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Description
Instructor Specifics
Course Requirements
Assignments
Course Calendar
Description:
What defines the “American Outlaw,” and why has this iconographic figure been so influential in the national mythology of the United States? This senior/graduate seminar will examine the role of the outlaw hero in American mythology and film. Students will explore the cinematic evolution of the iconic outlaw from the American frontier through national crises. We will study the outlaw hero’s various incarnations—cowboy, gangster, soldier, etc.—the corresponding development of the action genre, and the ways in which national identity and mythology, race, class, and gender intersect in the formation of this American icon.
By the end of this semester, you will:
• develop your library and research skills
• read a range of critical, cultural, historical, and theoretical approaches to film studies
• expand your understanding of “American mythology” and its expressions in cinematic form
• regularly incorporate outside scholarly criticism and, occasionally, outside film viewing into your class contributions
• develop your professional skills by drafting and delivering a multi-media conference presentation
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Instructor Specifics
Professor: Dr. Anna Froula
Department of English
Office: Bate 2149
Office Hours: W 10-3
Office Phone: 328-6663
E-mail Address:
froulaaATecuDOTedu
Required Texts
John Shelton Lawrence and Robert Jewett, The American Myth of the American Superhero (Grand Rapids/Cambridge: Eerdmans, 2002)
John Cawelti, The Six-Gun Mystique (Bowling Green: Bowling Green State U Popular P, 1999)
Roland Barthes, Mythologies (New York: Hill and Wang, 1972)
I will assign supplemental readings via handouts and electronic .pdf forms.
Requirements:
1. Reading/Blackboard Discussion/Class Participation (40%)
Every student in this class has the capacity to earn an A, but you will have to work for it. To structure our class meetings, you will contribute two weekly writing assignments on blackboard. The focus of these assignments will vary: course readings, individual research assignments, the occasional outside film reportage, and initial “reads” of the film. Generally, you will need to respond to the film by Friday at midnight and to report on the reading(s) by Monday at midnight.
The responses should detail (1) your initial impressions of the readings or films and provide pertinent textual quotations (i.e., scenes and dialogue for films and actual textual quotations from the readings), (2) your assessment of what issues the text(s) raise and how, and (3) a brief summary of how you are interpreting the text(s), i.e., your "read." These posts will eventually provide pre-writing and research for your individual presentations.
This class is a learning community, and the quality of class discussion depends on each individual participant. Anyone who enrolls in a graduate course should expect to participate regularly. My evaluation of your class participation will be based on your class presence—both physical and mental—and focus on (a) your attentiveness, (b) useful contributions to class discussion topics, and (c) useful contributions to class dynamics.
2. Conference-Length Argumentative Research Project (Research Paper 30%, Multi-Media Presentation 20%, actual presentation of both 10%)
You will prepare this assignment as if you were presenting at a formal conference. It will not exceed a 15-minute presentation (8-10 pp). The paper must focus on materials covered or related to class content. As part of the formal requirements for this paper grade, you must turn in a proposal of a 2-3 page outline of your argument and a 2-3 page working bibliography by October 22. You must meet with me in conference to discuss this proposal. You must then turn in a full-length rough draft of this paper to your writing group and to me (see below) by November 5.
Multi-media Presentation
You must create a multi-media presentation (keynote, powerpoint, online, etc.) that incorporates movie clips (more details to follow), key quotes/points, and that illustrates the argument of your paper. If you currently don’t know how to do any of this, don’t panic!
Writing Group Participation
As part of the composition and revision process for your conference-length paper, you will participate in a writing group with two other classmates. You will read and comment on each draft before a face-to-face meeting where each person will get a minimum of thirty minutes discussion from the group on their draft. You will turn in copies of comments—both marginal and summary form—of the group’s efforts on November 19.
Class Policies:
Act like a professional: arrive in class on time, finish all assignments on time, notify me in advance of absences whenever possible.
Act like a human being: have fun with this work! Treat both your fellow students and critics with compassion and respect (it’s possible to disagree with a person’s ideas while recognizing their value), work to listen with care and communicate clearly.
Film Screenings: I will screen each week’s movie at the end of class each Wednesday evening. You are not required to stay for the screening, but you are required to have viewed the film and responded to it by the following Friday.
Movies for the class are on reserve in Joyner Library. To view them, bring a set of headphones to the library, check out the film from the circulation desk, and watch them in the library. If you go with a small group, you may be able to ask for a private screening room, if available).
Also on reserve:
Easy Riders, Raging Bulls: How the Sex, Drugs and Rock 'N' Roll Generation Saved Hollywood (Kenneth Bowser, 2003) (You will need to watch Disc 1 on your own by September 10)
Bonnie and Clyde (Arthur Penn, 1967)
The Graduate (Mike Nichols, 1967)
The Searchers (John Ford, 1956)
Academic Integrity
Cheating is defined as copying someone else’s work through direct quotation or paraphrasing without citing the original author. Cheating is also paying someone else to do your work. Please refer to the ECU Student Handbook for more information on ECU’s policy on academic honesty. I will strictly enforce this policy.
Special Assistance:
It is my hope that you will succeed in this course. If you have any special needs you wish to alert me to, please come see me during my office hours or set up an appointment. ECU seeks to comply fully with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Students requesting accommodations based on a disability must be registered with the Department for Disability Support Services located in Shay 138. (252) 737-1016.
Emergency Weather
In the event of a weather emergency, you may access information from ECU emergency notices (www.ecu.edu/alert) or the ECU emergency information hotline (252-328-0062).
About me:
My last name rhymes with “ebola,” not “Pascagoula.” Originally from Boulder, CO, by way of Knoxville, TN (go Vols!), I moved to Greenville last summer to teach film studies in the English department at ECU. When not teaching or doing research on war, gender, and the military in popular culture, I spend time with my husband, Sean Morris, and our two dogs—Murphy and Marlowe. I am a dedicated aunt who loves to cook and travel.
Course Calendar
Reading/Film Viewing Schedule
This syllabus is a written contractual agreement between us. I reserve the right to revise the schedule to meet the class’s needs, to assign reading materials not listed, and to alert you to changes via email. However, I will never move deadlines earlier.
Aug. 20
Class introduction
Screening: Little Big Man, (Arthur Penn, 1971)
Aug. 27
Lawrence and Jewett, Parts I-II
Screening: Stagecoach (John Ford, 1939)
Sep. 3
Cawelti, Chs. 1-3
Screening: The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (John Ford, 1962)
Sep. 10
Cawelti Chs. 4-5,
Barthes analogies assigned
Screening: Little Caesar (Mervyn LeRoy, 1931)
Watch Easy Riders, Raging Bulls (Disc 1) by this class meeting
Sep. 17
Barthes, Mythologies analogies
Screening: The Godfather (Francis Ford Coppola, 1972)
Sep. 24
Lawrence and Jewett, Part III
Screening: The Outlaw Josie Wales (Clint Eastwood, 1976)
Oct. 1
Lawrence and Jewett, Part IV
Screening: The Deer Hunter (Michael Cimino, 1978)
Oct. 8
Screening: The Dirty Dozen (Robert Aldrich, 1967)
Oct. 15
Screening: Easy Rider (Dennis Hopper, 1969)
Oct. 22
Screening: Vanishing Point (Richard C. Sarafian, 1971)
Oct. 29
Screening: Dirty Harry (Don Siegel, 1971)
Nov. 5 Lawrence and Jewett, Part V
Screening: Rambo: First Blood (Ted Kotcheff, 1982)
Nov. 12
Screening: Top Gun (Tony Scott, 1986)
Nov. 19
Screening: The Big Lebowski (Cohen brothers, 1998, and/or The Simpsons Movie (David Silverman, 2007)
Nov. 26:
No Class, University Holiday
Dec. 3:
Conference Presentations