FILM 307.05 L01

NATALIE WOOD'S SEXUAL REVOLUTION

FALL 2008

LECTURES: WEDNESDAY, 2:00 - 3:50 PM

SCREENINGS: TUESDAY, 12:30 - 3:20 PM

 

 

Instructor:	Dr. Rebecca Sullivan
Office:	SS344
Office Phone:	403-220-3397
E-Mail:	rsulliva@ucalgary.ca
Web Page:	See Blackboard
Office Hours:	Tuesdays, 10 AM - 12 PM

 

Additional Information

 

Some of the materials and topics presented in class may include explicit sexual or violent content. If these materials make you uncomfortable, you are encouraged to speak with the professor. You will not be exempt from any assigned work but we will work together to accommodate your concerns. This class respects difference and diversity while welcoming thoughtful, critical discussions about their representations and discourses in film and popular culture.

 

Responsibility for attending and fulfilling the requirements for lectures, screenings, readings and assignments resides with the student. The professor will not give out lecture notes, repeat information, nor provide replacement copies of material that was provided during regular class hours. Use of recording technologies in class is prohibited.

 

Students are expected to attend the weekly assigned screenings. There is no guarantee that you'll be able to find copies of the film in video stores or on the web, and Com Media does not have the resources to schedule individual screening times.

 

A Blackboard portal has been set up for this course which allows for group correspondence, course announcements, assignment submission, and other forms of communication. Students are expected to check Blackboard before the course for any last minute changes or cancellations.

 

Course Description

The purpose of this course is to explore the social and cultural upheavals that both caused and were affected by the American postwar sexual revolution through the films and celebrity persona of Natalie Wood. Students will engage with historical texts, films, and critical readings to discover different facets of this movement and its lasting effects on gender relations.

Objectives of the Course

Through the readings, screenings and lectures students will develop (a) keen insight into the way popular culture both reflects and inscribes social change; (b) an understanding of the historical evolution of gender and sexual relations in contemporary North America; (c) important strategies for deconstructing popular cultural texts and deducing multiple levels of meaning; (d) critical thinking skills that can be applied to issues of personal interest.

Textbooks and Readings:

Course readings are available in PDF format through Blackboard. There may be some delay in posting all readings, and past readings may be removed to make room for new ones, but they will be available at least two weeks before and two weeks after the lecture for which they are assigned.

Assignments and Evaluation

Weekly                    Participation                  10%

Weekly                    Film Journals                5% X 10 = 50%

December 15          Take Home Exam          40%

Participation

 

Regular attendance at screenings and lectures is expected but it's your active participation in debates and discussions that really matters. 10% of your total grade will go toward your contributions in class. Quality, not quantity, is what counts. A few well-chosen, thoughtful, reflective observations and questions throughout the term are better then a flurry of off-handed remarks and flippant comments every week.

 

Film Journals

 

Following the screening and lecture, you are required to write a brief analysis of the film based on what you have learned that week. This is not to be a film review - seriously, I don't care if you thought the film was "good" or not. Neither is it to be a meditation on the psychological motivation of the characters. They're not real people. Rather, you are to critically reflect on the sociological conditions of the film: its production and marketing, its significance to social and cultural debates ongoing at the time, the iconic meaning of Natalie Wood's character in the film, and so on. Pick one clearly identified issue and focus your analysis accordingly. It could be on one scene or even one shot. You could focus on one element - lighting, camera work, set design, costume - or reflect on a particular moment in a character's lives in the context of social and sexual public debates. What you can't do is everything, so don't even try.

 

The analysis should be between 900 - 1200 words and follow a scholarly format. See Course Documents in Blackboard for a grading rubric and notes on research skills.

 

The analysis is due the following Monday by 9AM. Please submit through the Blackboard Digital Dropbox. If your Internet connection is not working, you may either e-mail the attachment to me directly through another account or, as a last resort, submit a hard copy through the faculty office, SS110.

 

It is the student's responsibility to keep a copy of each submitted assignment.

Note: The preference is for you to hand in your assignments electronically. If it is not possible to do so, a daytime drop box is available in SS110; a date stamp is provided for your use. A night drop box is also available for after-hours submission. Assignments will be removed the following morning, stamped with the previous day's date, and placed in the instructor's mailbox. Do not slide assignments under the professor's office door, they will not be counted as submitted.

Take Home Exam

 

The screening for the last week of term will form the basis of a take-home exam question that will be distributed and discussed at the last lecture. The question will encompass other films, readings and lectures from the course. Students will be expected to undertake independent research of their own and write a sound, scholarly response in essay format. Your answer should be between 4000 - 5000 words. See Course Documents in Blackboard for a grading rubric and notes on research skills.

 

Please submit through the Blackboard Digital Dropbox. If your Internet connection is not working, you may either e-mail the attachment to me directly through another account or, as a last resort, submit a hard copy through the faculty office, SS110.

 

It is the student's responsibility to keep a copy of each submitted assignment.

Note: The preference is for you to hand in your assignments electronically. If it is not possible to do so, a daytime drop box is available in SS110; a date stamp is provided for your use. A night drop box is also available for after-hours submission. Assignments will be removed the following morning, stamped with the previous day's date, and placed in the instructor's mailbox. Do not slide assignments under the professor's office door, they will not be counted as submitted.

Registrar-scheduled Final Examination:         No

Please note: If your class is held in the evening, the Registrar's Office will make every attempt to schedule the final exam during the evening; however, there is NO guarantee that the exam will NOT be scheduled during the day.

Policy for Late Assignments

Assignments submitted after the deadline may be penalized with the loss of a grade (e.g.: A- to B+) for each day late.

Writing Skills Statement

Faculty policy directs that all written assignments (including, although to a lesser extent, written exam responses) will be assessed at least partly on writing skills. For details see www.comcul.ucalgary.ca/info. Writing skills include not only surface correctness (grammar, punctuation, sentence structure, etc) but also general clarity and organization. Research papers must be properly documented.

If you need help with your writing, you may use the Writing Centre.  Visit the website for more details: www.efwr.ucalgary.ca

Grading System

The following grading system is used in the Faculty of Communication and Culture:

(Revised, effective September 2008)

 

	Grading Scale
A+	96-100
A	90-95.99
A -	85-89.99
B+	80-84.99
B	75-79.99
B-	70-74.99
C+	65-69.99
C	60-64.99
C-	55-59.99
D+	53-54.99
D	50-52.99
F	0-49

 

Where a grade on a particular assignment is expressed as a letter grade, it will normally be converted to a number using the midpoint of the scale.  That is, A- would be converted to 87.5 for calculation purposes.  F will be converted to zero.

 

Plagiarism

Using any source whatsoever without clearly documenting it is a serious academic offense. Consequences include failure on the assignment, failure in the course and possibly suspension or expulsion from the university.

You must document not only direct quotations but also paraphrases and ideas where they appear in your text. A reference list at the end is insufficient by itself. Readers must be able to tell exactly where your words and ideas end and other people's words and ideas begin. This includes assignments submitted in non-traditional formats such as Web pages or visual media, and material taken from such sources.

Please consult your instructor or the Writing Centre (SS 106, efwr.ucalgary.ca) if you have any questions regarding how to document sources.

Students with Disabilities

If you are a student with a disability who may require academic accommodation, it is your responsibility to register with the Disability Resource Centre (220-8237) and discuss your needs with your instructor no later than fourteen (14) days after the start of the course.

Students' Union

For details about the current Students' Union contacts for the Faculty of Communication and Culture see www.comcul.ucalgary.ca/su

"SAFEWALK" Program -- 220-5333

Campus Security will escort individuals day or night -- call 220-5333 for assistance. Use any campus phone, emergency phone or the yellow phone located at most parking lot booths.

 

Ethics

 

Whenever you perform research with human participants (i.e. surveys, interviews, observation) as part of your university studies, you are responsible for following university research ethics guidelines.  Your instructor must review and approve of your research plans and supervise your research. 

 

For more information about your research ethics responsibilities, see

The Faculty of Communication and Culture Research Ethics site: http://www.comcul.ucalgary.ca/ethics

 

or the University of Calgary Research Ethics site: http://www.ucalgary.ca/research/compliance/ethics/info/undergrad/