21L.011 - The Film Experience
Prof. David Thorburn

Required Reading:

Primary Text

David A. Cook, A History of Narrative Film. Third Edition (W.W. Norton, 1996).

Supplementary Essays

1. James Agee, "Comedy's Greatest Era," from Agee on Film, vol. 1 (1958), pp. 2-19.

2. Gerald Mast, "The Comics: Mack Sennett and the Chaplin Shorts," and "Movie Czars and Movie Stars," from A Short History of the Movies (1981), pp. 76-92, 118-28.

3. Leo Braudy, "Genre: The Conventions of Connection," from The World in a Frame: What We See in Films (1977), as excerpted in Gerald Mast and Marshall Cohen, ed., Film Theory and Criticism (1979), pp. 443-468.

Writing requirements: The course satisfies the criteria for communication intensive subjects in the humanities, arts, and social sciences. Students are required to write three essays, 5-7 double-spaced typed pages each, devoted to films studied during the term. Students must write a minimum of 20 pages over the course of the term.

All students must revise and resubmit at least one of their first two essays, and they are encouraged but not required to revise both. Only the grade received on the revised version of the paper will count toward the final grade in the term. Revisions must be submitted within one week of the date on which essays are returned.

Late papers: Essays submitted within seven days of the due date will be graded without penalty but will be ineligible for revision and may not receive written comments from the instructor. Papers will not be accepted beyond the seven-day grace period.

Paper topics: A list of suggested topics will be distributed for each of the essays. Students may depart from these suggestions, but the alternative must be approved by their recitation instructor.

Oral expression: A central goal of the recitation hour in the course is to strengthen students' powers of oral expression. Attendance at recitations is mandatory. Students will be required to deliver a brief oral report during the term and to participate actively in class discussions. Performance in these discussions will have a measurable influence on the final grade.

Exams: a 30-minute quiz, a one hour test, both given in class; and a three-hour final, given during the exam period. The quiz will consist of short identification items. Both tests will include essay questions as well as an identification segment. Material covered in lectures and in the assigned reading will supply most of the identification questions.

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