Office hours: Tuesdays 10:30 a.m. -
12:30 p.m.
Wednesdays 11:45 a.m. - 12:45 p.m.
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Gillespie
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Gillespie's
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Russian
departmental
website
Mon., Wed., Fri.
10:40-11:30
a.m. in 335 DeBartolo Classroom Bldg.
Freed from the constraints of
Soviet-era censorship,
between 1990 and 2005 Russian filmmakers exploited the unique
qualities of the
film medium in order to create compelling portraits of a society
in transition.
The films we will watch cover a broad spectrum: reassessing
Russia’s rich
pre-Revolutionary cultural heritage as well as traumatic periods
in Soviet history
(World War II, the Stalinist era); grappling with formerly taboo
social issues
(gender roles, anti-Semitism, alcoholism); taking an unflinching
look at new
social problems resulting from the breakdown of the Soviet system
(the rise of
neo-fascism, the war in Chechnya, organized crime); and meditating
on Russia’s
post-Soviet political and cultural dilemmas (the place of
non-Russian
ethnicities within Russia, Russians’ love-hate relationship with
the West, the
legacy of the conformist Soviet mindset). From this complex
cinematic patchwork
emerges a picture of a new, raw Russia, as yet confused and
turbulent, but full
of vitality and promise for the future.
Materials
ž
Course packet, available from DCL
Services in
131 Decio Faculty Hall (8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday)
ž
Timothy Corrigan, A Short Guide to Writing about Film, available from
the Hammes
Notre Dame Bookstore
Course
website
ž
The website for this course is
located at
http://www.nd.edu/~adinega/russfilm. The website contains links to
character
rosters, study questions, and the list of assigned readings for
each of the
films we watch, in addition to a general bibliography of suggested
additional
readings and internet resources on contemporary Russian film,
culture, and
society.
By the end of this course you
should expect to have:
ž
become familiar with some aspects of
the
post-Soviet Russian cultural, political, economic, and social
situation
ž
learned something about the state of
the
post-Soviet Russian film industry
ž
thought deeply about the artistry of
a number of
post-Soviet Russian films, as well as about the cross-cultural
barriers
American audiences or critics might face when watching and
responding to those
films
ž
practiced speaking and writing about
complex
films, to express an opinion or to analyze
ž
learned to think critically about
the film
medium, employing proper categories and terminology
ž
become acquainted with some classic
Russian
literary texts and considered
how they
intersect with post-Soviet cinematic art
CLASS ATTENDANCE POLICY
You
are expected not only to attend every class but also to contribute
to its
success. Please be sure to bring a letter of excuse for official
or excused
absences (illness, religious holidays, family emergencies). After three
unexcused absences, your course grade may be lowered by one step (e.g., A to A-, B+ to B, D to F, etc.). Five
or more unexcused absences may result in the lowering of
your grade by a
full letter (e.g., A to B, B to C, etc.). At the instructor’s
discretion, eight or more unexcused absences may result in an automatic
failing grade for
the class.
PREPARATION AND
PARTICIPATION
This
class is a seminar, and its value to you will directly correspond
to your level
of active involvement in class discussions and debates. Twice
during the
semester (at midterm and again at the end of the semester), I will
assign you a
letter grade that reflects both the quantity
and the quality of
your class
participation.
All
films will be available as streaming video on the Notre Dame
intranet through
Concourse. You are strongly encouraged to watch each film more
than once, and
to take notes as you watch. A suggested procedure is to watch the
films for the
first time without note taking once a few days before they are
introduced in
class, and then watch them a second time the night before the
class period
during which they will first be discussed, while taking notes.
For
prep days: you
should have read
quickly through (a.k.a. skimmed) the background readings
assigned on the
course website (titles listed in blue can be found in the course
packet). Many
of these readings provide useful cultural or historical
information. In
addition, at least one literary reading is provided for
each film. In
some cases, this literary reading is an actual subtext in the
film; in other
cases, the literary work is not directly invoked in the film but
can provide a
productive reference point for class discussion. Unlike the
background
readings, we will discuss the literary readings in class, and
you are expected
to have read them carefully and to bring them with you to
class each day.
For
day #1 of
discussion on each film: you should have watched the assigned
film carefully
(preferably twice or more) and taken notes on it. There are study
questions
posted on the website for each film. These are to guide your
understanding and
analysis of the films. You are expected to have thought through
the study
questions before class each Wednesday, and are encouraged to
bring them to
class with your notes. However, the questions will not be
collected or graded.
In addition to preparing the study questions, you should also
have skimmed
through the film reviews, analyses, and interviews
assigned on the course website (once again, titles listed in
blue can be found
in the course packet). These will usually not be directly
discussed in class,
but, like the background readings, they will help to shape your
understanding
of and responses to the films.
During the semester: you
should be
reading the first four chapters of Timothy Corrigan’s A Short Guide to Writing about Film (through p.
108). You will be
expected to be familiar with the methods of film analysis
discussed in this
book, and to use those methods, as well as the terminology found
in the book’s
glossary, in your in-class comments, film reviews (both oral and
written),
final paper, and final examination.
The
assigned course readings and study questions will help you to make
sense of and
formulate your own opinions about the films we watch. The extent
to which you
have taken the time to think carefully and deeply about the films
ahead of
class discussion will be reflected in the quality of your
coursework, both oral
and written.
ORAL FILM REVIEWS
Twice during the semester, you
will present an “Ebert and Roeper at the Movies”-style oral review
of a film,
along with an assigned partner. There will be no need to rehearse
ahead of
time; the two of you will simply square off on the spot. Each of
you should
present a 5-minute discussion of what you did and did not like
about the film
and why, followed by 5-10 minutes of discussion or debate.
WRITTEN FILM REVIEWS
You will be asked to write
original, short (2-page) reviews of two
of the films we watch. You yourself can select which films to
write on; the
only requirement is that you submit each review to me
electronically by email, within
one week after the prep day for the film (thus, for example, a
review of Taxi Blues is
due by February 20 at 5
p.m.). I will post the written reviews on our course website to
share with your
classmates as they are received. An additional requirement is that
you must
choose to review one film that we watch before
the midterm break, and one that we watch after the break.
FINAL PAPER
Learning to understand and
interpret complex Russian films is one of the main objectives of
this course.
To this end, I will ask you to write a final paper (typed and
double-spaced in
a 12-point font, 6-8 pages) in which you will explore in depth
some aspect of
the films we have watched and discussed in class. The paper will
be written on
a topic of your choosing (in consultation with me). Therefore, you
should be
thinking throughout the semester about a possible topic (some
suggested broad
ideas will be provided to you later in the semester). Remember to
keep your
ideas focused and specific, and please feel welcome to speak with
me during
office hours at any stage of the brainstorming or writing process!
If you wish, you may turn in a
first draft of your final paper. If you do choose to do this,
please keep in
mind that the first draft
will be graded,
so put forth your best effort from the start.
Your final grade for the paper (the only one that is
recorded) will
depend on (a) the quality of the first draft and (b) the level of
improvement
in the rewrite. A
good rewrite could
raise your initial grade a maximum of one grade letter (e.g., from
“B-” to
“A-”). The due date for the rough draft is Wednesday,
April 4. If you are not turning in a rough
draft, then a
thesis statement and brief outline of your paper are due on that
date.
The final paper is due on Friday, April 27. This
due date is
firm. Each day late (except in extenuating circumstances) will
equal one step
down in your grade. All students will give brief oral
presentations of their
final papers to the class on the final two class days (April 30
and May 2).
FINAL EXAMINATION
The
final examination will cover films, directors, the Russian
cultural and
literary context, and the contents of class lectures, discussions,
and assigned
readings throughout the semester. The terminology from the
glossary of Timothy
Corrigan’s A Short Guide to
Writing about
Film will also be included. More detailed information about
the exam will
be provided at a later date.
A WORD ABOUT THE ND HONOR
CODE
Please
acquaint yourself with the Student
Guide
to the Academic Code of Honor, available online at
http://www.nd.edu/~hnrcode. I expect you to take seriously the
Honor Code
pledge: “As a member of the Notre Dame community, I will not
participate in or
tolerate academic dishonesty.”
For
the purposes of this class, this means that your written and oral
film reviews
and your final paper must be entirely
original, and, of
course, your
work on the final exam must be your own, undertaken without the
benefit of
assistance or “cheat sheets.” Secondary sources may not be used
for the film
reviews. If secondary sources are used for the final paper, these
should be
listed in footnotes and/or a bibliography given at the paper’s
end, and any
quoted material must be placed in quotation marks and clearly
attributed to its
source. Suggested bibliographic formats can be found in the MLA Handbook or the Chicago Manual of Style, or you may choose to use
the RefWorks
electronic resource, which can be found on the Notre Dame
libraries website at http://www.library.nd.edu/fys/.
Plagiarism (which I
define in this
course as any written work presented as entirely your own and
original to the
particular assignment that is not, in
fact, entirely your own and/or original to the particular
assignment) is a very
serious matter and will be taken seriously. Penalties for
violations of the
Academic Code of Honor are severe. If you are in doubt about the
legitimacy of
your activities with respect to this course, please ask ahead of
time. It is
always better to be safe than sorry!
A NOTE ON THE FILMS
Please
be aware that some of the films we will be watching this semester
deal with
upsetting subjects such as sexual and other types of violence,
poverty, war,
mental illness, and so on. You should be prepared for this
material and willing
to engage with it; you may want to speak with me in advance if you
have any
concerns.
Grading
System
Students’
final grades for this course will be determined by the following
formula:
ž
Preparation and participation
20%
ž
Oral film reviews
20%
ž
Written film reviews
20%
ž
Final paper
20%
ž
Final examination
20%
Spring
2012
Syllabus
SCHEDULE
OF TOPICS AND
ASSIGNMENTS:
*** See course
website for
study questions and complete list of assigned readings ***
January 18. Introduction to the
course
Discussion:
“Russia: Stereotypes and Realities”
Lecture: “Russia: The
Historical/Political/Economic/Social Context in the Transitional
Period”
January 20. NO CLASS
January 23. Lecture: “Challenges and Tendencies of Post-Soviet
Russian Cinema”
Film
clips: “What preceded the 1990s in Russian Film” / Prep for
Burnt by the Sun
Unit
1: Russian History Revisited and Revised
January 25. Burnt by the Sun (day #1)
January 27. Burnt by the Sun
January 30. Burnt by the Sun / Prep for The
Thief
February
1. The Thief (day #1)
February 3. The Thief
February 6. The Thief / Prep for Adam’s
Rib
Unit
2: Social Problems in Late Soviet and Post-Soviet Russia
February 8. Adam’s Rib (day #1)
February 10. NO CLASS
February 13. Adam’s Rib / Prep for Taxi
Blues
February 15. Taxi Blues (day #1)
February 17. Taxi Blues
February 20. Taxi Blues / Prep for Lilya
4-Ever
February 22. Lilya 4-Ever (day #1)
February 24. Lilya 4-Ever
February 27. Lilya 4-Ever / Prep for Brother
February 29. Brother (day #1)
March 2. Brother
March 5. Brother / Prep for Prisoner
of the Mountains
Unit
3: The War in Chechnya
March 7. Prisoner of the Mountains (day #1)
March 9. Prisoner of the Mountains
************* SPRING
BREAK WEEK, March 10-18 *************
March 19. Prisoner of the Mountains / Prep for House of Fools
March 21. House of Fools (day #1)
March 23. House of Fools
March 26. House of Fools / Prep for Sideburns
Unit
4: Prophesying Russia’s Future through Her Past
March 28. Sideburns (day #1)
March 30. Sideburns
April 2. Sideburns / Prep for Dust
April 4. Dust (day #1)
***Due
date for optional rough draft of final paper OR final paper
thesis
statement/outline
************* EASTER
BREAK, April 6-9 *************
April 11. Dust / Prep for Urga (Close
to Eden)
Unit
5: Russia between East and West
April 13. Urga (Close to Eden) (day #1)
April 16.
Urga (Close to Eden)
April 18. Urga (Close to Eden) / Prep for Russian
Ark
April 20. Russian Ark (day #1) / Prep
for Window to Paris
April 23. Window to Paris (day #1)
April 25. Window to Paris
April 27. Window to Paris / Course conclusions
***Due date for final
paper
April 30. PRESENTATION OF FINAL
PAPERS
May 2. PRESENTATION OF FINAL PAPERS
FINAL
EXAMINATION: Thursday, May 10 at 4:15-6:15 p.m.
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