollywood in the Late Silent Era:  The Genius of Silent Comedy -- Keaton and Chaplin"

Film:

***   Th Sept 23:  Quiz # 4

Readings: 
Background Readings:
 
Week Six -- Sept 28 and Sept 30:
"Modernism and French Film in the 1920s:  From the Avant Garde to Art Cinema"  

Film:

***   Th Sept 30:  Quiz # 5


 Readings:

Background Readings:
Week Seven -- Oct 5 and 7:
"Genre, Auteurism, and the American Studio System, Part I:  
The Gangster Film and the Horror Film"

Film

***   Th Oct 7:  Quiz # 6


Readings:


Background Readings:
Week Eight -- Oct 14 and 16:
"Alfred Hitchcock and the British Spy Thriller"  
Mid-term Essay and Fall Break
Film:  
***   Turn in take-home Mid-term Essay to Room 307 of Jackson Hall before you leave for Fall Break   
Readings:  

Background Readings:

Week Nine -- Oct 19 and 21:
"Politics and the Development of the Musical in Germany and America"

Film:

***   Th Oct  21:  Quiz # 7


Readings: Background Readings:

Week Ten -- Oct 26 and 28: 
"Genre, Auteurism, and the American Studio System, Part II:
The Drama of Domesticity in Classical Hollywood Cinema"  

Film:

***   Th Oct 28:  Quiz # 8

Readings:

Background Readings:

Week Eleven -- Nov 2 and Nov 4:
"Politics and Style in 1930s French Cinema"

Film:

***   Th Nov 4:  Quiz # 9


Readings:

Background Readings:


Week Twelve -- Nov 9 and 11:
"Genre, Auteurism, and the American Studio System, Part III:  
The Screwball Comedy"

Film:

***   Th Nov 11:  Quiz # 10


Readings:

Background Readings:

Week Thirteen -- Nov 16 and 18:
"From Screwball Comedy to Representing Reality and Animating Fantasy:  The Rise of Documentary and Animated Films"  
Film:
***   Th Nov 18:  Quiz # 11


Readings:

Background Readings:


Week Fourteen -- Nov 23 and 25:
No Class:  Thanksgiving Break


Week Fifteen -- Nov 30 and Dec 2:
"Genre, Auteurism, and the American Studio System, Part IV:  
John Ford and the American (Western) Dream"

Film:



Readings:

Background Readings:


Week Sixteen -- Dec 7 and 9:
"Challenging the Hollywood System:  Welles's Citizen Kane"

Film:


Readings:
Background Readings:

Final Exam  --   in Jackson Hall 304