Global Dialogues 2: Truth & Fiction in International Literature & Film

Dr. Cori Adler, Spring 2010

CornishCollege of the Arts!

Course Schedule

Bring thereadings we are working with to class every day.

Changes in this schedule will be announced in class; be sure to get them if you’re late or absent!

Make a pact with a colleague (another student in the class) who will do the following for you (and you for him/her) when you are late or absent: Collect handouts, make note of schedule changes, take notes and copy them for you, and spend 30 minutes going over the lesson.

Week 1: January 20-22Truth and Fiction

Wed 1/20Welcome Back! Syllabus, course overview, Book choices.

In class film:Los Hurdos by LuisBuñuel (Argentina)

Fri 1/22 read “The Value of Narrativity in the Representation of Reality” by Hayden White (handout). 1st Journal due.

In class Film Festival: early, experimental and “subjective documentary”; sometimes horrifying and all silent:

First films by Thomas Edison (US)

The Cabinet of Dr Claigari by Robert Weine (Germany 1919)

experimental films by Maya Deren (Ukraine, US);

Stan Brakhage (US) Window Water Baby Moving

Buy your books!

Week 2: January 25-29“Real Human Bodies!”

Mon 1/25 The Bodies Exhibition– 2+ perspectives. Read/listen/view:2nd journal due.

Bodies The Exhibition, official site: – Watch their promotional videos (in 2 parts ~ 10 minutes total): Click links to read about the plastination process and the history of the exhibition. Click through to see the fascinating pictures.

Exposés:

The New York Times August 8, 2006:

ABC News 20/20 Feb. 14, 2008 +slideshow

Opinions:

Harry Wu, Human Rights Activist:

Thomas S. Hibbs, Ethics professor:

Wednesday 1/27read: “The Management of Grief” by Bharati Mukherjee (India/Canada)and “The Mosaic Imagination” by Natalie Angiers (US) (handouts). 3rd journal due

Friday 1/25 in class: Film All About My Mother by Pedro Almodovar (Spain, 1999)

What follows is a course overview. For each 3-4 week unit, it identifies the Global Dialogue topic, the books we’ll read & the films we’ll view (column 1) + (column 2) the writing skills and project we’ll work on, the paper you’ll write and the resources that will support that writing process. Daily/weekly schedules and assignment descriptions will be handed out at the beginning of each unit.

How the reading works:For each unit, you will choose one of the books to read in its entirety. You will also read an excerpt from each of the other books. We will discuss the excerpts the first 2 weeks of the unit, and in the 3rd week, you will make presentations to the class about the full book leading to more discussion. You will continue to do weekly reading journals.

How the papers and research project work: During Units 1 and 2, everyone will be working on the same type of paper, first a Research-Informed Book Review of your Unit 1 book choice, then a Literature and Film analysis of your Unit 2 book choice and a film (from this semester or last). These will be your introductions to academic writing, MLA style, etc. You will use sources I’ve selected for you for these papers. The skill set is writing from research.

During units 3 and 4, you will begin doing research. You will work on a research project centered on either your Unit 3 book choice or your Unit 4 book choice. You will learn how to collect, select, evaluate and use a variety of sources. There will be two “deliverables” (required pieces of the larger assignment). The first, your Literature & Inquiry Project entails producing proposal, abstract, research notes and an annotated bibliography. The second is the final piece you produce by using your research to understand your book selection. It can take the form of a paper, a powerpoint presentation or a Zine.

Unit 1 -- Weeks 3 through 5: February 1 -19Detailed daily schedule to come.

Global Dialogue / Writing & Analysis Topics
History, Memory, Genocide: Towards a Poetics of ‘Barbarism’ / Informed Readers, Common Knowledge, “Breathing Life into Expository Writing”
Books:
Maus: A Survivor’s Tale (1 & 2) by Art Spiegelman (US). graphic novel, memoir:Poland, Germany, US.
Everything is Illuminatedby Jonathan Safran Foer (US). novel: Ukraine, US.
+ accompanying articles: Global_Dialogues/ Readings /Holocaust_Readings.htm
Films: Hotel Rwanda
Everything is Beautiful
Europa Europa / Resources:
“The Writer’s Job” by Peter Elbow
Elbow%20Writing%20With%20Power%20excerpt.pdf
“Paraphrasing, Summarizing and Quoting” :
“Paraphrase: Write it In Your Own Words”:
Revision: Cultivating a Critical Eye: Revision_Cultivating_a_Critical_Eye.pdf
Writing Book Reviews:
Paper 1:Research Informed Book Review

Unit 2 -- Weeks 6 through 8: February 22 – March 12Detailed daily schedule to come.

Global Dialogue / Writing & Analysis Topics
Wandering (with) Ghosts: Chinese Diasporas / Documentation, Citation, Academic Values & Ethics
Books:
Disappearing Moon Café by Sky Lee (Canada) . novel: China, Canada. Accompanying readings: Global_Dialogues/ Readings /Disappearing_Moon_Readings.htm
Monkey Hunting by Christina Garcia (Cuba). novel: China, Cuba, US, Vietnam. Accompanying readings: Global_Dialogues/Readings/Monkey_Hunting_Readings.htm
Films: Picture Bride
The Wooden Man’s Bride
The Beautiful Country / Resources:
“Understanding Academic Values” (handout)
“MLA 101”
“Documenting Sources”:
Glossary of Literary Terms and Critical Theory Concepts

“Writing Literary Analysis” owl&writingcenter/OWL/WritingLitAnalysis1.html
Paper 2: Literature & Film Analysis with citations

Spring Break!

Unit 3 -- Weeks 9 through 12: March 22 - April 16Detailed daily schedule to come.

Global Dialogue / Writing & Analysis Topics
Confidantes and “Cartoon Journalism” / Burning Questions and Inquiry-Based Research
Books:
Embroideries by Marjane Satrapi (Iran, France). graphic novel/memoir: Iran.
War's End: Profiles from Bosniaby Joe Sacco (Malta, Australia, US). graphic novel/journalism: Bosnia, Yugoslavia. / Resources:
Excerpt from The Curious Researcher by Bruce Ballenger
Graphic Novel Terms and Concepts:
MLA Citation Style Guide:
“Writing Annotated Bibliographies
Films: Waltz with Bashir
Persepolis / Literature and Inquiry Project

Unit 4 -- Weeks 13 through 14: April 19 -30 Detailed daily schedule to come.

Dialogue topic / Writing & Analysis Topics
Wise Children in Times of National Transition / “What Only You Can Say”
Books:
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini (Afghanistan). novel: Afghanistan, Pakistan, US.
The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy (India). novel: India. / Resources:
Mary Pipher excerpts from Writing to Change the World
Field trip to ZAPP Zine archive
Films: Partition
Turtles Can Fly
Or / Final Research Project: Paper, Powerpoint or Zine
Portfolio due dates: Preliminary April 26, Final April 30.

Week 15: May 3-7 -- Creative Presentations

The End