ENGLISH 381: TOPICS IN FILM, VIDEO, AND
MOVING-IMAGE
CULTURE: SCOTTISH CINEMA
M 3-6:30 pm
(Screenings) and W 3-5:30 pm (Discussions), HHH 323
Four Credits, Fall
2012, UWEC
PROFESSOR BOB NOWLAN
Office: HHH 425,
Office Phone: (715) 836-4369
Office Hours: MW
11:55 am to 12:25 pm, M 6:35 pm to 7:05 pm,
W 5:35 to 6:05 pm,
F 10:55 to 11:25 am, as well as By Appointment
ranowlan@uwec.edu
http://uwec.edu/ranowlan
COURSE DESCRIPTION
English 381: Topics in Film, Video, and Moving-Image
Culture is an upper-level general education course in the humanities
that focuses on an intensive as well as extensive exploration of a
particular topic in cinema studies
as cultural studies, with the topic varying from offering to
offering. We, in the English Department, offer this class once a
year, and my English Department colleague Professor Stacy Thompson and
I teach all offerings of English 381. We each choose topics that
represent areas of particular interest and expertise for us that we
believe will likewise interest and excite students. In the past I
have taught sections of this course, and of its predecessor, English
380: Studies in Film, that focused on Critical Theories of Film, Film
Noir (twice), LGBTQ Film (twice), Irish Cinema, British Cinema (twice),
German Cinema, and Scottish Cinema (once previously, in the Fall 2010
semester). Professor Thompson has in the past taught sections of
English 381 focused on Auteur Cinema: Hitchcock, The French New Wave,
and Dogme 95, American Independent Cinema, Godard, and Film Noir.
English 381 can fulfill multiple English major and minor requirements,
GE IV-D humanities requirements, upper level GE requirements, and
topical minor in film requirements.
This Fall 2012 offering of English 381: Topics in
Film, Video, and Moving-Image Culture focused on Scottish Cinema offers you an
introduction to major contributions in the history of
cinematic representations of Scotland and of ‘Scottishness’, made
within as well as outside Scotland and by both Scots and
non-Scots. We will study Scottish cinema in relation to Scottish
history and, especially, Scottish culture. We will examine a broad
range of film genres and film styles with a particular focus, over the
course of the entire second half of the semester, on recent and
contemporary Scottish films. And we will tackle the following
‘big issues’, among others: the power of myth and the contribution of
cinema to defining the myths people live by; the meaning of national
identity; relations between nationality and other forms of identity;
cinema as entertainment, as art, as ideology, and as ideology critique;
and the nature of realism, naturalism, the romantic, and the
fantastical in cinema.
I am extremely excited about this class.
Scotland, and Scottish Studies, represent two of my greatest passions
over the past decade. I maintain an abundant, enthusiastic
interest in Scottish cinema, music, literature, history, and
culture. I have traveled extensively across Scotland on fifteen
separate occasions over the course of the past ten years, including
twice this past summer. Besides previously teaching English 381,
with a focus on Scottish Cinema, I have also taught English 359,
British Literature Since 1790, with a focus on Scottish Crime Fiction,
and I make Scottish indie rock, pop, folk, folk rock, and folktronica
one of my feature areas of emphasis on my weekly radio show, Insurgence
(10 pm to midnight Thursdays on WHYS, 96.3 FM, Eau Claire).
I am co-editor of the forthcoming book Directory of
World Cinema: Scotland (currently scheduled for publication in
the Fall
of 2014), part of Intellect Publishing Company’s Directory of World
Cinema series. This book is conceived as an introduction to
Scottish cinema and Scottish cinema studies for undergraduate level
students, scholars seeking a useful reference source for their own work
in related fields, and for interested general readers. Not only
am I co-editing this book, but also I am writing approximately fifteen
contributions to it as well. Our book will contain approximately
twenty essays (on filmmakers, themes, and genres) as well as
approximately ninety reviews of individual films.
My co-editor, Zach Finch, graduated with a
bachelor’s degree from UWEC with a major in political science and a
minor in film studies, and then from North Carolina State University
with a master’s degree in English with a concentration in film
studies. At present, Zach is pursuing a PhD in English,
concentrating in critical studies in cinema and related media at the
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Another contributor to
Directory of World Cinema: Scotland
is Jason Burke, a student in my
Fall 2010: Scottish Cinema class, who has since transferred to
UW-Madison. Jason is interested in eventually pursuing a PhD in
English and becoming an English professor. I mention Zach and
Jason here simply to highlight the possibilities that can become
realities for dedicated and accomplished UWEC undergraduate students:
not only to pursue advanced degrees in English and in film studies, and
eventually to pursue opportunities to become professors of English and
cinema studies yourselves, but also to collaborate with UWEC faculty
members, like myself, on substantial scholarly projects, including
major book-length contributions in cinema studies. If you develop
a strong interest in Scottish cinema (and/or other areas of Scottish
culture) as we proceed, and you do well with it, opportunities for
future collaboration are likely to be available. For example,
Zach and I have already been in communication with our publisher about
potentially editing and writing Directory
of World Cinema: Scotland 2,
after Directory of World Cinema:
Scotland, to cover filmmakers, films,
themes, and genres not addressed in the first book. And I am
interested in future work (teaching and scholarship) in Scottish crime
fiction, Scottish indie music, and Scottish literature since the end of
the eighteenth century through the present.
Since this is a GE class, with no prerequisites, I
don't assume students enter with any prior knowledge in either film
studies or Scottish studies, but only with an interest in learning and
a willingness to make an effort to do so. Whatever knowledge in
either of these areas you bring with you will help you, and it will
also help the rest of the class. Yet, again, no prior knowledge
is necessary; in the fall of 2010 when I last taught English 381, and
with the same focus, students with no prior knowledge in either film
studies or Scottish studies did well, including students with no
previous humanities course experience at the college level.
TEXTS
The following books are required:
1. Petrie, Duncan. Screening Scotland.
London: British Film Institute, 2000. ISBN#: 0-81570-785-8.
2. Murray, Jonathan, Fidelma Farley, and Rod
Stoneman, eds. Scottish Cinema
Now. Newcastle Upon Tyne,
England: Cambridge Scholars Publishing Company, 2009. ISBN#:
1-4438-0331-6.
3. Gardiner, Michael. Modern Scottish
Culture. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press,
2005.
ISBN#: 0-7486-2027-3.
4. Corrigan, Timothy. A Short Guide to Writing
About Film. Eighth
Edition. Boston: Pearson, 2012.
ISBN#: 978-0-205-23639-8.
5. Craig, Carol. The Scots’ Crisis of
Confidence. Second
Edition. Glendaruel, Scotland: Argyll
Publishing, 2011. ISBN#: 978-1-906134-709.
6. Robertson, James. And the Land Stood
Still. London: Penguin, 2011. ISBN#:
978-0-141-02854-5.
All of these books are available for you to purchase
at the UWEC Bookstore. You may purchase them elsewhere, as you wish, as
long as you do acquire them in time to use for class; these days many
students find many required texts for their classes through on-line
booksellers. All are readily available through that means from
multiple different vendors. I will supply additional written
texts in the form of photocopied handouts, or on Desire2Learn and the W
(the Student-Faculty Shared) Drive. I will also supply copies of
all the films we will screen in class, as well as all the films you
will need for group interview conferences and final group projects
along with all other visual, audio, and audio-visual texts that we may
make use of from time to time in class as well. Please note well
that you must obtain access to the second
edition of The Scots’ Crisis
of Confidence, and the eighth
edition of A Short Guide to
Writing About
Film; you may acquire access to different (complete) editions of
all
the other books that I have ordered if this is easier for you.
Screening Scotland
provides an introductory overview
of the history of Scottish cinema through the year 2000, from the
vantage point of a turn-of-the-century scholarly consensus; in this
book author Duncan Petrie identifies major themes and elucidates major
developments in this same broad sweep of history, largely recounted in
chronological order, while at least briefly touching upon hundreds of
different films and filmmakers. Scottish
Cinema Now is an edited
anthology of sustained scholarly essays focused on precisely defined
topics, concentrating on new and renewed areas of particular interest
among Scottish Cinema Studies scholars over the course of the first
decade of the 21st century. With Modern Scottish Culture author
Michael Gardiner offers a textbook introduction, written for beginning
undergraduate and advanced high school level students, to What is
Scotland, Scottish History, Scottish Philosophy, Education in Scotland,
Religion in Scotland, Scots Law, Sport in Scotland, Scotland’s
Languages, the Scottish Parliament, Scottish Literature, Scottish
Visual Arts and Architecture, Scottish Mass Media, and Scottish
Music. In A Short Guide to
Writing About Film author Timothy
Corrigan offers a quick introduction not only to how to write about
film but also to how to write compellingly in general, in an academic
context, and to how to watch, listen to, take notes on, study, and
analyze film critically. The Scots’
Crisis of Confidence provides a
simultaneously both ambitious and accessible analysis of the
distinctive dimensions of Scottish national character, or of
‘Scottishness’, which author Carol Craig anatomizes on the basis of a
lucid synthesis of philosophical, sociological, and social
psychological theories, and which she situates in a lucid synthesis of
historical and contemporary contexts. James Robertson’s And the
Land Stood Still is one of the most critically acclaimed
Scottish
novels of recent times, lauded as representing “the story of a nation,”
of Scotland from the end of World War II through the early 21st
century: an epic fictional portrait involving numerous significant
characters, many significant settings (in terms of both place and
time), multiple significant plot lines and crisscrossing narrative
trajectories, and a diversity of stylistic modes (ranging from the
naturalistic to the experimental).
SCHEDULE
W 9/5: Introduction and Orientation. Screening and Discussion of
Select Short Films.
Read
for Class, W 9/5:
A Short Guide to
Writing About Film: From Chapter 1
(“Writing About Movies”), 7-17 and From Chapter 2 (“Beginning to Think,
Preparing to Watch, and Starting to Write”), 26-35.
Syllabus and Introductory Print Lecture (“Scottish
Cinema: an Introduction”), distributed electronically.
M 9/10: Screening, Brigadoon (108
minutes) and Whisky Galore!
(82
minutes).
W 9/12: Discussion, Key Issues from Readings, Brigadoon, and Whisky
Galore!
Read
for Class, W 9/12:
Screening Scotland:
From “Introduction: Some Key
Issues in Scottish Cinema,” 1-8, and From “Chapter Two: The View from
the Metropolis,” 32-35 and 42-45.
A Short Guide to
Writing About Film: From Chapter
3 (“Film Terms and Topics for Film Analysis and Writing”), 37-48 and
51-76.
M 9/17: Screening, The Hasty Heart
(102 minutes) and The Brothers
(98
minutes). Weekly Homework Short Essay #1 Assigned.
W 9/19: Discussion, Key Issues from Readings, The Hasty Heart, and The
Brothers. Weekly Homework Short Essay #1 Due.
Read
for Class, W 9/19:
Screening
Scotland: From “Chapter Two: The View
from the Metropolis,” 40-42 [paragraphs discussing The Brothers].
The Scots’ Crisis
of Confidence: “Chapter 2: Through
a Glass Darkly,” 36-60; “Chapter 3: Sceptical Scots,” 63-86; and
“Chapter 10: Holier than Thou,” 221-233.
A Short Guide to
Writing About Film: Chapter 5
(“Style and Structure in Writing”), 108-125 and From Chapter 7
(“Manuscript Form”), 156-171.
M 9/24: Screening, Bonnie Prince
Charlie (136 minutes) and Culloden
(69
minutes). Weekly Homework Short Essay #2 Assigned.
W 9/26: Discussion, Key Issues from Readings, Bonnie Prince Charlie,
and Culloden. Weekly
Homework Short Essay #2 Due.
Read
for Class, W 9/26:
Screening Scotland:
From “Chapter Three: The
Jacobite Legacy,” 53-67.
Modern Scottish
Culture: “Chapter 1: What is
Scotland?,” 1-21, and “Chapter 2: Cultural History I: Before
1822,” 26-39.
The Scots’ Crisis
of Confidence: “Chapter 9: The
Utopian Streak,” 205-219, and “Chapter 12: Complex Inferiority,”
264-283.
M 10/1: Screening, The Flesh and the
Fiends (94 minutes) and Floodtide
(86 minutes). Weekly Homework Short Essay #3
Assigned.
W 10/3: Discussion, Key Issues from Readings, The Flesh and the Fiends,
and Floodtide. Weekly
Homework Short Essay #3 Due.
Read
for Class, W 10/3:
Screening
Scotland: From “Chapter Four: An Urban
Alternative,” 74-87.
Modern Scottish
Culture: “Chapter 3: Cultural
History II: After 1822,” 43-62; and “Chapter 11: The Contexts of Modern
Scottish Literature,” 144-156.
A Short Guide to
Writing About Film: From Chapter 6
(“Researching the Movies”), 126-145.
M 10/8: Screening, Night Mail
(25 minutes), Seaward the Great Ships
(28
minutes), The Waverley Steps
(31 minutes), The Face of Scotland (13
minutes), They Made the Land
(20 minutes), Hell Unlimited (19
minutes),
Neighbors (8 minutes), and Where I am is Here (33 minutes).
Weekly Homework
Short Essay #4 Assigned.
W 10/10: Discussion, Key Issues from Readings, Night Mail, Seawards the
Great Ships, The Waverley
Steps, The Face of Scotland,
They Made the
Land, Hell Unlimited, Neighbors, and Where I am is Here. Weekly
Homework Short Essay #4 Due.
Read for Class, W 10/10:
Screening
Scotland: From “Chapter Five: Scotland
and the Documentary,” 97-108.
Scottish Cinema
Now: From (Sarah Neely and Alan
Riach) “Demons in the Machine: Experimental Film, Poetry and Modernism
in Twentieth-Century Scotland,” 3-10 and 15-17.
The Scots’ Crisis
of Confidence: “Chapter 4: The
Pull of Possibilities,” 88-109.
M 10/15: Screening, The Bill Douglas
Trilogy: My Childhood,
My Ain
Folk, and My Way Home
(165 minutes). Weekly Homework Short Essay
#5 Assigned.
W 10/17: Discussion, Key Issues from Readings, and The Bill Douglas
Trilogy. Weekly Homework Short Essay #5 Due.
Read
for Class, W 10/17:
Screening Scotland:
From “Chapter Seven: A Scottish
Art Cinema,” 148-151 and 158-161[through end of first paragraph on page
161].
Scottish Cinema Now:
(Cairns Craig) “Nostophobia,”
56-70.
The Scots’
Crisis of Confidence: “Chapter 7:
Knowing Your Place,” 151-172, and “Chapter 8: More Equal than Others,”
175-202.
M 10/22: Screening, Gregory’s Girl
(91 minutes) and Comfort and Joy
(100 minutes). Weekly Homework Short Essay #6
Assigned.
W 10/24: Discussion, Key Issues from Readings, Gregory’s Girl, and
Comfort and Joy. Weekly
Homework Short Essay #6 Due.
Read
for Class, W 10/24:
Screening Scotland:
From “Chapter Seven: A
Scottish Art Cinema,” 153-158.
The Scots’ Crisis
of Confidence: “Chapter 5: A Way
with Words,” 110-129.
Modern Scottish
Culture: “Chapter 5: Education,”
82-89, “Chapter 6: Sport in Scotland,” 110-119, and “Chapter 14:
Scottish Music,” 192-206.
M 10/29: Screening, M 10/29: Screening, My Name is Joe (105 minutes)
and The Angels’ Share (101
minutes).
W 10/31: Discussion, Key Issues from Readings, My Name is Joe, and The
Angels’ Share.
Read
for Class, W 10/31:
Scottish Cinema Now:
(John Hill) “'Bonnie Scotland,
eh?': Scottish Cinema, the Working Class, and the Films of Ken Loach,”
88-102.
The Scots’ Crisis
of Confidence: “Chapter 6: My
Brother’s Keeper,” 130-150.
M 11/5: Screening, Trainspotting (94
minutes) and Small Faces (108
minutes).
W 11/7: Discussion, Key Issues from Readings, Trainspotting, and Small
Faces. First Interpretation and Reflection Paper Assigned.
Read
for Class, W 11/7:
Screening Scotland:
From “Chapter Nine: The New
Scottish Cinema: Themes and Issues,” 191-196, 196-97 [through end of
first paragraph on page 197], and 203-204 [paragraphs on Small Faces].
The Scots’ Crisis
of Confidence: “Chapter 11: The
Enterprise Problem,” 234-263.
Scottish Cinema Now:
(Sarah Street) “New Scottish
Cinema as Trans-national Cinema,” 139-151.
M 11/12: Screening, Orphans
(98 minutes) and Wilbur Wants to
Kill
Himself (111 minutes).
W 11/14: Discussion, Key Issues from Readings, Orphans, and Wilbur
Wants to Kill Himself.
Read
for Class, W 11/14:
Screening Scotland:
From “Chapter Nine: The
New Scottish Cinema: Themes and Issues,” 213-218.
The Scots’ Crisis
of Confidence: “Chapter 13: Never
Good Enough,” 286-311; “Chapter 14: “‘Nae Gless’: Pessimism in
Scotland,” 286-339; and “Chapter 15: Facing the Future,” 340-346.
M 11/19: Screening, Seachd: The
Inaccessible Pinnacle (90 minutes) and
Stone of Destiny (96 minutes).
W 11/21: Discussion, Key Issues from Readings, Seachd: The Inaccessible
Pinnacle, and Stone of Destiny.
First Interpretation and
Reflection Paper Due. [We are required by the University to hold this
class, even though it is the day before Thanksgiving, but class will
end at 5 pm.]
Read
for Class, W 11/21:
Modern Scottish
Culture: “Chapter 9: Scotland’s
Languages,” 121-131, and “Chapter 10: The Scottish Parliament,” 133-141.
And the Land Stood
Still: “Part Two: The Persistence
of Memory,” 149-228.
M 11/26: Screening, Neds (124
minutes) and Hallam Foe
(92
minutes).
W 11/28: Discussion, Key Issues from Readings, Neds, and Hallam
Foe. Second Interpretation and Reflection Paper Assigned.
Read
for Class, W 11/28:
And the Land Stood
Still: Part Four, “Scenes from
Olden Days,” 381-524.
M 12/3: Screening, Red Road
(110 minutes) and Donkeys (78
minutes).
W 12/5: Discussion, Key Issues from Readings, Red Road, and Donkeys.
Read
for Class, W 12/5:
And the Land
Stood Still: Part Five, “Questions of
Loyalties,” 525-636.
M 12/10: Screening, New Town Killers
(101 minutes) and 16 Years of
Alcohol (96 minutes).
W 12/12: Discussion, Key Issues from Readings, New Town Killers, and 16
Years of Alcohol.
Read
for Class, W 12/12:
Scottish Cinema Now:
(Duncan Petrie) “Screening
Scotland: a Reassessment,” 153-169, and (Robin MacPherson)
“Shape-Shifters: Independent Producers in Scotland and the Journey from
Entrepreneur to Entrepreneurial Culture,” 222-237.
* Sn 12/16: Class Conference, Final
Group Project Presentations and
Discussions, Room(s) and Time(s) to be Announced. *
** W 12/19: Second Interpretation and
Reflection Paper Due by 4 pm in
my English Department mailbox, HHH 405. **
***
THIS SCHEDULE IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE ***
**** THERE IS NO FINAL EXAMINATION IN THIS CLASS ****
GENERAL FORMAT FOR ORGANIZATION OF
CLASS SESSIONS
Monday
afternoons we will screen films. We
will take a short (five-minutes long maximum) break in between the
screening of each film (when we screen two feature-length films).
You may bring cushions, pillows, blankets, fold-up chairs, and any
other kind of material that you might find more comfortable to sit on
during these screenings than the seats already available in the
classroom. You do not need to do this, but you may if you wish. You may
also bring snacks as long as you try not to make a mess and as long as
you clean up after yourself. PLEASE DO NOT USE CELL PHONES DURING
SCREENING SESSIONS– INCLUDING TO TEXT
MESSAGE–TURN THEM OFF!
DOING THIS IS MORE DISTRACTING THAN YOU MAY REALIZE AND ALSO TO MY MIND
A CLEAR SIGN THAT YOU ARE NOT ENGAGED AS YOU SHOULD BE WITH THE
MATERIAL FOR THE CLASS. IT WILL THEREFORE NEGATIVELY AFFECT YOUR
COURSE GRADE TO A SUBSTANTIAL DEGREE IF YOU DO IT. As you are
watching and listening to screenings, I recommend you take notes as
this can prove quite helpful in keeping focused and in helping you
review what you have seen and heard later–although it is better not to
take too many, or too detailed notes, such that this interferes with
your ability to watch and listen carefully. I have worked
conscientiously to try to choose films that will all fit within the
screening time we have, but on rare occasion a screening session may
run 5 to 10 minutes past 6:30 pm; you will be expected to stay through
the end even so. This will be more than made up for by the number
of times in which screening sessions will end earlier than 6:30; this
will happen much more often, throughout the semester, and on those
occasions you will be free to leave as soon as our last film has
concluded.
Wednesday
afternoons we will discuss readings as
well as the screenings from the previous Monday afternoon.
Discussion will proceed according to a variety of formats. I will
usually prepare a packet for you of questions and other materials for
study, discussion, and review that I’ll give to you at the start of
class, right before we begin our screenings, each Monday. I will
design these packets to help you make sense of readings and
screenings, and we will use these to structure our discussions on
Wednesdays. These packets will also include the written homework
assignment due two days later as well. At times I will make
relatively short, informal presentations, but I prefer not to lecture
at length; instead I want to work with you so that we can together come
to grips with the issues this course addresses. I may prepare and
post occasional written texts of extended length on Desire2Learn or the
W (the Student-Faculty Shared Drive) for you to study and review on
your own. Frequently students will work for portions of our
Wednesday classes in small groups. At other times we may will
review clips from films previously screened, or from additional films,
as well as DVD extras. In short, we’ll aim to keep it
interesting. I will maintain ultimate responsibility, authority,
and control for the direction of our class discussions, yet I will do
my best to make sure we hear extensively from everyone else.
UWEC MISSION STATEMENT AND GOALS OF
THE BACCALAUREATE
The following is the official mission statement of
the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, a mission which includes us
all, and which each of us helps realize, bringing to bear our own
distinct talents, abilities, knowledges, skills, backgrounds, and
experiences:
We foster in
one another creativity, critical
insight, empathy, and intellectual courage, the hallmarks of a
transformative liberal education and the foundation for active
citizenship and lifelong inquiry.
This is a mission to aspire to meet, and each of you has a vitally
important role to play in helping us do so.
The following, in addition, are the six official
liberal education learning goals for undergraduate education at
UWEC,
and this class aims to help you, in particular, with goals number one,
two, three, and five:
1.) Knowledge of Human Culture and the Natural World
2.) Creative and Critical Thinking
3.) Effective Communication
4.) Individual and Social Responsibility
5.) Respect for Diversity Among People
6.) Integrative Learning
These goals require your striving to
meet them. Striving means
learning actively and deliberately, completing assignments in a
thorough and timely fashion, participating in class discussion, and
making connections between what we do while meeting in class and what
you do when engaged outside of the classroom.
GENERAL EXPECTATIONS OF STUDENTS
I expect students in this course to strive to become
sincerely interested in learning about the subject matter of this
course, and to be consistently intellectually serious as well as
academically diligent in their pursuit of this learning. I
expect students to strive to bring actively and extensively to bear–in
your essays and contributions to class discussion–insights you gain
through your engagement with the texts and topics addressed as part of
this course, and I expect you to strive at the same time to relate
these texts and topics as closely and as fully as possible to subjects
of genuine interest and concern in your own lives, past and
present. And I expect you to let me know right away when and if
you have any questions or problems about any aspect of how you are
doing in and with the course, so that I can do whatever I possibly can
to help answer these questions and solve these problems.
In addition, you need to be ready to engage
seriously, thoughtfully, and respectfully–at all times–with positions
that you don’t necessarily agree with, and even with ones that you may
find troubling. After all, great works of art–including many
great works of literature and film–are often created with the
deliberate aim of disturbing, even shocking many people who will
encounter these. Often the intent is to provoke strong response,
as well as thought–and action–that goes beyond what has become
familiar, conventional, commonsensical, and, especially, merely
“safe.” You are capable of dealing with these kinds of challenges
in an intellectually serious, mature adult manner–and I will expect you
to do so.
Finally, please keep in mind that you all have much
to offer of value to everyone else in the class, including to me–we all
gain from you sharing with the rest of us and us engaging with your
observations, reflections, interpretations, and other
perspectives. This is a general
education class, which means that
all you absolutely need as prerequisite to do well in it is a sincere
interest in learning about the subject matter, a genuine commitment to
engage diligently in so doing, and an openness to new ideas and
perspectives. People enter film classes at UWEC, like this
one,
from widely diverse backgrounds, and with widely diverse kinds of
knowledges and experiences. All of that is to the good. We
are here to work together–and
to help each other learn. I want
everyone to
do well with this class and I want you to join me in
approaching this class as an opportunity for us to join together,
collectively, in striving to make this happen. You shouldn’t ever
worry that other students in the class seem to know more or better than
you about X or Y; everyone always knows more or better about something
than everyone else, so be confident this certainly applies to
you. And if it seems some others do know more or better about
something important or valuable, relax and seek to learn from them; the
fact that they come to this class with this prior knowledge that you
don’t already have will not significantly affect how I evaluate your
performance and your contribution. No prior knowledge
taking
college-level film classes is required to do well in this class, and no
prior knowledge about Scottish history and culture is either.
SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS FOR THE COURSE
GRADE
General Criteria: Evaluation of
Student Performance
In evaluating all work done for this course, I will
take account of how carefully, seriously, intelligently,
enthusiastically, and imaginatively students engage with the concepts,
issues, positions, and arguments addressed in the course and
represented by the texts we read, the films we screen, by me, and by
each other. I will also take account of how carefully, seriously,
intelligently, enthusiastically, and imaginatively students engage with
class activities, projects, and assignments.
Attendance
This course cannot contribute effectively to
students' learning if students do not attend class. What happens
in class is indispensable. Therefore, the following attendance
policy will apply:
1.) Students may miss a maximum of three
classes
without needing to provide an official excuse, although students should
always let me know, preferably
beforehand, if and when you are not going to be able to attend a class,
just as the same as you
would for a shift at a paid job, because we will count on everyone in
the work we will be doing together this semester.
2.) If you need to miss more than three classes
total over the course of the semester you should seek to arrange an
officially authorized absence, through the Dean of Students’
Office. Otherwise you will lose
one full letter grade, off your
final grade, starting with your fifth absence from class.
If you
need to miss more than three classes, please contact me, as well as the
Dean of Students’ Office, as soon as possible, so we can work together
to make arrangements to help you make up what you miss.
3.) Students are
expected to arrive for class on time
and to stay through the very end of class. If you don’t do
so,
you won’t be counted as attending class. In addition, you need to
be awake, alert, and attentive while in class; this means you can’t
expect to sleep or rest in class. Again, if you do so, this will
count as an absence from class. And the same is true of doing
other school work in class or attending to other–personal–matters
irrelevant to what we are focusing on at that point in time in
class. You
should avoid text-messaging, or web-searching, or
facebooking, or playing games on your cell phone–just to mention a few
common temptations–while we are working together in class.
If you repeatedly do any of these things you will suffer a loss of one
to two full letter grades (depending on the severity of the issue) for
participation and contribution during each period of the semester where
this becomes a problem. Since you are all mature, responsible
adults, I respect, if you choose to ignore this warning, that you also
choose to accept the consequences. In other words, I won’t
repeatedly warn you not to do any of these things; instead I will just
note what you are doing, and adjust your grades accordingly. I
know that cell phones–and other electronic devices, especially
providing access to the internet and the world wide web–present plenty
of temptation, and most of us are used to being plugged in and
connected all the time, but you can and will concentrate better, learn
more, and contribute more and better if you set these devices aside and
put them away while we are working together in class, unless you are
using these devices as part of work on class activities or
projects. If I can do so, you can too.
4.) IT IS VERY IMPORTANT IN THIS CLASS THAT
YOU COME TO OUR WEDNESDAY DISCUSSION CLASSES HAVING DONE THE READING
REQUIRED OF YOU PRIOR TO CLASS. The quality of your own learning,
and that of the rest of your classmates depends upon you taking this
seriously and carrying it out conscientiously.
5.) I will be distributing
an attendance sign-in
sheet at every class meeting of the semester, including for all Monday
screening session meetings. Make sure you sign this sheet at each
class meeting you attend.
Weekly Homework Short Essays
Starting the third week of the semester and running
through the eighth week of the semester I will give you one homework
question (or series of short questions) at each Monday screening
session for you to write out your response to prior to our subsequent
Wednesday discussion class. This question (or series of short
questions) will relate to the assigned readings for that week, as well
as the films you will watch, and listen to, in class that Monday.
Homework will always be collected at the beginning of class on
Wednesday.
For each homework assignment you should type out
your response, double-space, you should make sure to put your name on
what you write, you should number your pages and staple separate pieces
of paper together, and you should aim to cover an average of
approximately two to three pages (or 500 to 750 words), although I
recognize that some people will do well writing less and some people
will do well writing more (the page and word target I have just
identified is only meant to give you a loose guideline). Key
here, in evaluating your work on these homework assignments, will be
how accurately, carefully, and thoughtfully you engage with the
question(s) asked of you, as well as the quality of the insights you
offer and the effort you demonstrate both in preparing well for
discussion and in using the writing out of your response to this
homework assignment as itself an occasion for significant
learning. I will not be a stickler for minute points of writing
style, but you should nevertheless try to express yourself, and
communicate to me, as clearly and precisely as possible.
I will grade homework on a curve, taking account of
how well the class as a whole is doing with these assignments.
The principal aim of these assignments is to help you learn through
thinking in writing, and to provide you the opportunity to work
directly with ideas you are studying in this course. If you make
a serious, conscientious effort to learn, and you respond well to
suggestions and recommendations for improvement as you proceed from one
homework assignment to the next, you should do well with this
work. The first writing you will do in the class will be in the
form of these weekly homework short essays so as to enable you to work
your way up to writing at somewhat greater length, and on addressing
films screened and readings assigned across multiple weeks.
You will be given six weekly homework short essay
assignments during this six-week period. You must do four of
them. You only need to do four
out of the six, but if you do five
or six I will count the four out of these five or six which you do the
best on. The grade for the entire series of homework short essays
you will write will be worth 16% of the
overall course grade.
Interpretation and Reflection Papers
You will write two interpretation and reflection
papers. In each of these two interpretation and reflection papers
you will interpret and reflect on
three films screened in class. For
the first of these two
interpretation and reflection papers, you can
choose any three of the
following six films: My Name is Joe,
The
Angels’ Share, Trainspotting,
Small Faces, Orphans, and Wilbur Wants to
Kill Himself. For the second
of these two interpretation and
reflection papers, you can choose any
three of the following eight
films: Seachd: the Inaccessible
Pinnacle, Stone of Destiny,
Neds,
Hallam Foe, Red Road, Donkeys, 16 Years of Alcohol, and New Town
Killers.
For each of the three films you choose to interpret
and reflect on, in each of these two papers, you will address the
following issues: 1.) what the film represents, from what vantage
point, and toward what end; 2.) what are some of the most important
ways that the filmmakers go about representing what they do as well as
what are some of the most important means they use to convey meaning
and exert impact; 3.) what useful connections can be drawn with the
readings you did and the discussions we held in conjunction with our
screening of the film in class; and 4.) how you compare and contrast
the film with one other film [your choice] screened in class earlier in
the semester. What you come up with, in these interpretations and
reflections, will be up to you; they will be your interpretations and
reflections. But you must argue
for these and work to make a
compelling case for all that you propose, contend, and conclude.
The paper assignments will be explained in precise detail when
distributed.
You should aim for approximately seven to eight
double-spaced typed pages with each of these papers (or, approximately,
1750 to 2000 words), although, again, I recognize that some people will
do well writing less and some people will do well writing more (the
page and word target I have just identified is only meant to give you a
loose guideline). Key here, in evaluating your work on these
homework assignments, will be how accurately, carefully, and
thoughtfully you engage with the question(s) asked of you, as well as
the quality of the insights you offer. I will also be evaluating
you in terms of how effectively you are able to make use of class
readings and class discussions in advancing your interpretations and
reflections, how compellingly you argue for these interpretations and
reflections, and how impressively you make use of the writing of these
papers as occasions, in and of themselves, for significant
learning. I will not be a stickler for minute points of writing
style, but you should nevertheless try to express yourself, and
communicate to me, as clearly and precisely as possible. And,
once again, I will grade each of these papers on a curve, to reflect
where the class as a whole is at.
Each of these
interpretation and reflection papers
will be worth 12% or the overall course grade, for a combined total
worth 24% of the overall course grade.
Participation and Contribution
I consider students’ active engagement, both inside
and outside of class, vital to effective student learning. By
raising questions, testing and trying out ideas, taking risks and
making mistakes, you learn a great deal–and help others learn a great
deal as well. You learn through talking, not just talk to show what you
have learned. At the same time, however, talking which pulls us
off on far-fetched tangents, which remains disconnected from and
disengaged with the screenings, the readings and the rest of the class,
or which effectively silences others, is negative participation.
In other words, quality participation is key, although a certain
quantity is necessary in order to enable quality. Quality class
participation does not, however, involve merely asking questions of me
and responding to my questions; quality class participation also
requires you to work to advance a serious discussion with your peers
about the films we are screenings, the readings we are doing, and about
the issues these screenings and readings raise for our consideration.
At the same time, I certainly understand that not
everyone is equally at ease talking in class, for multiple and varied
reasons. Listening carefully, making effective use of what is
discussed in class in papers and other assignments, and working with me
(and/or with tutors in the Writing Center and the Academic Skills
Center) outside of class are all other ways in which you can
demonstrate your quality contribution to our collective endeavor.
At the same time, work in small group discussions and as part of group
projects provide those hesitant to talk as often or as easily in front
of the whole class with ready opportunities for participation and
contribution. For those who are especially shy or otherwise
hesitant to speak forth in class, for whatever reason, I will provide
you an opportunity to write two additional reflection papers, in which
you can share with me some of what you have been thinking about and how
you have been working with ideas discussed in class–demonstrating kinds
and degrees of engagement, in other words, that I might not readily
recognize, because of you being shy or quiet. I will offer you
opportunities to write one additional reflection paper prior to my
determination of your participation and contribution grade for part one
of the semester, and one additional reflection paper prior to my
determination of your participation and contribution grade for part two
of the semester.
I do urge all of you, even those of you who conceive
of yourselves as shy or quiet students, to do your best to talk in
class, even as part of whole class discussions, now and then; start
slowly and work your way up. Keep in mind that what you have to
say matters, and that everyone struggles to articulate ideas in
conversation about serious and substantial topics as precisely as we
might ideally like, but we all do in fact gain a great deal from taking
a stab at it, and speaking forth even when we are confused and
unclear. We can–and we will–help each other in all the more
precisely formulating what we each aim to say; all you need to do is
give us something, in discussion, to work with, to build upon, develop,
and refine. If you do so, that’s a highly positive
contribution. Don’t hold yourself to unrealistic standards for
participation, as I certainly won’t; this is a ‘general education’
class, and a ‘general education’ level of understanding and engagement
is all that I am looking for. In my past English 381 classes most
students enrolled eventually ended up participating regularly and
extensively in all of our class discussions, and that was great for
everyone involved. You can do it too; I know you can–I have
confidence in you; you wouldn’t be here if you were not eminently
capable of doing a fine job in participation and contribution.
You will receive two participation and contribution
grades, each corresponding roughly to one-half of the semester, with
each worth 12.5% of the overall
course grade, for a combined total
worth 25% of the overall course grade.
Group Interview Conference
For this assignment, I will meet with you in a
conference outside of class to engage in an extended, serious, critical
discussion of one earlier Scottish film (released from 1935 through
1973) that we will not screen together in class this semester. I
estimate we will talk together for approximately one hour. You
will work on this assignment as part of a group of students from our
class.
Group interview conference assignments will take
place during week three of the semester. At that time I will also
give each group a copy of the film it will be working with so that you
can screen it individually, as well as collectively, and review it–as
well as any special features on the DVD–in preparation for the
conference. I will also give you the specific questions ahead of
time that I want you to come to the conference prepared to
address. The conference will happen approximately two weeks later
at a mutually convenient time for all of us, and it will take place in
my office. The films that student groups will be working with for
their interview conferences are as follows: I Know Where I am Going!,
The 39 Steps, Edge of the World, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, Tunes
of Glory, and The Wicker Man.
This assignment will be worth 10% of the
overall
course grade. I will give you individual grades for this
assignment (although they most likely will turn out to be the same,
unless different members of the group clearly put in substantially
different amounts of work on this assignment).
Final Group Project and Class
Conference
Once again, you will work together with a group of
fellow students from our class on this project. I will give each
group three Scottish films we will not screen together as part of the
course. Your task will be to prepare a presentation that uses
these films as a point of departure, reference, and return in order to
help illuminate, as well as stimulate, thinking and discussion, in
relation to a.) a significant issue in Scottish cinema studies,
as well as b.) a significant issue in Scottish history, society,
politics, and/or culture. You yourselves, in your groups and in
consultation with me, will determine, based upon what the films you are
working with suggest, precisely what these specific issues will
be. At the end of the semester you will present what you have
come up with as part of a public class conference; you will have
approximately 45 minutes time to
present, followed by approximately 30
minutes time to engage in–and lead–discussion. This class
conference will take place on Sunday December 18 (rooms and times to be
arranged). It will be open to the public to attend as interested
and able.
I will make more specific suggestions to you for
this project as you proceed to work on it. And I will also later offer
you a more detailed explanation of how I conceive of the goals of this
assignment as well as the criteria for evaluation I will use.
Also, groups as well as individual members from groups are welcome–and
indeed encouraged–to meet with me in conference as you are thinking
through and working on the presentation so I can help assist you in
your planning and preparation.
Here are the films that groups will work with for
these final projects: 1.) Just
Another Saturday, Just a
Boy’s
Game, and A Sense of Freedom;
2.) The Winter Guest, Breaking the Waves,
and The Governess; 3.) Ratcatcher, Morvern Callar, and We Need to Talk
About Kevin; 4.) Ae Fond Kiss, Nina’s Heavenly Delights, and Gregory’s
Two Girls; 5.) Braveheart, Rob Roy, and The Eagle; and 6.) Stella Does
Tricks, Sweet Sixteen, and Shallow
Grave.
All students must
attend at least one other session
besides their own during the run of the class conference.
Your
work on this assignment will be worth 25% of the
overall course
grade. I will give each group member a group
self-evaluation
sheet where you will evaluate the work of each member of your group,
including yourself, in preparing your project as well as in presenting
and discussing it; I will take these evaluations as well as my own
assessment of your work into account in determining your (individual)
grades for this assignment. If you all work well together, and
all contribute equitably, then the members of your group will likely
all receive the same grade, but, if not, no one will suffer grade-wise
as a result of difficulties presented by another group member’s failure
to follow through on task and on time, to contribute equitably, to work
well with fellow group members, or to be well prepared for the class
conference.
Extra Credit Class Party
On Saturday October 20
I will host an extra credit
‘Scottish party’ at my house. We will have Scottish food–and
drink, listen to Scottish music, and play Scottish games. What’s
more, in the spirit of Halloween (or Samhain), this will be a costume
party, where you can come as any Scottish character, past and present,
including from any of the films we will have screened and discussed to
date. Alternately, you can dress in ‘Scottish style’ of any one
kind or another, and give yourself an appropriate Scottish name (which
need not be a particular historical or fictional figure). How
elaborate you make your costume–or don’t–is entirely up to you.
And because Scottish literature–and film–has demonstrated a penchant
for mystery, murder, crime, detection, and the like (as well as
following in the spirit of Halloween) we will incorporate a ‘murder
party game’ theme. This mid-semester class party will give us an
opportunity for a relaxed, light-hearted, fun way of playing off of
some of the ideas and issues we will be working with in class this
semester, as well as a chance for you to indulge your creativity.
Just for coming and participating in the class party, you will earn 10%
extra credit. You are also free to invite friends from
outside of
our class to come to this party with you as well. More details,
including times and directions, will follow.
Other Extra Credit Opportunities
Beyond the aforementioned extra credit opportunity,
students can earn 2.5%
extra credit for each session they attend–and
where they actively participate–at the final class conference, besides
their own session, and besides the one other session everyone must
minimally attend.
In addition, we will have a low-key, end of the
semester party, together with students from my English 210 class, your
friends and their friends, during finals week, for which you will have
an opportunity to earn a yet additional 2.5% extra credit just
for
coming along and participating in this event.
Finally, for those interested, you may write an
extra credit paper offering your interpretations of and reflections on And
the Land Stood Still, as a whole novel. We are only
reading three
out of six parts of this novel as a class, only approximately half of
the novel, but if you are interested in doing so, you could read and
write a paper on the entire novel. If you are interested in this
possibility consult with me about it by the end of the week of Monday
November 26 through Friday November 30, and we will decide together on
a precise focus, and format, for this extra credit paper. Writing this
extra credit paper on And
the Land Stood Still will be worth 7.5% of
the overall course grade.
Academic Honesty
Plagiarism, cheating, and other forms of academic
dishonesty are serious offenses. They not only undermine the goal
of learning but also are exploitative of the work of others.
Deliberate dishonesty in written work as part of this course will
result in a failing grade. In addition, plagiarism may result in
further disciplinary action on the part of the University
administration, ultimately including expulsion from the University.
CONFERENCES/EXTRA HELP
I encourage you to meet with me in conference during
office hours or at another mutually convenient time to discuss any
issue of interest or concern related to what we are doing in this
course. Learning that takes place in conferences can be equally
as important, and at times even more important, than what takes place
in class. Please do not hesitate to meet with me during office
hours or to ask for an appointment at any time you think this might be
helpful; making myself available for conferences with you outside of
class is part of my responsibility as your teacher. Moreover, I
always sincerely do welcome getting to know and work with my students
outside as well as inside of class. I am ready to do whatever I
can to help you in your understanding of issues addressed in
screenings, readings, and discussions, as well as to help you with your
writing for, participation in, and contribution to this class. I
want to make sure that I do all that I can to help you succeed in this
class and I want to help you, as far as I can, to gain as much out of
it as possible through your work for it. You may also feel free to
write me via e-mail, and to call me–or leave a message for me on the
answering machine–at my office. Keep in mind “my office hours”
are for you, so please do not
worry about “disturbing” me in coming to
talk with me; these are times I have set aside to work with students;
that is their purpose. Let me know that you would like to meet
with me, and don’t assume that this is a big deal of any kind; I think
it’s great when students want to meet, talk, and work on matters
related to a class I am teaching. I am pleased whenever you do
so.
* Any student who
has a disability and is in need of classroom
accommodations, please contact both the instructor and the Services for
Students with Disabilities Office, Old Library 2136; for more
information on the services the latter office provides you, check out
their webpage: http://www.uwec.edu/ssd/index.htm
*
CONCLUSION
In the interest of accountability–me to you–I am
here providing you a weblink to: 1) my autobiographical profile:
http://www.uwec.edu/ranowlan/PROFILE_.htm.
You are also welcome
to look me up 2.) on facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1755562371
[If you are
interested in becoming facebook friends, feel free to contact me about
that]. I encourage you to check these sites out; it is useful for
you to know who your teacher is, what he’s about, and where he’s coming
from–and I like to be open, honest, and forthright with you about all
of that. I look forward to a great semester working together with
you!