Syllabus

FILM THEORY & CRITICISM

Sandrine Siméon

simeon@soka.edu

Office Hours: by apt (Ikeda 452)

The Learning Cluster experience is intended to:

1. Develop students’ habits of independent inquiry and study

2. Learn to apply a range of investigative and analytical tools and to apply them to a specific problem

3. Bridge theory and practice in the investigation of a specific question

4. Enhance the ability to work collaboratively toward the completion of a common project

5. Foster a contributive ethic by working on issues that have a larger social significance or meaning

6. Prepare students for their role as engaged global citizens and leaders

Anticipated learning outcomes and ways this course reflects the mission of the LC program:

1. Analytical and investigative skills: students read film theory and criticism, apply conceptual tools to film analysis. They examine an interdisciplinary and alternative object, film-theater, to develop new questions, and ideas, and think critically and creatively.

2. Experiential and field learning; bridging theory and practice: students apply conceptual tools of filmmaking when visiting Paragon Studio and reflect on visual and kinesthetic modes of learning. They experience an immersive event of live theater and opera filming and broadcasting.

3. Global citizenship; working on issues that have a larger social significance: students consider current subjects matters such as gender and race relations (postcolonialism, feminism, masculinity and queer theory) as they are expressed through films from four continents, within the philosophical, ethical, political, institutional and cultural domains.

REQUIRED TEXTS

All readings for this course are available on the Google site created for this LC. Make sure to properly cite your sources when using them for your final project.

GRADING POLICY

1.        Participation to discussions            20%

2.        Key concepts presentations         20%

3.        Quizzes                                  20%

4.        Vlogs                                      15%

5.        Final Project                         25%

1. Participation to discussions:

Regular attendance and active participation in class discussions is crucial to this course, which relies heavily on student input. Students who miss more than two classes will receive three points deducted per absence from their final participation grade. In order to participate, you must closely read the texts prior to class and as closely watch the assigned film(s).

2. Presentations:

Each student will present a “key concept” from Susan Hayward’s Cinema Studies: The Key Concepts. These will be assigned to you and are available via hyperlinks on your Schedule of courses. You can illustrate the concept with filmic illustration(s). Look for the grading rubric for more details.

3. Quizzes

These are quick 1-5-question online quizzes (due dates and times are indicated on the Schedule of courses).

4. Vlogs

These are 3-minute video reviews on Flipgrid for certain films (due dates and times are indicated on the Schedule of courses). Tips and sample reviews on the “To read/watch section. You must avoid summaries of the films. Your thoughts must be informed by the text(s) paired with each film. Though documenting your reactions to each film are often good places to start, entries should reach beyond stating your personal opinions to reflect critical thinking. What strikes you as strange or particularly well done? How does this film accord with what you have learned? How does it compare with other works? Show how the theoretical tools you have acquired inform your analyses of the film’s aesthetic. Use the film’s title as the subject line for each Vlog. Look for the grading rubric for more details.

5. Final project:

The goal of this course is to have you demonstrate both your knowledge of film theory along with a developed capacity for critical thinking. To this end, the course will culminate in a final project: a website, an essay, or a short film. This project is completed in stages throughout the course. Each step of your final project is due by midnight on the date indicated on the Schedule of courses and must be posted in the appropriate Dropbox on Brightspace.

Whether you choose to work on a website, write an essay or create a short film, you must not only express your understanding of the films and the various (latent) themes they refer to, but should also demonstrate that you are critically able to examine the films – i.e. delve below their surface elements – using the theoretical knowledge you have assimilated in the course. You must demonstrate something of your knowledge of the field by citing pertinent secondary sources. Be sure to properly document all sources (quotes, images, etc.). A website needs to be easy to navigate and should lead readers from one point to another in a dynamic fashion as well as allow them to freely explore the subject. Your project should be free of spelling and grammar errors (use the Writing center if necessary). See samples on Google site, "To read/watch."

UNIVERSITY GRADING POLICY

Letter grades will be assigned as follows:

A+ = 97-100   A = 94-96.9 A- = 90-93.9   B+ = 87-89.9   B = 84-86.9  B- = 80-83.9

C+ = 77-79.9   C = 74-76.9     C- = 70-73.9 D = 60-69.9 F = 0-59.9

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY

Dishonesty of any kind will not be tolerated in this course.

Dishonesty includes, but is not limited to, cheating, plagiarizing, fabricating information or citations, facilitating acts of academic dishonesty by others, having unauthorized possession of examinations, submitting work of another person or work previously used without informing the instructor, or tampering with the academic work of other students. This also apply to using AI to write your answers to quizzes, papers, etc.

While collaborative work may be required to complete specific activities, work that is represented as the achievement of an individual may not in fact be the product of group effort. Students are expected not to give or receive help during examinations, as well as not to submit papers that are not entirely their own work. No assistance from teachers, tutors or other students may be sought or accepted without the express authorization of your instructor. The University expects that all students adhere to the accepted norms of intellectual honesty in their academic work. Any form of cheating, plagiarism, dishonesty or collusion in another’s dishonesty constitutes a fundamental violation of these norms and will result in a failing grade in the course. See SUA’s policy on academic honesty.

Any assignment that is the work of anyone other than the student will be considered plagiarism. It will be given a grade of “0” without hesitation. Further consequences, including judiciary review and expulsion from the university, are possible.

N.B.

1. Students needing accommodations are encouraged to speak to the professor so they may produce an accessible learning environment.

2. While this syllabus is intended to be a reliable guide of assignments and testing, your instructor reserves the right to make modifications as necessary.

Potentially challenging topics

Over the course of your years at SUA, you will be encountering a number of topics that you may find emotionally challenging, even difficult. If some of this makes you feel uncomfortable, that might be perfectly normal, and we (your instructors) encourage you to talk to us and your friends about it. Please understand that a liberal arts education is designed to confront you with things that challenge and, at times, even threaten your worldviews. So, if you feel intellectually or emotionally disturbed by what you learn in class, it may be that you should be concerned, or it may only mean that you are engaging with novel perspectives, which is an important feature of college.