Clay Steinman                                                             Office Hours: TTh 9:50-11:20 a.m.,

Office: HU 301C/Mailbox: HU 301                                                     and by appointment

Phone/Voice Mail: 651-696-6726                                                                                          

Macalester Email: steinman@macalester.edu

Writing Associate: Aaron Rosenblum        

Macalester Email: arosenblum@macalester.edu

Phone/Office Hours: 267-337-3091/TBA                                                           

                                                                                                           

HMCS 194-01

Race/U. S. Silent Film: Griffith/Micheaux

First-Year Seminar

Fall 2009

MW 7-10 p.m. HU 401 (exceptions noted)

            Course Description: An introductory, first-year course on raced representation in US silent film, concentrating on a comparison of the productions of D. W. Griffith and Oscar Micheaux, perhaps the leading white and black filmmakers of their time. These films were made and exhibited within separate cinemas shaped by white supremacist institutions, and, most important, with segregated audiences in mind. Comparisons illuminate the way the works reproduce strikingly different discourses of race, gender, and class. Attention will be paid to the distinctive editing styles of the two sets of films, and the way in which such styles, like their cinematography, can be seen as raced. Extensive discussions, readings, and screenings (for which extra time has been included in the schedule). Several essay exams and one short paper required. The course satisfies the General Education Requirement in Multiculturalism, and counts toward the Humanities Distribution Requirement, the HMCS major (for Foundation III--Race, Gender, and Sexuality--or as part of a relevant major focus area), and the Media Studies minor.

Consumer Alert:

·       This course has no prerequisites, and I am careful to assume in the assignments and in class lectures and discussions no prior knowledge in the area. (Indeed, I will cut off discussion of readings not assigned and of films/videos not familiar to the whole class.)

·       The course does not include discussion of films/videos or other representations as if they were transparent windows on the psychologies or actions of living human beings. The human beings we will discuss are those who make the films and find them meaningful, not characters inside the narratives, although we will discuss how characters and other textual elements are constructed and understood.

·       I expect that on average the course will require about eight hours per week of work outside of class. You might want to read ahead or complete projects early to even out the course requirements and balance them with those of other classes.

·       Students in the class come from a wide range of backgrounds. Our work this semester will cover new ground for many of you. For that reason, I take it as my main job to help you develop an introductory understanding of the readings. That means most of the time will be spent explaining or discussing questions about the reading or considering alternative arguments. How much time we will have to discuss the reading (as in, "What do you think about it?"), in groups or in the class as a whole, will depend on the volume and complexity of questions. I hope you will talk about what you think with your classmates, your friends, and with me, but in class I give first priority to answering questions. As a result, we may discuss some readings quite briefly. Please do not hesitate to write to me with questions or ideas that you were not able to explore in class. I check my email daily during the term, and I expect you will as well. As a first-year seminar, the course will introduce students to the following competencies useful in subsequent Macalester work:

1.     How to use library resources, including online library catalogs.

2.     How to plan, draft, and revise a college paper, including formulating a research strategy and taking into account the importance of audience, clarity, and proper grammar and usage.

3.     How to determine which resources/databases are relevant to specific research questions and to distinguish between primary and secondary resources.

4.     How to evaluate critically the usefulness, point of view, currency, and authority of information, especially on Internet sites that have not been refereed.

5.     How to avoid plagiarism.

6.     How to construct a thesis statement.

7.     How to organize an essay.

8.     How to support claims with evidence and reason.

9.     How to cite evidence using the Modern Language Association system of documentation.

10. How to speak persuasively about research and to participate constructively within group discussions.

 

            Disability Accommodations: I am committed to providing assistance to help you succeed in this course. Reasonable accommodations are available for students with documented disabilities. Students are responsible for requesting and initiating all disability-related services. Please contact Lisa Landreman, associate dean of students, for information or to qualify for accommodations. She must approve all accommodations. For more information, go to http://www.macalester.edu/disability.

 

            Readings/Annotations: Except where noted, the following readings have been ordered at the Macalester bookstore or for 2-hour library reserve (the 2-hour reserve is designed for copying), or have been placed on e-reserve or can be found on our Moodle site (noted in the syllabus). You can save money by copying materials on reserve, and save even more by sharing copies. However, you are required to bring a copy (individual or shared) of every reading to class, either annotated or with accompanying notes. This semester we shall use the reading accountability strategy (rather than, say, reading reports or quizzes, etc.) that John C. Bean calls the “marginal notes approach,” in Engaging Ideas: The Professor’s Guide to Integrating Writing, Critical Thinking, and Active Learning in the Classroom (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2001, 143-144). Here’s what he means: “Every time you feel the urge to highlight or underline something write out why you wanted to underline it in the margins. Why is that passage important? Is it a major new point in the argument? A significant piece of support? A summary of the opposition? A particularly strong or particularly weak point?” He suggests that you “Use the margins to summarize the text, ask questions, give assent, protest vehemently and that you “carry on lively dialogue with the author in the margins.” I will look for such marginal notes, and I expect you to prepare for class by noting questions on the material. You are responsible for knowing the meaning of all words in the readings, looking them up when appropriate (a pocket dictionary and sometimes even a college dictionary might not be adequate, and Wikipedia can be helpful as an introduction but cannot be relied upon for your written work); see a reference librarian for help locating other sources), and for being able to identify the authors of the concepts in the reading. Let me know if you find any of the readings or class discussions unclear. Your courses at Macalester will often include extensive reading, and reading with little understanding is a waste of time. I would be happy to go over any of the reading with you outside of class, either individually or in small groups.

 

Barry, Iris. D. W. Griffith: American Film Master. 2^nd ed. New York: Museum of Modern Art, 1965.

Out of print, but plentiful used copies online. Assigned for online purchase July 25.

Bordwell, David, and Kristin Thompson. Film Art: An Introduction. 8^th ed. New York: McGraw-

Hill, 2008. (A list of errata may be found at http://www.davidbordwell.net/filmart/index.php.) Not a required text for this course, which is not primarily a film studies course, but if you are interested in pursuing film studies at Macalester, this is where to start (the book is required for HMCS 128, Film Analysis and Visual Culture. If you plan on taking that course, it might be a good idea to buy and read this book as soon as you can—you will get more out of the films and film-oriented readings this semester. There is a wealth of material made available by the publisher for students using Film Art at www.mhhe.com/filmart8. Make sure to check out the chapter sites. Another helpful Web location is Yale’s Film Analysis site, which has superb clips, though its definitions are occasionally less reliable than those in Film Art: http://classes.yale.edu/film-analysis/. Film Art also comes with a CD-ROM with clips and other learning materials; in general, it is more basic than the book itself but might be worth going through for a review of the terms mentioned.

Bowser, Pearl, and Louise Spence. Writing Himself into History: Oscar Micheaux, His Silent Films,

and His Audiences. New Brunswick: Rutgers UP, 2000.

Hale, Grace Elizabeth. Making Whiteness: The Culture of Segregation in the South, 1890-1940. New

York: 1998.

Harvey, Michael. The Nuts and Bolts of College Writing. Indianapolis: Hackett, 2003.

Light, Richard J. Making the Most of College: Students Speak Their Minds. Cambridge: Harvard UP,

2001. All but the last chapter will be assigned.

McGilligan, Patrick. Oscar Micheaux: The Great and Only: The Life of America’s First Black

Filmmaker. New York: Harper, 2007.

Modern Language Association (MLA). MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. 7^th ed. New

            York: MLA, 2009.

Oshinsky, David M. “Worse Than Slavery”: Parchman Farm and the Ordeal of Jim Crow Justice.

New York: Free, 1997. Assigned for online purchase July 25.

Stokes, Melvyn. D. W. Griffith’s The Birth of a Nation: A History of “The Most Controversial =

Motion Picture of All Time. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2007.

 

            Grades: Course work will be evaluated in several ways (you must complete the papers, the tests, and the video and to pass the course):

            1) Tests: There will be two one-hour, open-book essay examinations, each counting 15 percent, and one definitions quiz, graded pass/fail, on ten film terms in the glossary of the 8^th ed. of Bordwell and Thompson. You need to score an 85/100 on the Bordwell and Thompson quiz or a failure counting 10 percent will be averaged into your final grade.  

            3) Speaking: Most seminar meetings are designed to provide forums for discussion rather than as occasions for lecture. Your degree of preparation, the regularity of your attendance, and the quality of your seminar contribution will determine 25 percent of your final grade. I expect you to attend every class meeting, to be on time, to come with annotated reading, and to participate actively based on the assigned reading and viewing. Your participation allows others the benefit of your views and allows you to refine your own ideas. No one will evaluate the positions you take in class, but speaking off topic or without having done the assigned reading or viewing is not welcome. Feel free to ask questions and to disagree, but please remember that everyone must be afforded an opportunity to participate comfortably. It is vital that our classroom be a safe and supportive space for participation and listening, especially when we talk about issues that affect people personally, such as gender, race, and sexualities. No one in the class is expected to act as a representative of any cultural group. If, at the end of a discussion of an assigned reading, you still have a question about it, use Moodle, which has been set up as a discussion forum for the class: the URL is http://moodle.macalester.edu. You can be confident that if you have a lingering question, others in the class probably will have it as well. Contributions to our Moodle forum can only help your grade. You will also be asked to give a ten-minute talk on your final paper at a seminar micro-conference in December.

            Here are my grading standards for speaking:

            --An “F” is assigned only in cases of egregious disregard of the above guidelines.

            --A “D” level of participation involves irregular attendance or promptness.

            --A “C” level of participation involves regular attendance and infrequent contribution. If in the early weeks you speak infrequently, I will contact you to discuss expanding your contribution and will begin to call on you at your request. Otherwise, you must be prepared to initiate your own participation.

            --A “B” level of participation involves “C” level work plus regular contributions that advance ongoing discussions and show a solid knowledge of the material of the course. I especially value contributions that are responsive to previous comments.

            --An “A” level of participation involves “B” level work plus contributions outstanding in their incisiveness and demonstration of knowledge of the material of the course.

            4) Writing: The remaining 45 percent of the course grade will be based on your papers. I’ve already asked you to post a reaction to Oshinsky; the posting is graded pass/fail. You will also write one-minute papers at the end of each class, but these are anonymous and ungraded (see Light 66-69). The diagnostic paper and its rewrites will together count 15 percent, and you will write one paper of 1,250-2,000 words near the end of the course, reflecting on your work this semester (30 percent). I urge you to call upon Aaron and me for help with your papers and to work with other students, as long as you do not plagiarize their ideas. Plagiarism will be handled according to the Macalester policy on academic integrity at http://www.macalester.edu/academicprograms/integrity.html. Also see http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/research/r_plagiar.html. For help with quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing, see http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/print/research/r_quotprsum.html. See the “Guidelines for Papers” below for my grading standards and for other writing requirements. Note the requirement that all papers have appropriate documentation and use the Modern Language Association system for citations. An excellent, detailed discussion of issues involving sources (when and how to use and credit them) can be found at http://www.dartmouth.edu/~writing/sources/. You may well use other systems in other courses. Academic writing in the humanities is just one genre of writing (as opposed to, say, fiction or journalism or poetry or scientific writing), but it is the genre within which we shall work this in this course. I believe if you learn one genre and one system of documentation well, you can more easily adapt to others. Contact the MAX Center in Kagin about writing and studying strategies. Use Writing at Macalester College: A Handbook for First Year Students as a resource.

 

 

Assignment Options: If you have an A or A- average in the course, and if you have a paper or video you would like to work on instead of the assigned paper or one or both essay exams, you need to secure my approval at least a week before the paper is due. Your proposal should be in writing and specify which assignment it replaces.

 

Late Papers: Late papers will be penalized one letter grade for each class day or portion late (for example, a "B" paper submitted one class late will receive a "C"). Late papers will not receive comments.

 

Missed Deadlines/Tests: E-mail me if you are going to miss a deadline or test due to illness or other unforeseen circumstance (you can always leave a message). Failure to call in advance or lack of documented disability may result in your work being considered late. Makeup tests will be given only in cases of documented medical or other emergency.

 

            Advising, etc.: Aaron and I are available during office hours and by appointment to discuss the course or other matters. Aaron is familiar with some of the material and has been trained to help you with your writing. I have been designated as your academic adviser, although you may choose another and likely will once you declare your major by the end of your second year. Some suggestions for working with me effectively as your adviser and seminar leader:

·       Let me know how I can help you. Do not hesitate to ask for help. No one expects you to master the coursework easily or to know how to function well at Macalester from the day you arrive. The most successful students, the most effective people, are those who know how to ask for help. Try to see me during my office hours or by appointment. At other times I may have other commitments. You can always leave a voicemail or email message for me; I check messages regularly.

·       Use me as a resource. I know my field (and am acquainted with several others), and I know the institution well enough to answer your questions or to suggest whom you might contact who can.

·       Learn how to help yourself. Take advantage of the considerable resources you already have. Use me as a resource for knowledge you cannot easily acquire.

·       Let the professors and staff members at Macalester know what is on your mind. All the standard differences--abilities, age, ancestry, class, education, gender, geography, religion, sexualities--as well as variations in experience make it unfair to expect people to know what you think or feel or need without telling them. Although many professors believe it is invasive to question you about your thoughts and experiences, this does not mean they are indifferent to them. They are interested and can help, if you ask them. At Macalester, the prevailing ethic among professors and staff is to work hard for students and to be responsive to their concerns.

·       Check the catalog. It can answer many questions. Call the registrar’s office at 6200 if after checking the catalog you still have questions about academic rules.

·       Take the initiative for managing your time. First-year students at Macalester have tended to be surprised at the speed at which many courses move and the hours of work per week required to do well in them. Some are surprised at the level of written work expected. You are obligated to keep up by doing readings, asking questions, and completing your papers with care and in a timely manner. Since much knowledge at Macalester is cumulative, falling behind in a course may have serious consequences. If you are having trouble keeping up, help is available. Again, the MAX Center can be most helpful, although you may have to be clear about your needs.

Reading Groups: Learning new social and cultural theory resembles learning a new language; you have to practice thinking about, talking about, and writing about the ideas to become fluent in them. I recommend that you form reading groups of 2-4 people to discuss the more theoretical assignments in particular; Aaron and I would be happy to meet with you by invitation, and are particularly available with notice for meetings over meals at the Campus Center.

 

Laptops/Phones/Electronic Recording Devices: Except when expressly encouraged, you do not have my permission to use computers, phones, or electronic recording devices during class.

 

 

SCHEDULE

 

This is my first offering of this course, and this is the first version of its syllabus. I imagine there will be changes (and corrections—bonus points for alerting me to mistakes I have made), and if so I will notify you through Moodle. I welcome your comments and suggestions.

Films/videos marked “DVD” and “VHS” are on reserve in Media Services. All films/videos will be screened during designated class meetings. If you need to leave before a screening ends, please use the left door. Given the subject of this course, you may well find some of what we see offensive. If so, let’s talk about it. Some of what we will see offends me.

 

Sa        9/5       10-11:30 a.m., HU 216.

                        Introductions, syllabus.

                        Discussion of assessment testing.

                        Sign-up for advising appointments (students short one or more courses or needing

                                    language classes have priority for advising today).

                        Summer reading and Moodle assignment due:

                                    Oshinsky, 1-155 (rest recommended).

                                    Moodle: Responses to Oshinsky; how might the book help us this semester?

                        Discussion: Causes, effects, and the enduring power of racial projects.

                        11:30-12:30 p.m. CIRP First-Year Survey. HU 227.

Su        9/6       Paper 1 assignment posted on Moodle.

                        10 a.m.-noon, 1-6 p.m. Individual academic advising appointments in HU 301.

M         9/7       Labor Day.     

T          9/8       Into the Streets.

                        8 a.m.-noon, 1:30-5:30 p.m. Assessment (the “before” of before and after testing to

attempt to measure the effects of a Macalester education, required by accrediting agencies).

W         9/9       Reconstruction: The Second Civil War (Part II) (DVD) (2004, USA, WGBH

                                    Boston/PBS, The American Experience).

                        The Rise and Fall of Jim Crow (Program Two: "Fighting Back [1896-1917]") (DVD)

(2002, USA, Quest Productions, Videoline Productions, and Thirteen/WNET New York).

M         9/14     Paper 1.0 due (please bring two copies of Paper 1.1 to class).

                        Discussion of Paper 1 revision process.

                        Harvey, “Concision,” 1-9.

                        Catherine Belsey, “Traditional Criticism and Common Sense,” Critical Practice, 2^nd.

                                    ed. (London: Routledge, 2002), 1-12 (Moodle).         

Stuart Hall, Introduction, Representation: Cultural Representations and Signifying

Practices (London: Sage-Open U, 1997), 1-11 (Moodle).

                        Light, Introduction, 1-12.

W         9/16     Paper 1.1 due.

                        Library Session #1, Bibliographic Instruction Room, 2^nd floor library: Sources of

                                    Knowledge.

                        Hall, “The Work of Representation,” 15-43 (Moodle). Skip readings A, B, and D but

read C (68), Roland Barthes, from “Myth Today,” Mythologies, ed. and trans. Annette Lavers (New York: Hill and Wang, 1972), 109-159.            

                        Harvey, “Clarity,” 10-21.

F          9/18     Last day to register or validate or drop/add a class.

M         9/21     Paper 1.2 due.

                        Harvey, “Flow,” 22-33.

                        D. W, Griffith: Father of Film (Episode One: 1875-1915) (Episode Two: 1915-1921)

(DVD) (1993, UK, Kevin Brownlow and David Gill's Photoplay Productions, Thames Television, and Thirteen/WNET New York for Channel Four)

W         9/23     Paper 1.3 due.

                        Michael Omi and Howard Winant, “Racial Formation,” The New Social Theory

Reader, 2^nd ed., ed. Steven Seidman and Jeffrey C. Alexander (London: Routledge, 2008), 405-415 (Moodle).

Tom Gunning, “Making Sense of Film” (2002), http://historymatters.gmu.edu/mse/film/.

                        Harvey, “Punctuation,” 34-45.

M 9/28     Paper 1.4 due.

                        Ten key film terms (definitions at http://highered.mcgraw-hill.com/sites/0073535060/student_view0/glossary.html):

1.     axis of action

2.     continuity editing

3.     crosscutting (also called parallel editing)

4.     diegesis

5.     editing

6.     graphic match

7.     intellectual montage

8.     match on action

9.     plot

10.  story

                        Film terms illustrated with an excerpt from The Last Command (1928, USA, Josef von

                                    Sternberg) (VHS).

Richard Abel, “Early and Pre-Sound Cinema,” and Annette Kuhn and Richard Abel, “The Rise of the American Film Industry,” The Cinema Book 3^rd ed., ed. Pam

                                    Cook (London: British Film Institute, 2007), 2-18 (Moodle).

                        Cinema of Attraction:

            Exiting the Factory (1896, France, Louis and Auguste Lumière) (DVD: Saved from the Flames: 54 Rare and Restored Films, 1896-1944).   

            Arrival of a Train (1897, France, Louis and Auguste Lumière) (DVD: Saved).

            Card Party (1896, France, Louis and Auguste Lumière) (DVD: Saved).

            Excelsior!—Prince of Magicians (1901, France, Georges Méliès) (DVD: Saved).

            The Talion Punishment (1906, France, Gaston Velle) (DVD: Saved).

      Dream of the Rarebit Fiend (1906, USA, Edwin S. Porter) (DVD: Edison: The Invention of the Movies, Vol. 2)

            Films of the San Francisco Earthquake (1906, USA, Robert K. Bonnie for Thomas Alva Edison) (DVD: Edison, Vol. 2) (This and other similar films are available at http://digitalcollections.smu.edu/all/cul/ssm/).

Tom Gunning, “The Lonely Villa,” The Griffith Project, Vol. 2: January-June 1909, ed. Paolo Cherchi Usai (London: British Film Institute, 1999), 139-144 (Moodle).

Transitional Cinema:

            The Lonely Villa (1909, USA, D. W. Griffith) (VHS: D. W. Griffith, Director [Vol. 3]: 1909).

Classical Hollywood Cinema:

            The Divine Woman (excerpt; only known extant footage) (1928, USA, Victor Sjöström, with Greta Garbo) (DVD: The Garbo Silents Collection) (also at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1RQxbOLZ3w).

Harvey, “Gracefulness,” 46-55.

W         9/30     Paper 1.5 due.

                        Harvey, “Using Sources” and “Paragraphs,” 56-77.

                        Reread Tom Gunning on The Lonely Villa.

                        Analysis of The Lonely Villa.

            Check out these sources (I do not necessarily agree with any of their positions) on minstrelsy, roughly in increasing order of sophistication, http://www.musicals101.com/minstrel.htm, http://www.black-face.com/minstrel-shows.htm, http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/foster/sfeature/sf_minstrelsy.html, http://utc.iath.virginia.edu/minstrel/mihp.html.

                        Please feel free to comment on Moodle about these sources—and to alert us to others that you found illuminating.

            A Corner in Wheat (1909, USA, D. W. Griffith) (DVD: D. W. Griffith’s Biograph Shorts).

F          10/2     Last day to designate grading options.

M         10/5     Film terms quiz.

                        Tom Gunning, “A Corner in Wheat,” The Griffith Project, Vol. 3: July-December

                                    1909, 130-141 (Moodle).

                        Analysis of A Corner in Wheat.

                        Paper 1.6 due.

                        Harvey, “Beginnings and Endings,” 78-85.

                        Come prepared with questions regarding MLA.

                        Hall, “The Work of Representation,” 44-63 (skip lettered readings) (Moodle).

                        Light, “Powerful Connections,” 13-22.

                        Ethnic Notions (1987, USA, Marlon Riggs) (DVD).

W         10/7     Paper 1.7 due (final plus previous versions).

                        Barry, Forward, 6-17 (rest is recommended).

                        Hale, Preface, Introduction: “Producing the Ground of Difference,” and “No Easy

                                    Place or Time: The Black Side of Segregation,” xi-xii, 3-11.

                        Richard Dyer, “The Light of the World,” White (London: Routledge, 1997), 82-

144 (Moodle).          

Studying for essay tests.

M         10/12   Hale, “Lost Causes and Reclaimed Spaces: ‘History’ as the Autobiography of

Southern Whiteness,” 43-84.

In the Border States (1910, USA, D. W. Griffith) (DVD [for this and others 10/12]:

The Birth of a Nation and the Civil War Films of D. W. Griffith).

                        The House with Closed Shutters (1910, USA, D. W. Griffith).

                        The Fugitive (1910, USA, D. W. Griffith).

                        His Trust (1910, USA, D. W. Griffith).

                        His Trust Fulfilled (1910, USA, D. W. Griffith).

                        Swords and Hearts (1911, USA, D. W. Griffith).

                        The Battle (1911, USA, D. W. Griffith).

                        Read “Writing Essay Exams” at http://departments.colgate.edu/diw/essayexam.html.

                                    Come to class prepared with questions about the exam-writing process.

W         10/14   One-Hour In-Class Open-Book Essay Test #1 (on readings through 10/12 and

                                    screenings through 10/5).

                        Light, “Suggestions from Students,” 23-44.

                        Analysis of Griffith civil war shorts.    

M         10/19   Hale, “Domestic Reconstruction: White Homes, ‘Black Mammies,’ and ‘New

                                    Women,’” 85-120.

                        The Making of The Birth of a Nation (DVD: The Birth)

                        McGilligan, 1-87.

W         10/21   Meet at library entrance at 7 p.m.

                        Library session #2.

                        Hale, “Bounding Consumption: ‘For Colored’ and ‘For White,’” 121-197.

                        Stokes, Introduction, 3-14.

S          10/25   Although we will not talk about it until 10/28, please read Hale, “Deadly

            Amusements: Spectacle Lynchings and the Contradictions of Segregation as Culture,” 201-239.

                        Class will last until about 10:20 p.m.

The Birth of a Nation (1915, USA, D. W. Griffith) (DVD: The Birth). (We shall see

a Lumivision DVD copy taken from a safety print produced in the 1950s from a dupe nitrate print with origins in a 1927 re-release, whose negative was then stored at the International Museum of Photography at George Eastman House. This dupe nitrate print was apparently re-edited—mostly to make the cutting more contemporary—by Griffith between the late 1930s and his death in 1948, while it was stored at the Museum of Modern Art. As far as I know, there is no more “authentic” version still available; all others are even more problematic. The Kino DVD copy in the Media Services collection, restored by Film Preservation Associates, is based on a similar but not identical source. It runs 13 minutes shorter; this may be due in part to different projection speeds. While the more subdued tinting of the Film Preservation Associates version is probably more like the original, its nearly identical music score is not as well performed as the music on the Eastman House version. In fairness, I should say that some reviewers prefer the Kino to the Lumivision DVD, which is out of print in any case.)

M         10/26   Stokes, “Première in Los Angeles,” “Thomas Dixon Jr.,” “David Wark Griffith,”

                                    “Making The Birth of a Nation,” and “Transforming the American Movie

                                    Audience,” 15-127.

                        Continuing analysis of The Birth of a Nation.

                        Discussion of reading in Hale for 10/26.

W         10/28   Mid-term grades due.

                        No class.

Th 10/29-Su 11/1 Fall break.

M         11/2     Guest, Peter Rachleff, Department of History.

Stokes, “Fighting a Vicious Film,” “Griffith’s View of History,” “After Birth,”

Conclusion, 129-285.

                        Anna Everett, “The Birth of a Nation and Interventionist Criticism: Resisting Race

as Spectacle,” Returning the Gaze: A Genealogy of Black Film Criticism,

1909-1949 (Durham, NC: Duke UP, 2001), 59-106 (recommended; Moodle).

                        Continuing analysis of The Birth of a Nation.

                        Midnight Ramble: Oscar Micheaux and the Story of Race Movies (1994, USA, Pearl

                                    Bowser, VHS).

W         11/4     Oscar Micheaux section from Movies of Color: Black Southern Cinema (2002, USA,

Tom Thurman for FBN Motion Pictures and Kentucky Educational Television) (DVD).

                        McGilligan, 89-128.

                        Bowser and Spence, “Writing Himself into History” and “In Search of an

                                    Audience” (Part I), 3-88.

                        Final paper assigned.             

F          11/6     Last day to withdraw from a class.

M         11/9     Bowser and Spence, “In Search of an Audience” (Part II), 89-119.

                        Within Our Gates (1919, USA, Oscar Micheaux) (VHS).

W         11/11   McGilligan, 129-156.

                        Bowser and Spence, “Within Whose Gates?: The Symbolic and Political

                                    Complexity of Racial Discourses,” 123-155.

                        Continuing analysis of Within Our Gates.

                        Class meeting with the Registrar, Jayne Niemi.

M 11/16-F 12/4 Spring 2008 Registration.      

M         11/16   Light, “Good Mentoring and Advising,” 81-103.

                        The Symbol of the Unconquered (1920, USA, Oscar Micheaux) (DVD).

W         11/18   Bowser and Spence, “The Symbol of the Unconquered and the Terror of the

                                    Other,” 156-175.

                        Continuing analysis of The Symbol of the Unconquered.

                        Light, “Faculty Who Made a Difference,” 104-128.

                        One-Hour In-Class Open-Book Essay Test #2 (on material through 11/16).

M         11/23   McGilligan, 157-215.

                        Body and Soul (1925, USA, Oscar Micheaux) (DVD).

                        Light, “Diversity on Campus” and “Learning from Differences,” 129-189.

W         11/25   No class.         

Th 11/26-Su 11/29 Thanksgiving break.        

M         11/30   Paper 2 Draft Due.

                        McGilligan, 215-240 (rest is recommended).

                        Bowser and Spence, “Body and Soul and the Burden of Representation,” 176-208.

                        Jacqueline Najuma Stewart, “’We Were Never Immigrants’: Oscar Micheaux and the

                                    Reconstruction of Black American Identity,” Migrating to the Movies:

                                    Cinema and Black Urban Modernity (Berkeley: U of California P, 2003),

                                    219-244 (Moodle).

Anna Everett, “Cinephilia in the Black Renaissance: New Negro Film Criticism,

1916-1930,” Returning the Gaze, 107-178 (recommended; Moodle).

Continuing analysis of Body and Soul.

W         12/2     Class will last until 11:15 p.m.

                        Gone with the Wind (1939, USA, Victor Fleming) (Blu-Ray/DVD).

M         12/7     Bowser and Spence, Epilogue, 209-222.

Hale, “Stone Mountains: Lillian Smith, Margaret Mitchell, and Whiteness Divided,”

            241-279.

Anna Everett, “Black Film Historiography,” Returning the Gaze, 284-299 (Moodle).

Continuing analysis of Gone with the Wind.

W         12/9     DJ Spooky’s Rebirth of a Nation (2008, USA, Paul D. Miller) (DVD).

                        Hugh Bartling, “Intentions and Mass Culture: Oscar Micheaux, Identity, and

                                    Authorship,” Authorship and Film, eds. David A Gerstner and Janet Staiger

                                    (New York: Routledge, 2003), 119-136 (Moodle).

M         12/14   Jacqueline Najuma Stewart, Conclusion, Migrating to the Movies, 245-250.

                        Reflections/evaluations.                       

Mini-conference TBA, between 12/16 and 12/21.

M         12/21   Rewrite of Paper 2 due in Clay’s box by 1:30 p.m.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

GUIDELINES FOR PAPERS                                                     

 

Papers must be double-spaced, stapled, punctuated in standard U.S. English, responsive to all aspects of the assignment, including word limits (please put a word count on the front page), and prepared according to MLA style (see MLA), avoiding sexist language and using the MLA option of placing only one space after a period. Make sure that you document every reference, whether quotation or paraphrase, including page numbers whenever possible. Feel free to write in the first person. Support claims not common knowledge with evidence and conclusions with argument. Avoid hyperbolic words like “extremely.” In general, paraphrase rather than quote, unless the language to which you are referring is particularly distinctive; this gives you more control over the flow of the argument. Avoid internal ellipses (use paraphrases instead); these make the writing more difficult to read. Do not use dictionaries as sources unless they are scholarly or unless you are analyzing the dictionary itself. Take time to plan your papers, and to revise them. A major writing problem of Macalester students is wordiness; comb your paper for possibilities for cuts and condensations. Never submit a paper unless you have run it through Word’s spellchecker (papers not run through the spellchecker will automatically lose 2/3 of a grade) and the names on the front page of at least two other people (any two you choose) who have read and have commented upon it. You are responsible for saving a copy of your work file. Define all terms whose definitions are controversial or obscure. Unless a paper assignment tells you otherwise, you can assume your reader is a Macalester student who has not taken this course. When discussing reception, avoid claiming without evidence that all viewers respond identically to any text, or that there is a unified spectator called “we” or “the viewer.” A paper may combine characteristics of different levels of work. In that case the grade will depend on the paper’s overall demonstration of knowledge of the material and of college writing skills. Rewritten papers will be evaluated in part on how well they improve in response to comments offered on the original, which must be attached. Please see me if you have questions about my standards or about any of your grades. Here are my grading standards:

            --An “NC” paper demonstrates that the writer has little, if any, understanding of the concepts of the course. Because of the writer’s lack of skill or concern, the work includes gross errors as well as a conspicuous lack of content. Documentation is negligible. The paper may also fail to address parts of the assignment.

            --A “D” paper demonstrates that the writer has only minimal understanding of the concepts of the course. Significant gaps in the writer’s comprehension indicate the need for more study. The paper shows the writer’s basic compositional skills are below satisfactory for college work. Documentation is unsatisfactory.

            --A “C” paper demonstrates that the writer has understood most of the concepts of the course, but needs to pay more attention to detail in reading or writing. Documentation is erratic.

            --A “B” paper demonstrates that the writer has understood the concepts of the course, has a sense of their complexity, and has applied them with some originality. The paper shows the writer can organize a coherent essay with few mechanical errors. The thesis statement is clear, responsive to the assigned topic, and supported with logical argumentation, including relevant evidence. The paper for the most part includes adequate documentation.

            --An “A” paper demonstrates that the writer has not only mastered the concepts of the course, but has applied them in an imaginative and incisive way. The paper shows a command of the language that allows the writer to articulate worthwhile ideas or perceptions clearly, effectively, in detail, and with virtually no mechanical errors. There is grace to the sentence structure, which is clear and varied throughout. Documentation is consistent. The “A” grade is reserved for exceptional papers; “A-” papers tend to be exceptional in part but marred by one or two problems.