NB Please read this entire syllabus carefully; consider it both a contract and a tool.

Purpose and Goals of the Course: This course is intended to function as an enhancement of your literary study and as an introduction to the academic field of film studies.  As you will see from this syllabus, this not a history of film course, nor is it a history of literature course.  The title of this course identifies our two main objects of study, and describes, in one quick phrase, a complicated set of phenomena.  This semester, we will consider the shifting ground of narratives that have been transformed from one form, one system of meaning (short stories and novels), into another (film).  Often, when we encounter narratives (in a movie or in a good book read for fun) we tend to practice a _suspension of disbelief,_ letting the story unfold itself for us, and following the conventions of film and fiction without question, as it is so easy to do.  In this course, we will set aside the complacence with which we might ordinarily encounter these texts, and, instead, direct our critical focus on the mechanisms through which writers and filmmakers convey meaning to their audiences.  To help us narrow our focus, and to help us reveal the means (the systems of meaning) and the motives that drive these narratives, we will examine the textual maneuvers involved in the adaptation of literary works into the language of film.  As a member of this class, you will bring to bear your previous experience in literary analysis, and you will develop that skill along with your skill in reading the conventions of film language.  
     Your main goal for this course is to develop a critical and analytical approach to texts, both written and filmic, in order to increase your understanding and appreciation of narrative art.  The various graded components of this syllabus are direct measures of your progress towards this goal.  You will demonstrate your achievement by discussing texts articulately (becoming an engaged and participatory audience of the texts) and by writing intelligently, thoughtfully, and correctly about the course material.  

Intended Audience: Students in this course must have successfully completed both College Writing I and II; you may not take this course simultaneously with College Writing II, as that course provides an important review of literary concepts and a framework for writing critical analyses.  This course satisfies a General Education requirement in the _Arts and Humanities_ category.  I will assume that the students from a variety of majors will take this course for a variety of reasons.  Regardless of those differences, all students in this course must be prepared to participate in class, to write, and to complete extensive reading assignments.  Students taking this course should be enthusiastic about reading and about film.  The course is offered at the 200 level (an honors section is available), but it maintains a quick pace and will require you to make a significant commitment of your time.  This includes considerable time devoted to film viewing outside of class.  Some of the films that you will be required to watch as part of your coursework are rated R, as they contain nudity, sexual content, strong language, or violence.  Students electing to take this course will need to be able to approach this material in a mature, analytical fashion.  

Purpose of the Course Website: The course web site, http://faculty.uml.edu/phaines/42.232, is meant to be a resource for your exploration of material related to this course.  On it, I have included links to both academic and commercial websites.  Please use your good judgment about following links outward from those sites.  Of course, I cannot be responsible for their content.  Also, I am aware that there are many web resources that support and encourage acts of academic dishonesty; my policy on plagiarism is included in this syllabus.  I hope that you will use the course site to help you keep on top of assignments and due dates, and as a way to contact me.  If you have a link you think I should include on the site, please let me know.

Required Texts for You to Purchase: These are available at the UML North Campus Bookstore:
Road to Perdition  Max Allan Collins
Jaws  Peter Benchley
High Fidelity  Nick Hornsby
The Shining  Stephen King
I will hand out supplemental stories and articles in class; those are also required reading.  You must have at your disposal a writing handbook and a good dictionary.  

Required Viewing: The filmic texts for this course WILL NOT BE VIEWED DURING CLASS MEETING TIMES.  Please make a note of my recommendations about "Watching Movies," attached to this syllabus.  Most of these films will also be available at a good video store; some may not.  I strongly recommend viewing films more than once.  You may need to rent these films or make time for multiple viewings on campus in order to write your essays.  If you intend to rent these films on your own, please plan ahead (by checking out the holdings at your local video store, signing up for a membership, etc.) to avoid missed deadlines.  
Road to Perdition  Sam Mendes, 2002
Jaws  Steven Spielberg,1975
In the Bedroom  Todd Field, 2002
High Fidelity  Stephen Frears, 2000
The Shining  Stanley Kubrick, 1980
Million Dollar Baby  Clint Eastwood, 2004

Grading: I will calculate your grade on the following basis:
36% Reading and Screening Reactions (6, 6% each)
32% Quizzes (8, 4% each)
16% Scene Analysis 
16% Final exam 
While I will provide specific grading criteria for each assignment, here is a quick profile of what I consider the caliber of work that warrants each letter grade:
A = Absolutely Outstanding.  You come to every or almost every class.  You demonstrate an excellent command of course concepts and can articulate a clear argument about the execution and significance of those concepts.  You participate regularly and thoughtfully, and your ideas open up new avenues of consideration for the entire class.  Your writing is ambitious, analytical, original, detailed, accurate, thought-provoking, strategically organized, and contains few grammatical, mechanical, or proofreading errors.
B = Good Work.  You miss very few classes, and when you come to class you're prepared and you participate well.  You've grasped all of the major course concepts.   Your writing always meets and usually exceeds the requirements of the assignments, shows original ideas, contains good supporting evidence, and is relatively free from distracting errors.  In general, you have done very good work all semester, although you may still struggle with some minor aspects of the course material or to a slight degree with the articulation of course material in written argument.
C = Adequate.  You do enough to get by, but perhaps miss a few classes, or come to class unprepared more than once.  You participate once in a while, but you do not take any risks in your comments.  Your writing meets the requirements of the assignments and contains some good ideas, but shows little insight, is vague or undeveloped, or handles course concepts awkwardly.  Problems with organization, proofreading, etc. may also detract from your written arguments.
D = Poor, barely passing.  Although you complete the course assignments, you make too little effort or miss class too frequently to grasp the course material.  You sometimes come to class unprepared to contribute.  Written work is poorly thought-out, vague, not proofread, and shows weak understanding of course concepts and content.
F = Failing.  You don't do your work as outlined in the syllabus.  This is usually a clear-cut case.

Attendance and lateness: On most days, you will have a quiz or work due in class; missed quizzes (due to absence or lateness) may not be made up, and late reactions (see below) will not be accepted.  Therefore, though I do not factor attendance directly into the course grade, missing class, or habitual lateness, will radically reduce your course grade.  Consideration will be given to students who promptly document legitimate, unavoidable absences.  If you find that you cannot avoid missing consecutive classes, please notify me as soon as possible.  I will take attendance daily, and your record will be a factor in deciding a borderline grade.  

Participation: I will deliver brief lectures on the course material, but this course will be based on class discussion.  In order for us to have meaningful discussion, you must be prepared for class, which means that you must read or watch the texts thoroughly, actively and critically.  Be ready to make a positive contribution to the discourse by offering insights, making connections, or by asking questions.  While I do not assign a participation grade, my intention in assigning reactions and giving quizzes is to assure that you will take care to be familiar with the assigned material.  I expect that you will make a serious effort to convert your personal understanding of the material into commentary that benefits the entire class.  I also expect you to present your ideas in a manner that encourages other members of the class and respects opposing opinions.  Your enthusiasm and contributions to class discussion will be in my mind whenever I consider your written work, and I will consider your participation, as with attendance, when I decide a borderline grade.

Suggestions about notes: To help you with your writing and your studying, and to improve class discussions in general, I suggest you keep a thorough and organized notebook. Take notes in class.  As you read in preparation for class, make notes in the margins of your books and handouts, and write major observations and questions in your notebook.  As you view films, make notes about what you notice.  Use your notebook to write summaries of readings and films.  Keep your reactions and essays in your notebook.  When you miss class, seek out another student's notes.  These habits will help you when I call on you to speak in class, when you contribute to discussion, when you want to meet with me for a conference, when you are writing your essays, and most especially when you are studying for the final.

Conferences: I do not require individual conferences for this course.  However, should you have questions, need additional help, or want to discuss your work or the course material at any point during the semester, I will be more than happy to meet with you.  Please make use of my weekly office hours, listed above.  I am readily available by appointment or at an alternate location if my office hours are incompatible with your schedule.  

Writing assignments: As I have indicated in the grading scheme above, you will complete several different types of writing assignment during the course of the semester; the purpose of each assignment is to assess your progress toward the course goals.  For each assignment, you will have detailed directions.  In grading, I will always take into consideration the demonstration of your mastery of course content and concepts, the quality of analytical thought behind the writing, the responsiveness to the specific directions for the assignment, the clarity of expression in structure, and the correctness of the prose.  You may seek help from the writing tutors at the Centers for Learning.

Quizzes:  We will have quizzes at the beginning of many class periods.  As the function of these quizzes is to encourage students to be prepared for class discussions, students arriving late for class will not be allowed to take quizzes, and missed quizzes may not be made up.  On quiz days, you will be expected to comply with my usual class requirements for turning off and putting away all electronic devices.  You will also be expected to put away all notes and study materials.  You will refrain from speaking to your classmates when a quiz is underway.  Failure to abide by these requirements will result in a zero for the quiz.  Additionally, anyone caught cheating will have a zero on the quiz and will be reported for disciplinary action.  

Late work, extensions, and revisions:  I expect you to turn in your work on time and in class. Missed quizzes may not be made up, and late reactions will not be accepted, as this defeats their purpose.  I will give one-week extensions on the scene analysis, provided that you request the extension at least two days before the due date.  Taking an extension will reduce your grade on the assignment by one half of a letter grade, and I will not accept papers after the extended due date.  I will approve requests to revise the scene analysis on a case-by-case basis.  Do not expect to turn in sloppy work on the due date and revise at your convenience; editing after the due date will not be permitted.  You may make a request to revise during my office hours or by appointment, but you must do so within one week of receiving your grade on the assignment.  In order for your request to be granted, you will need to present your plan for significant revision.  

Academic honesty: I will not tolerate plagiarism or cheating.  When you are writing for this course, save your notes, prewriting, and early drafts (which might mean printing your work periodically), as I reserve the right to examine those materials should a question of legitimate authorship arise.  If you cannot produce documentation of your work upon request, you may be required to rewrite the essay.  Papers found to be plagiarized will receive a grade of zero on the first offense, which will be factored into the final course grade.  Such papers may not be rewritten.  Please make sure you are thoroughly familiar with the various definitions of plagiarism, which include handing in work not your own, failing to correctly and appropriately cite others_ intellectual property, and inappropriately paraphrasing information or ideas from other sources.  Be aware that I make no distinction between intentional plagiarism and careless documentation.  Should a second incident occur, or should I find that you have been caught plagiarizing in the past, you will fail the course and be subject to the University's disciplinary process, which may result in your expulsion.  

Accommodations:  If you have any condition, such as a physical or mental disability, that will make it difficult for you to carry out the work as I have outlined it or which will necessitate extra time on quizzes, written homework assignments, or on the final exam, please notify me in the first two weeks of the course so that we might make appropriate arrangements.  Class meetings missed due to religious observations do not count as absences.  If you will miss a class for this reason, please notify me at least one week in advance so that I can advise you of upcoming assignments; we might need to arrange alternate due dates, but all work is to be turned in on time.

Classroom courtesy:  Upon entering my classroom, for each and every class meeting, you will turn off and put away all cell phones, pagers, beepers, PDAs, and other electronic, mechanical, or robotic devices.  When we are engaged in conversation, as I hope we will frequently be, please extend courtesy to me and to your classmates and listen to others carefully and with respect for divergent opinions.  Finally, when someone is addressing the group, whether it is I or one of your classmates, please do not engage in private, side conversations. If you have valuable contributions to make, please use the conventional method of waiting your turn and speaking to be heard.  Applying these and other common-sense rules of courtesy will make for an agreeable classroom environment.