Course Syllabus: University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire
WMNS 280: Contemporary Women’s Issues/English 380: Studies in Film
Black Superwomen and Black Macho in Recent American Film
Winterim
Semester 2003
Dr. David M.
Jones, Instructor
Office: 414 HHH;
Office Phone: 36-4949; e-mail: jonesm@uwec.edu
Course Description:
In Black Macho and the Myth of the Superwoman,
Michele Wallace expressed concerns about the representation of black men as supermasculine revolutionaries poised to fight their way to
freedom in
This course will begin by posing several critical questions to be explored through our responses to recent film and writings by cultural critics: what are the everyday behaviors associated with “truly” feminine or “truly” masculine subjects? Historically, how has American feature film influenced our common sense understandings of femininity and masculinity? In films that depict African American life and culture, are there distinct behaviors that mark femininity and masculinity in comparison to other films that do not feature African American characters? What relationship do these film images have to the “real” lives of both African Americans and whites?
Finally, our discussions will consider the controversies
surrounding some of the landmark films we will see. We will pose such questions as: how did the
atmosphere of revolution in the 1960s influence the representations of African
Americans in feature film? Why are
African Americans depicted almost exclusively as urban and Northern in recent
American film? How have cultural changes
in the representation of race in popular culture affected how we might read
these films as individual viewers today, in a rural college setting in
In addition to seeing landmark films and gaining practice in film interpretation, students will consider how women’s studies and African American studies have provided tools for responding critically to representations of gender and race in everyday American culture.
Course assignments and class interaction are designed to fulfill several instructional goals that this university considers to be core components of a liberal arts education. Specifically, this course will help students develop:
an ability to write, speak, and listen.
an appreciation of the arts.
an historical consciousness.
an ability to inquire, think, and analyze.
Students are encouraged to include the analysis paper for the course in their graduation portfolios.
Course Expectations:
Students who expect to earn an “A” or “B” grade for the course must demonstrate their interest in high achievement with strong attendance records, consistent preparation, and on-time submission of all course assignments during the semester. Failure to achieve in any of these areas constitutes grounds for a “C” grade or below.
Students enrolled in the course are expected to read the assigned texts promptly and to be prepared to contribute their thoughts within a lecture/discussion format. Bringing the appropriate text(s) to class each day is an important component of preparation and participation. The instructor both expects and values thoughtful participation from all students. Students are also encouraged to consider their orientations toward issues of race, gender, sexuality, and popular culture as they respond to films and critical essays. Students should also consider how subjects discussed in class relate to their chosen disciplines.
Required Texts:
hooks, bell. Black Looks: Race and Representation.
Dent, Gina and Michele Wallace. Black Popular Culture.
Electronic Reserve Selections:
Bobo, Jacqueline. Black Women as Cultural Readers.
Bogle, Donald. Toms, Coons, Mulattoes, Mammies, and
Bucks: an Interpretive History of
Blacks in American Films.
George, Nelson. Blackface: Reflections on African Americans and the Movies.
Morgan, Joan. When Chickenheads Come Home to Roost.
Mulvey, Laura. Visual and Other Pleasures.
Ransby, Barbara, and Tracye Matthews, “Black Popular Culture and the Transcendence of
Patriarchal Illusions.” From Words of Fire: an Anthology
of African-American Feminist
Thought.
Wallace, Michele. Black Macho and the Myth of the Superwoman.
Graded Assignments:
Film Journal (30 points): On ten occasions during the term, students will write journal entries independently on assigned topics and spontaneously in-class at the request of the instructor (1 page maximum typed or 2 pages handwritten). The journal entries will describe the students’ reactions to films, background readings, class discussions, and related material. The instructor will mention specific goals for these writing assignments, and all of the goals must be met fully for the student to receive full credit for the assignment. Individual entries will be worth 3 points.
Discussion Respondent (20 points): On one occasion during the term, each student will be designated as a discussion respondent, meaning that the student should be especially prepared to assist the instructor by preparing a set of 5 questions suitable for leading discussion. Students will work collaboratively on the preparation for the assignment and during class discussion. In addition to preparing 5 questions related to the film and assigned reading, discussion respondents will give a brief summary of their general response to the material before the open discussion period. Grades will be awarded based on the specificity and detail for the questions and the student’s level of preparation as demonstrated by his or her responses to student and instructor comments.
· Respondents will prepare
a set of 5 questions suitable for leading
discussion.
·Respondents will give a
brief summary of their general response to the
material
before discussion is opened to the entire class.
· Respondents will field
questions and comments by class members and the
instructor during the session.
Film Analysis Paper (30 points): During the term, students will develop a 4- page paper on a topic related to required course texts. This paper may be developed using a viewer response to a film, reflections on a film’s relationship to a cultural or historical moment, the critical and general audience reception for a film, and consultation of at least six secondary sources, including up to 3 of the titles listed in the electronic reserve reading list. Students will be required to submit a rough draft worth 10 points that includes sources and a 250-word summary of the paper’s thesis. The final paper will be worth a maximum of 20 additional points. Additional approaches may include the following:
· a
comparison of how two films treat a single construct or image related
to
gender and race.
· a
response to one of the critical essays, with references made to the film
texts
we have seen.
· an
analysis of how a recent film has influenced common cultural
understandings
of gender and race.
Final Exam (20 points): The final exam for the course will be given in a take-home format. Students will receive the questions at the end of class on the Wednesday before the final class day. There will be a total of 3 questions. Grading will be based on the following requirements:
· Students will write on
two exam questions.
· The
responses to the questions will have a maximum length of 4 typed
pages, double or single spaced.
· The responses will refer
to several films and critical texts assigned
during
the course.
· The responses will
demonstrate the student’s understanding of concepts
used
in the assigned readings and in class.
· The responses will be
edited and organized well.
· The responses will
demonstrate the student’s informed point of view as
a result of the work done previously for the course.
Late/Make-Up/Attendance Policies:
To insure fairness to all
students and validity of grading, assigned work must be submitted during
class on the due date for full credit.
If there are any extenuating circumstances that would prevent submission
of work at this time, students must inform the instructor before the due
date. Late work will receive half
credit, but only at the instructor’s discretion. In case of medical and family emergencies
that prevent on-time submission of any assignment, students must provide
documentation on the day that they return to class to be assigned make-up
work.
The instructor encourages
students to establish strong attendance records as a way of meeting course
objectives. Please note that more than
six absences constitutes grounds for a loss of course
credit unless there are extenuating circumstances that can be documented, such
as illness.
Students who are participating in extracurricular activities must establish an authorized absence through the Dean of Students’ Office and inform the instructor before the activity takes place. The instructor also encourages students that are having difficulty with any assignment to speak with the instructor two or more days before the assignment is due, so that assistance can be provided.
The instructor will follow the university policy
on academic dishonesty, and will not tolerate any instance of plagiarism or
other forms of cheating. A summary of
the university policy attached to this syllabus. Please see the student handbook for the full
text of this policy.
Course Schedule
Week
1: January 2-3
Thursday,
January 2:
Course
introduction: definitions of gender, race, culture, identity politics.
Introduction
to film discourse. (references to Sklar,
Film: an
International History of the Medium)
Representation,
ideology and visual images, spectatorship, and
interpretive
community.
Film:
Car Wash
Summary
and analysis of Bobo and Mulvey: exchanges of power and pleasure
in visual
spectacle. Conventional
and resisting spectatorship.
Spectators” (115-131).
Mulvey, Visual and Other
Pleasures:
“Introduction”
(vii-xv); “Part I: Iconoclasm” (3-26).
Monday,
January 6:
Bogle text on early black film history: independent and Hollywood
productions.
Discussion
of stock images of African American females and males; references to
Birth of a Nation and The
Jazz Singer.
Controversies
in reception: stereotypes and subversion?
Discussion of work
climate for black film actors in
early
History of Blacks in
American Films. Chapters 1-3:
“Black Beginnings,”
“Into
the 1920s: the Jesters,” “The 1930s: the Servants” (3-77).
Bobo, “The Politics of
Interpretation: Black Critics, Filmmakers,
Audiences” from Black
Popular Culture (65-74)
Tuesday,
January 7:
Angela Davis and the legacy of slavery and black women’s resistance.
Re-imagining slavery in 1970s American culture.
Relevance, theme, and African American film.
History of Blacks in
American Films.
Black
Movie Boom” (231-266).
Davis, Angela.
“Black Nationalism: The Sixties and the Nineties”
in Black Popular Culture (317-324).
Wednesday,
January 8:
Images of families in poverty in African American communities.
Moynihan
report: crisis, pathology, and patriarchy.
Discussion
of black male spectatorship and resisting audiences; alternative
film history
from urban black male standpoints.
Film:
Boyz N’ the Hood
(129-181 on
male/female relations in black communities).
George, Blackface: Reflections on African
Americans and the Movies
(skim
“Making Movies 1970-1986,” 51-76).
Wallace, “Boyz
N’ the Hood and Jungle Fever” in Black
Popular
Culture
(123-131).
classic and contemporary film.
romantic
relationships.
Controversy
over black male representation: arguments by Earl Ofari
Reading:
Morgan, When Chickenheads Come Home to Roost:
“strongblackwomen
and endangered black men”
(115-140).
Section
III: Soulful adventures: images of black women in a white
supremacist context
Friday,
January 10:
Gender
and cultural change: masculine and feminine archetypes in 1970s
Representing female sexuality in black-oriented film.
as Political
Resistance” (9-20) and “Eating the Other” (21-39).
Monday,
January 13:
Beauty, romance, and the black female subject in
Black women, spirit worlds, and conscience.
Film:
The Color Purple
Women: Making Ourselves a
Subject” (41-60).
Bobo, Black Woman as Cultural
Readers – Chapter 3 on audience
responses to The Color Purple.
Black
independent film: gender politics.
Film:
She’s Gotta Have It.
Reading:
hooks, Black Looks: Race and Representation: “Selling Hot Pussy:
Representations of Black
Female Sexuality in the Cultural
Marketplace” (61-77).
George, Blackface: “
The case for naming patriarchy in African American community life.
Film:
Menace II Society
Patriarchal Illusions” in Words
of Fire (526-536).
West, Cornel, “Nihilism in Black
(31-47).
Women’s
independent film: resisting audiences.
Black women’s plots and narratives.
The
making of Daughters of the Dust: institutional barriers.
Film:
Daughters of the Dust
Black Independent Producer” in Black
Popular Culture (228-233).
Assessing
black women and black men in 21st century American film
Stars,
landmarks, and the 2001 Oscars