Film
screenings:
·The course is in English and the film episodes all have subtitles. Consider the films as part of your assignments: you will be watching films instead of reading three or four additional novels. One night a week there will be a public screening (eight episodes will be screened outside of class time, three episodes will be screened during class). The place and time of the screenings will be announced at the beginning of the semester or in class.
·You
should plan to watch all episodes, however, you may skip three out of eleven. If
you miss more than three, for whatever reason, your attendance grade will
be dropped one letter.Please note
that the tapes of Heimat are on reserve in Pattee Library, this allows
you to go and watch the film at your convenience, if you can’t make the
screenings. The people who attend all the screenings and/or watch the film
in its entirety will get extra credit. (You will have to show me a receipt
from the library when you watch the movie on your own).
Readings:
·We
shall read one memoir and three fictional texts. In addition, you are
responsible for reading the chapters assigned in the textbook by Rob Burns:
German
Cultural Studies.If you read this book your understanding of the
film will increase dramatically and the same will be true of your ability
to participate in class as well as in your course-talk discussions.
Two
or three pop-quizzes about the content of Burns's book may take place during
the semester. The other three texts can be described as follow: Fittko’s
is a personal account of a woman living through the years of the end of
the Weimar Republic and Nazism until 1940. Hermann Hesse’s novel Steppenwolf
became a cult book for the young generations that grew up during and
immediately after the War and it does play a role in the film. The WallJumper
is a contemporary fictional account that pivots around the division
of Germany and Berlin in particular. Jelinek’s Women as Lovers is
a novel about two women and their difficult love lives and fantasies in
a small Austrian province.You
should try to read all four books. However, only two will be required.
You will write a brief report for each novel you pick and you will
post it on course-talk. You will also hand it in to me once the book you
have chosen has been discussed. These two reading assignments will be
graded and the grade will count toward your participation grade.
See below. Anyone who reads the four novels and writes four reports will
get extra credit.
In class:
·Attendance
in class is required.
However, I will not take attendance on a regular basis. Rather, there will
be between 10 and 15 instant questions during the semester that
will be administered at the end of class. You may miss up to three classes,
after which your grade for attendance will drop one letter.
·The
course is divided in two parts: lectures and discussions. However, every
class will be run mostly as a seminar, and your participation
is crucial. Please note that not all episodes
will be discussed in class.
Homework
and Preparation for class:
·Participation
will be evaluated according to the following:
A)active
involvement during class time (asking questions, suggesting interpretations
of films or other texts assigned, comments about Burns’ text)
B)3
discussions on course-talk of 3 different topics selected among the ones
I post there. These postings should be done between the second and the
tenth week of the semester. I will not take into consideration any posting
that will be made after week ten, so, please, plan ahead of time.
C)2
short response papers about the books read.
D)2
written analyses of assigned readings online (links from the syllabus to
web pages on historical periods, letters, poems, songs, virtual tours etc.)
E)At
least one visit to my office hours during the semester. This will be arranged
early in the semester.
Exams:
·The
Midterm is a take-home exam. The exam consists of three questions about
the readings and the films. You will be asked to position yourself with
regard to some issues we will have discussed in class. You will not need
to read anything more than the assigned materials. You will have to review
your notes and course-talk conversations. Youwill
be asked to analyze a scene in detail and make a point that you will have
to argue by referring to the texts read as possible “evidence”. If you
quote the texts properly and offer a compelling analysis you will write
a successful exam.
·The
final consists of five written questions about the film and the texts read.
It will be a take-home exam. You will hand it in at the beginning of our
last class. Expect to be asked to take a scene or an episode from the film,
place it in a historical context, analyze it and argue a point.
Grade
Distribution:
Attendance:
20% (50 points) (Films, classes) [42 + 8]
Participation:
30% (75 points)
Active
involvement and one consultation with me in my office: 10 points, 2 points
3
Course-Talk interventions: 27 points
2
response papers: 22 points
2
analyses of assigned readings: 14 points
Midterm
(Exam): 20% (50 points)
Final
Paper: 30% (75
points)
The
final grade will be determined according to the following “sample” scale.
HOWEVER, keep in mind that it MAY be adjusted on a curve, and that the
points may not entirely reflect the break down given below, considering
the nature of the work required of you (such as participation, course-talk
etc.):
A=
95 to 100; A- = 90 to 94; B+ = 88 to 89; B= 83 to 87; B-= 80 to 82; C+=
75 to 79; C= 70 to 74; D =60 to 69; F=59 and below.
POLICIES:
The
Pennsylvania State University encourages qualified people with disabilities
to participate in its programs and activities and is committed to the policy
that all people shall have equal access to programs, facilities, and admissions
without regard to personal characteristics not related to ability, performance,
or qualifications as determined by University policy or by state or federal
authorities. If you anticipate needing any type of accommodation in this
course or have questions about physical access, please tell the instructor
as soon as possible.