- The course syllabus is available in Moodle
- This class will be taught as a hybrid class, in person and/or remotely in Teams as warranted by the need for personalized instruction and the safety concerns for each individual.
- Location: Kauke Hall: 038
- Time: T/Th 3:45—5:05
- Film screening may take place online in streaming format or in our designated classroom every Wednesday and Sunday evening 7-9. It is extremely important that you come for this collective screening unless you have other means of watching the film before class next day. There is a DVD of each film in the library but it takes three-day waiting period between each individual viewing
- If and when we switch in remote learning, homework and quizzes are to be submitted online; in Moodle if that is where you find the quizzes; Moodle automatically grade your work and keep your scores. Know that the quizzes are usually about dramatic details that may not look significant to you, so it is necessary that you attend class lecture and discussion before taking the quizzes
- If and when you submit work into your individual homework folder in Teams, do remember to
- Submit in Word format (and not in PDF) so that I can edit it and offer feedback
- Write what the homework is about as title; e.g. “Second Essay”
- Check a few days later to find the score for your work and my comments
- If and when you are unable to come to class in person, you ought to watch the video recording of the class in Teams
- If and when we meet in Teams, mute your mike when you join but turn on camera so that everyone would know who you are and what you look like; turn on your mike and click the “hand” icon if you have a question
- Feel free to “Chat” with me in Teams if you have a question when the class is already over. You can “Share” screen to allow me to look at your work in progress.
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- It would help you read essay questions for each film before or right after viewing it due on the day of discussion
- There are in-class or online (Moodle) multiple choice quizzes on the content of the film, including the lecture notes; if online in Moodle, you will find a link to the quiz. You are given 30 minutes to complete the quiz and allowed one attempt.
- You are expected to write four 4-page papers, and take the final
- You can check your scores throughout the semester listed HERE after your student ID;
- The papers, 40%. Single space, 12-point font size, (2,000 words). Their due dates are indicated on the schedule below. The paper is an exercise of your analytical and interpretive skills. When writing your paper, assume that your reader has seen the movie you are discussing; it is therefore NOT a plot summary. As a film critic, you need to discuss what the director is doing rather than what the characters are doing. You need to organize your fragmented and random thoughts into a coherent thesis or argument. Film criticism is your take on the films by focusing on one of its central themes identified in the paper assignments. Textual analysis requires that you focus on details and why they are significant. Write formally instead of the way you speak. Proofread to eliminate typos and syntactical errors. Points are deducted if you do not have a meaningful title. References to secondary readings by critics are not necessary but greatly encouraged if they influence your take on a certain film. Submit your paper in Word and email attachment. It is your responsibility to keep all graded papers.
- The final is a group project to address the issue of cultural identity as constructed in no less than five films. Each group (no more than 5 individuals) is expected to give a 25-minute PPT presentation in class or in Teams. Introduce a critical perspective that the five of you from diverse backgrounds feel needed as viewers interested in cultural identity. In other words, argue in favor of an approach to these films as expressions of your humanity in one way or another. Feel free to use the three channels in Teams for negotiating not only how you interpret films but also who you are, as in “show me who your friends are, I’ll tell you who you are“. Such group discussion of Chinese films should be like “the meeting of two personalities [that] is like the contact of two chemical substances; if there is any reaction, both are transformed” (Carl Jung). Check out topics for final papers in the past, 20%.
- It is perfectly fine for bilingual students (native speakers or language majors) to do (1) Q&A assignments, (2) quizzes, and (3) papers in Chinese. Your language proficiency, levels of Chinese cultural literacy, knowledge of Chinese culture and society, while not required, are viewed favorably in this class.