MTA 377 ("Movies and Politics: Whiteness and Masculinity")
Instructor: Walter Metz
Fall 2006
The course meets on Wednesdays and Fridays from 10:00-11:30am in VCB 182.
Information About the Instructor
Background
This course is designed to fulfill the Diversity (D) requirement in the University's core and/or the junior-level film criticism and theory requirement in the Motion Picture/Video/Theatre (MPVT) option of the Department of Media and Theatre Arts. The course's methodologies--whiteness and masculinity studies--also fill two significant holes in the humanities offerings at this university. For those unfamiliar with these humanities methodologies, whiteness studies proposes that discussions of race have operated from the implicit assumption of the normativity of white identity, treating people of color as ethnic but denying whiteness as a category of ethnicity. Similarly, masculinity studies addresses the need to theorize beyond feminism's traditional domain--the empowerment of women--to consider the role that the social construction of male identity has played in the maintenance of patriarchy. These methodologies will be illuminated and explored through the analysis and discussion of American films considered within their historical and cultural contexts.
Required Texts
Grading Policy
This is not an easy class. The readings are heavy and the information I'll be presenting and we'll be discussing is often theoretical, and thus difficult and challenging. That said, however, I want to re-assure you that I'll keep this in mind while determining grades. Don't be afraid if you're confused early on. Use our discussions and office hours to work through this new material. That confusion is invigorating and is the fuel that will drive your education. I've attempted to structure the course so that it will be challenging, yet accessible, to students of varying levels and abilities. I will use the + and - system when assigning grades.
Graded Course Activities
Description of Quizzes
In order to make sure everyone is doing the reading, I will give several quizzes throughout the semester. They will be unannounced, will last 10 minutes, and will take place at the beginning of class. You will be asked to demonstrate your understanding of concepts presented in the reading material. You need not memorize the entire article, just understand the thesis and basic concepts and terms. Your final quiz grade will be curved against the rest of the class. So, if you happen to miss one quiz, your chance of getting an "A" in the course will not be automatically ruined.
{Please click here to see sample answers to quiz questions}
Description of Exams
My exams are rather challenging. However, I grade on a curve, and most students who study hard throughout the semester will do well on them. You'll be given short format yet open-ended questions (identifications, identify and analyze a quotation, and short essay) about the material presented in class and in the readings, and its applicability to the screenings. The material for these questions will be culled from the in-class material (including clips shown in class) and the reading material. Please write down immediately the date of the exams. If you do not take an exam, you will receive a grade of F for the course.
{Please click here to see sample midterm exam}
{Please click here to see sample final exam}
Description of Process Writing (Term Paper)
To successfully complete the course, you will produce a term paper that employs the methodologies presented in the class and/or investigates the content of some portion of the class material. You will be afforded the opportunity for feedback on your work as the semester proceeds according to the following “process writing” schedule. You will first hand in a typed, paragraph-length sample thesis paragraph for your paper. Your topic may mutate or completely change as the course proceeds, but I want you to begin working through this process as early as possible. This thesis paragraph is due on Friday, September 22. Next, you will hand in a typed, three (3) page report on your research into whiteness and/or masculinity theory, as it pertains to your paper topic. This research report is due Friday, October 13. Next, you will hand in a typed, five (5) page analysis of one to three films that will serve as significant case studies within your final paper. This film analysis paper is due on Friday, November 3. A draft of your term paper is due Friday, December 1. You will receive written feedback and a grade on this draft. You may accept the grade given or re-write the draft for a new grade. If you choose to re-write, the last day for handing in revisions is the day of the final exam, Thursday, December 14. Any late work at any of these stages will not be evaluated; consequentially, this lack of attention to your work will be considered when determining your final “process writing” grade.
Note Taking
To do well, you must take notes in this class, on lecture material and on the readings. In lecture, I'll be throwing a lot of complicated information at you, so you'll need to write it down, reflect on it, and work to understand its relevance to the "Big Picture." This is not the sort of class where if you just come and pay attention, you are guaranteed a good grade. There is a great deal of reading material, and in order to learn what is contained therein, you need to take notes on it and study it.
Attendance Policy
If you don't come to class regularly, there's no way you'll pass the course. I'll be presenting complicated information and will be discussing film clips taken out of their original context. Since so much of the learning will be going on during discussions, you won't be able to fully understand the class by looking at someone else's notes later on. I will keep track of attendance, as a criteria for borderline students caught between grades. Since the course is difficult, I always give a break to students who have demonstrated their interest by coming to class diligently and participating in an intelligent manner.
How to do well in this class
Come to class prepared (having done the reading, having thought about the films, being prepared with questions, etc.).
Take good notes on every facet of the class (on lectures and discussions, on critical essays, and on the films themselves). This will prove invaluable in preparing for the exams.
Do the reading. Many students fall behind, and then complain that they're having trouble in the class. The reading is vital because it frames issues of the class in different words than mine. This gives you a second voice to help you understand difficult ideas. If you don't understand a particular essay or don't find it useful, come to talk with me about it; the discussion we have will benefit us both. Keep up with the reading. Set aside a few hours on Tuesday and Thursday nights (before the class periods) to read, take notes, and ponder the significance of the readings for the class.
Weekly Syllabus
Wed Aug 30
Introduction to Whiteness and Masculinity Studies [disk 1]
Wed Sep 6
Whiteness Studies: Data and Arguments
Reading
Fri Sep 8
Whiteness and Literature
Reading
Wed Sep 13
Whiteness and Cinema, a Contemporary Example: The Case of Jackson’s King Kong
Reading
Fri Sep 15
Race Studies and The Birth of a Nation [disk 2]
Reading
Wed Sep 20
Screening
Fri Sep 22
Thesis Paragraph Due
Richard Dyer’s Contribution to Whiteness Studies
Wed Sep 27
Whiteness and Classical Hollywood Cinema [disk 3]
Reading
Fri Sep 29
Whiteness and Film Noir [disk 4]
Reading
Wed Oct 4
Whiteness, Suture, and Neo-Noir [disk 5]
Reading
Fri Oct 6
Midterm Exam
Wed Oct 11
Whiteness and Social Class: The Whiteness of Waters [disk 6]
Reading
Fri Oct 13
Research Report Due
What Work Remains in Whiteness Studies?
Reading
Wed Oct 18
Cont’d
Fri Oct 20
An Anthropological Approach to Masculinity
Reading
Wed Oct 25
The Contemporary Crisis in Masculinity
Reading
Fri Oct 27
Screening
Wed Nov 1
Spam in a Can: Masculinity and the American Space Program [disk 7]
Fri Nov 3
Film Analysis Paper Due
Cont’d
Wed Nov 8
1970s Masculinity [disks 8 & 9]
Reading
Fri Nov 10
Cont’d
Wed Nov 15
Masculinity in Contemporary Hollywood: The Case of Falling Down [disk 10]
Reading
Fri Nov 17
Masculinity in Contemporary Independent Cinema [disk 11]
Reading
Wed Nov 29
What Work Remains in Masculinity Studies?
Reading
Fri Dec 1
Draft of Term Paper Due
Cont’d
Wed Dec 6
Catch-up
Fri Dec 8
Course Evaluations
Thu Dec 14
Final Draft of Term Paper Due
Final Exam: 8:00-9:50am in VCB 182
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This page was last updated on August 21, 2006
Questions or Comments? Please phone me at (406) 994-7588 or send an e-mail to: metz@montana.edu
Walter Metz, Department of Media and Theatre Arts, Montana State University--Bozeman