COURSE UNIT TITLE

: AMERICAN CINEMA

Description of Individual Course Units

Course Unit Code Course Unit Title Type Of Course D U L ECTS
AKE 5067 AMERICAN CINEMA ELECTIVE 3 0 0 5

Offered By

American Culture and Literature

Level of Course Unit

Second Cycle Programmes (Master's Degree)

Course Coordinator

ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR EVRIM ERSÖZ KOÇ

Offered to

American Culture and Literature

Course Objective

The aim of this course is to concentrate on American film directors who play a significant role in American cinema. The recurring images, symbols and motifs in different films will be explored according to a selected thematic perspective such as religion, ethics, gender, utopia, dystopia, cosmology, eschatology, etc. The students are expected to analyse, compare and contrast the films according to cinematic, literary and dramatic aspects.

Learning Outcomes of the Course Unit

1   To have information about the major directors in American cinema
2   To understand the social, cultural and historical contexts of the selected films
3   To use basic terms and concepts to describe aspects of cinema and cinematography
4   To make connections between different works and ideas
5   To analyze the selected films from different perspectives such as race, gender, religion, etc

Mode of Delivery

Face -to- Face

Prerequisites and Co-requisites

None

Recomended Optional Programme Components

None

Course Contents

Week Subject Description
1 Introduction
2 READ: from Film Art: An Introduction (pp. 1-217 & 431-438) Discussion
3 READ: from The Sacred and The Profane, (pp. 8-65) The Book of Genesis, The Book of Revelation Discussion
4 I am Legend, Dir. Francis Lawrence Discussion
5 Twelve Monkeys, Dir. Terry Gilliam Discussion
6 READ: from The Sacred Canopy (pp. 3-51) from The Sociology of Religion(pp. 138-206) Discussion
7 The Fountain, Dir. Darren Aronofsky The Little Buddha, Dir. Bernardo Bertolucci Discussion
8 Midterm Discussion
9 The Tree of Life, Dir. Terrence Malick Miracles from Heaven, Dir. Patricia Riggen Discussion
10 Avatar, Dir. James Cameron Discussion
11 READ: from The Idea of Holy (pp. 1-41) Discussion
12 2001: A Space Odyssey, Dir. Stanley Kubrick Discussion
13 The Arrival, Dir. Denis Villeneuve Discussion
14 General Evaluation Discussion

Recomended or Required Reading

Selected films
Lewis, Jon. American Film: A History. New York: Norton, 2008.
Belton, John. American Cinema/American Culture. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2012.
Bordwell, David, Kristin Thompson. Film Art: New York: McGraw-Hill, 2009.
Marsh, Clive and Gaye Ortiz Ed. Explorations in Theology and Film: Movies and Meaning. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers, 1997.
Schrader, Paul Transcendental Style in Film: Ozu, Bresson, Dreyer. Berkeley: UC Press, 1972.
Berger, Peter L. The Sacred Canopy: Elements of a Sociological Theory of Religion. Anchor, 1967.
Bordwell, David, and Kristin Thompson. Film Art: An Introduction. McGraw Hill, 2008.
Eliade, Mircea. The Sacred and the Profane: The Nature of Religion. Translated by Willard R. Trask. Harcourt Brace & Company, 1987.
Otto, Rudolf. The Idea of the Holy. Translated by John W. Harvey. Oxford UP, 1936.
Weber, Max. The Sociology of Religion. 4th ed. Beacon Press, 1963.

Planned Learning Activities and Teaching Methods

Lectures, text analysis, class discussions, visual presentations

Assessment Methods

SORTING NUMBER SHORT CODE LONG CODE FORMULA
1 MTE MIDTERM EXAM
2 FCG FINAL COURSE GRADE
3 FCGR FINAL COURSE GRADE MTE * 0.40 + FCG* 0.60
4 RST RESIT
5 FCGR FINAL COURSE GRADE (RESIT) MTE * 0.40 + RST* 0.60


*** Resit Exam is Not Administered in Institutions Where Resit is not Applicable.

Further Notes About Assessment Methods

None

Assessment Criteria

Students are expected to
1. have critical perspectives on the major issues discussed in the lectures
2. think analytically
3. refer to the primary texts in order to support their arguments.

Language of Instruction

English

Course Policies and Rules

Students are expected to
1. attend 70% of the course schedule.
2. participate to in-class discussions
3. come to the classes having read the assigned text.

Contact Details for the Lecturer(s)

evrim.ersoz@deu.edu.tr

Office Hours

To be announced

Work Placement(s)

None

Workload Calculation

Activities Number Time (hours) Total Work Load (hours)
Lectures 14 3 42
Preparations before/after weekly lectures 14 4 56
Preparation for midterm exam 1 12 12
Preparation for final exam 1 12 12
Final 1 3 3
Midterm 1 3 3
TOTAL WORKLOAD (hours) 128

Contribution of Learning Outcomes to Programme Outcomes

PO/LOPO.1PO.2PO.3PO.4PO.5PO.6PO.7PO.8PO.9PO.10PO.11PO.12PO.13PO.14PO.15PO.16
LO.155
LO.2555
LO.35
LO.4555
LO.555