Wednesday
   April 5, 2006

  
  Welcome 
  Program overview—syllabus, covenant, etc.
  Student Directory (contact info)
  Seminar assignments, weekly critiques, etc.
  Website Orientation
  Tom:  The End of the Good Emperors (Marcus Aurelius
            and Commodus)
  Mark:  Hollywood and Independent films: The dynamics
             of artistry and commerce

  Screen:  Gladiator (2:35)

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  WEBPAGE CALENDAR
  FOR WEEKLY READING
  ASSIGNMENTS

  Paper topic:  What is the theme of Gladiator and how is it revealed through the film's approach to Roman history, specifically the gladiatorial games?

   Wednesday
   April 12, 2006

 
  Mark:  Syntax, Codes & Connotations
  Tom:  The Role of the Games in Roman Politics and             Society

  
  Due:  Gladiator critique
  Web readings for Gladiator:
     “The Glory of the Games”
     Aurelius and son excerpt
     Monoco excerpt

   Saturday
   April 15, 2006

  Tom:  Creative Anachronisms and Elizabethan Perceptions             of Ancient Rome
  Mark:  Shakespeare and the Conventions of Stage and Film

  Screen: Titus Andronicus (2:42)

  Paper topic: What does creative anachronism and recasting of historical detail by Shakespeare and Taymor tell us about history—both Roman and our own?    

 
  Read: Titus Andronicus   (introduction and play)
  Web reading:
     Julie Taymor interview
 

    Wednesday
    April 19, 2006

 
  Mark:  Montage and the Imagery of Akira Kurosawa
  Tom:  Warlords and the Japanese Civil War
            (1550-1610)

  Screen: Kagemusha (2:42)

  Paper topic:  Kurasawa has been described as one of the great painterly filmmakers.  How does his approach to the story--through mise-en-scene and editing— enhance your understanding of history? 

 
 Due:  Titus critique
 Web readings:
    Editing
    Reischauer, Japan history
    Japanese Period Art
    Japan, 1542-1793
 

    Wednesday
    April 26, 2006

  Mark: Films from plays and novels
  Tom:  Medieval Family Politics: The Joys of             Anachronistic Dialogue

  Screen: The Lion in Winter (2:14)

  Paper topic: The film Lion in Winter explores the relationship between two historic characters—Henry II (Peter O' Toole) and his wife Eleanor of Aquitaine (Katherine Hepburn).  Considering what you have read about the life and times of Henry and Eleanor and what you have seen and heard in the film, comment on how well the film does or does not portray the historical authenticity of its two main characters.  Remember that dialogue in historical films is fictional and may contain language anachronisms, but still may authentically portray historical figures. 

 
  Due:  Kagamusha critique
  Web readings:
     Dahmus, Henry II
     Editing (see Week 3 readings)
     Films from plays

   Saturday
   April 29, 2006

 
  Tom:  Henry VIII, Sir Thomas More, and the             English Reformation
  Mark:  Screenwriting according to Field and McKee

  Screen:  A Man for all Seasons (2:00)

  Paper topic: The film A Man for All Seasons portrays Sir Thomas More as a man who stands up for his principles in the face of authority, but is willing to use wit and lawyerly arguments to avoid the axe man of King Henry VIII.  (Indeed, one English constitutional historian has called him "the patron saint of English lawyers.)  Comment on what the filmmaker (and the playwright) intended by the title of the film for More's times and perhaps for our times

 
  Due:  Lion in Winter critique
  Web readings:
    Lunt: Henry VIII
    The Field Paradigm

    Wednesday
    May 3, 2006

  
  Mark:  Acting in the historical film
  Tom:  Religious Wars of France
         (1559-1589)

  Screen:  Queen Margot (2:24)

  Paper topic: Based on your readings and the lecture about the historical context of Queen Margot, choose two areas to discuss: one where you think the film got it right and one where they missed the boat.

 
  Due:  Man for all Seasons critique
  Web readings: 
    Davies, “Renatio” excerpt
    Palmer Disintegration/Reconstruction

    Wednesday
    May 10, 2006

 
  Tom:  Joseph II, Mozart and Figaro
  Mark: Opera and film

  Screen: Amadeus (2:40)

  Paper topic:  Just to clarify next Wednesday's assignment. We'd like you to do some of your own research on Amadeus. If you can find it, the Peter Gay book would be useful. As we've discussed, there is also considerable information available in the library and on the internet. Please focus on the historical context in relation to Mozart. Obviously this means you need to determine when Mozart lived and what's important about the his time and place in European history.

Your one-page WRITING assignment is a mid-quarter self-evaluation. What we'd like you to do is reflect on some of the key points you've learned thus far. Please be specific and focus on learning, not what you've done. Please reflect on handouts, class notes and your observations about the films we've seen. Some combination of history and aesthetics is what we'd like you to discuss. Your one-page paper can be in essay or bullet form.

 
  Due:  Queen Margot critique
  Recommended:  Mozart by Peter Gay
  Web readings:
     Hero's Journey paradigm

    Saturday
    May 13, 2006

  Mark:  Racial narratives: then and now
  Tom:  Blacks, Emancipation and the Civil War

  Screen: Glory (2:02)
  Screen:  The General (excerpts)

  Paper topic:  You have read a historical account and view a documentary and a feature film about a specific feature of the American Civil War. Write a brief paper in which you discuss how each of these accounts might have mutually reinforced and/or contradicted your understanding of the role of African-Americans in this great communal bloodletting.

   
  Due:  mid-quarter self-evaluation
  Read: The Great Republic, Vol I: Ch. 19
  Web readings: 
    Civil War 1
    Civil War 2

    Wednesday
    May 17, 2006

  Tom:  Native Americans, the Little Bighorn and
            the anti-western
  Mark:  The Legacy of Conquest

  Screen: Little Big Man (2:19)

  Paper topic:  Little Big Man might be described as director Arthur Penn’s investigation into a hitherto (socially and cinematically) dispossessed people and culture. Based on your research into the classic Western genre, how does Crabb’s (Hoffman’s) tale challenge preconceptions about the dominant myth of western expansion and its historical accuracy. Please be sure to cite your sources, including any films you use to support your analysis.

 
  Due:  Glory critique
  Read: The Great Republic, Vol II: Ch. 22

    Saturday,
    May 20, 2006

  Tom:  Labor’s Untold Story

  Screen:  Matewan
  Independent Paper topic: word.doc

In order to offer a little more time for your independent paper on one of the films listed below, we will not ask for a paper response to Matewan.  Instead, please choose a film from the following list, which you will screen with specific reference to its historical authenticity and aesthetic qualities:

The Last of the Mohicans
Gone with the Wind
Eight Men Out
Reds
Mississippi Burning                                      
Apollo 13
Apcolypse Now
All the President’s Men

You must provide at least one substantial literary source in addition to screening the film.  Your papers (two double-spaced pages) should focus on one or two themes.  The extra page will allow you to develop your ideas with a bit more depth.  You must show specific evidence that you have researched the historical topic treated in the film.  Also, using the range of materials we’ve discussed thus far in class, please relate aesthetic aspects of the film to its historicity.

 
  Due:  Little Big Man critique
  Read: The Great Republic, Vol II: Ch. 24-25
  Web Readings:
    SaylesFoner conversation
    Foner review
    

    Wednesday
    May 24, 2006

  Mark:  John Ford
  Tom:  The Great Depression

  Screen:  Grapes of Wrath

  Paper topic:   John Ford was considered a populist in that his major concern was the plight of the common people.  How is this revealed in the film, particularly in the context of the depression?  Please refer to specific scenes/characters and your readings.  

  Due: Matewan critique
  Read: The Great Republic, Vol II: Ch. 29
  Web readings:
     Brinkley review
   

    Wednesday
    May 31, 2006

 
  Tom:  World War II
  Mark:  What makes a classic film?

  Screen:  Casablanca
  Paper topic:  Referring to specific scenes and dialogues in Casablanca, discuss briefly the theme of "love in the time of war" as it relates to the behavior of individuals influenced by world historical events beyond their control. In your opinion, is this theme a universal one or the creation of modern film makers?

  Due:  Grapes of Wrath critique
  Read: The Great Republic, Vol II: Ch. 30
  Web readings:      
     Boyer review
     

    Saturday
    June 3, 2006

 
  Mark:  Kubrick: politics and satire
  Tom:  The Cuban Missile Crisis and other close calls

  Screen:  Dr. Strangelove

 
  Due: critique from film list
     The Great Republic, Vol II: Ch. 31-32  
     Web readings: TBA

    Wednesday
    June 7, 2006

 
  Tom and Mark: reflections on history according to film

  Self-evaluation drafts in small groups

  Screen:  TBA

  Due:  Dr. Strangelove critique

  Complete self-evaluation draft
  Evaluation conference Sign-up

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