AMST 205-01: American Civilization III: Documentary
Fall 2012
Dr. Bernie Cook, Associate DeanKelsey Brannan, Teaching Assistant
108 White
“‘Can’t repeat the past?’ he cried incredulously. ‘Why of course you can!’”
F. Scott Fitzgerald. The Great Gatsby. New York: Scribers, 2003: 116.
“America has been informed more by fables of its past than by intimate communion with its actual past.”
Gene Wise. “‘Paradigm Dramas’ in American Studies.” Locating American Studies. Lucy Maddox, Ed. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1999: 167.
Let the snake wait under
his weed
and the writing
be of words, slow and quick, sharp
to strike, quiet to wait,
sleepless.
-- through metaphor to reconcile
the people and the stones.
Compose. (No ideas but in things) Invent!
Saxifrage is my flower that splits the rocks.
William Carlos Williams. “A Sort of a Song” (1944).
Week 1
8/30: C1Course Introduction: Doing American Studies via Documentary
Screening: Out of Sight, Out of Mind (Fall 2011)
Week 2
9/2: S1Nat Turner: A Troublesome Property (2002)60 mins.
Screenings will be held on several Sunday evenings, at 6 pm, in the New South Film Screening Classroom, on the dates indicated in the syllabus.
9/4: C2Doing Documentary Work: The Past as a Troublesome Property
Reading:Coles, Robert. “Introduction”; “The Work: Locations in Theory”; “Epilogue.” Doing Documentary Work (London: Oxford University Press, 1997). Available on Blackboard.
Assignment 1: Analysis of Student Documentaries, C3D (fall 2010)
(post to Blackboard by 11 pm 9/5)
9/6: C3The Uses of Images as Historical Evidence
Reading:Burke, Peter. “Portraits and Photographs.” Eyewitness: The Uses of Images as Historical Evidence (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2001).
Available on Blackboard.
Assignment 2: Chronology. Post to Blackboard by noon on 9/5 for full credit.
Week 3
No Screening.
9/11: C4Photography as Documentary
Reading:Curtis, James. “Making Sense of Documentary Photography,” History Matters: The U.S. Survey Course on the Web, June 2003.
Available via External Links in Blackboard.
Documentary Groups Announced.
9/13: C5Documentary Ethics: 2009 Center for Social Media Report
Documentary Photography in the 19th and early 20th Century: Matthew Brady, Alexander Gardner, Charles Van Schaik, Jabob Riis, Lewis Hine
Reading:Bernard, S. C. Documentary Storytelling (Focal Press, 2007).
Part 1: Story Design (Chs. 1-7, pgs. 1-109).
“Honest Truths: Documentary Filmmakers and the Ethical Challenges in Their Work.” The Center for Social Media, American University (September 2009). Available on Blackboard.
Recommended Reading:
Zettl, Herb. Chapter 2 (pg 18-21) Production Roles. Video Basics 4 (Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Thompson, 2004).
Discuss and decide upon Group Roles.
Week 4
9/16: S2Wisconsin Death Trip (2000)76 mins.
Sunday evening at 6 pm in the New South Film Screening Classroom
9/18: C6Archiving/Working on the Past
Reading:Bernard, S. C. and Kenn Rabin. Archival Storytelling (Focal Press, 2009).
Introduction, Part 1: Finding It & Part II: Using It (Chs. 1-10, pgs. 1-156).
Shayt, David H. “Artifacts of Disaster: Creating the Smithsonian’s Katrina Collection.” Technology and Culture, Vol. 47, N 2, April 2006, 357-368. (Available online via Project Muse).
Charles Van Schaick Photographs (1890-1910), Wisconsin Historical Society & Jackson County Historical Society
Recommended Reading:
Lesy, Michael. Wisconsin Death Trip (Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 2000). Originally, Pantheon, 1973.
DVs schedule intro to camera and sound with Ed Clark, FMST Media Technologist.
9/20: C7Fair Use of the Past
Reading:Bernard, S. C. and Kenn Rabin. Archival Storytelling (Focal Press, 2009).
Part III: Licensing It (Chs. 11-19, pgs. 159-299).
Documentary Filmmakers Statement of Best Practices in Fair Use (Center for Social Media)
Available on Blackboard.
Assignment 3:Pitching Your Documentaries. Producers will pitch in class. Groups will respond.
Week 5
9/23: S3Nanook of the North (1922)79 mins.
Manhatta (1921)10 mins.
Sunday evening at 6 pm in the New South Film Screening Classroom
9/25: C8Documentary Film: History & Story
Reading:Aufderheide, P. Documentary Film: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford, 2007). Pgs. 1-55.
Gunning, Tom. "Making Sense of Films," History Matters: The U.S. Survey Course on the Web, February 2002.
Available via External Links in Blackboard.
Documentary Research and Writing continues.
DVs continue intro to camera and sound with Ed Clark, FMST Media Technologist.
9/27: C9Documentary Film: Subgenres, Modes, Styles, Approaches
Reading:Aufderheide, P. Documentary Film: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford, 2007). Pgs. 56-146.
Writers will share story elements with class.
Week 6
9/30: S4Faubourg Treme (2008)
10/2: C10Video Camera and Lighting Workshop
Location: Gelardin Media Center (Lauinger Library)
Reading:Bernard, SC. Documentary Storytelling.
Part III: Shooting and Editing (Chs. 12-15, pgs. 177-235).
Recommended Reading:
Zettl, Herb. Video Basics 4 (Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Thompson, 2004).
Chapter 4 (pg 46-55) Basic Camera Function
Chapter 5 (pg 66-76) Operating the camera/Basic Camera Movement
Chapter 5 (pg 82-87) Operation Functions (white balancing, etc.)
Chapter 6 (all) Looking Through the Viewfinder (framing, head room, etc.)
Chapter 7 (pg 142-149) Field Lighting and Checklist
Assignment 4: Treatments. Writers post treatments to Blackboard by noon on 10/6 .
10/4: C11Camera and Sound
Location: Gelardin Media Center (Lauinger Library)
Reading:Bernard, SC. Documentary Storytelling.
Part IV: Conversations About Story (Chs. 16-25, pgs. 237-358).
Recommended Reading:
Zettl, Herb. Video Basics 4 (Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Thompson, 2004).
Chapter 8 Audio and Sound Control (pg 151-166 and 179-183)
DVs shoot footage and bring to class (place and person).
Assignment 5: Post Production Schedules. Producers post production schedules to Blackboard.
Week 7
10/07: S5History and Memory (1991)
10/09: C12Post-Production Workshop: Final Cut Pro
Room 158, Gelardin New Media Center
Reading:Review Bernard, Documentary Storytelling. Ch. 13 (Editing ).
Recommended Reading:
Zettl, Herb. Video Basics 4 (Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Thompson, 2004).
Chap 12 Non-Linear Editing (pg 242-244 and 253-268)
Chap 13 Editing Principles (pg 270-290)
Production (videography) continues.
10/11: C13Post-Production Workshop: Final Cut Pro
Picchi Room, Gelardin New Media Center, Lauinger Library
Barrinton Baynes (Gelardin)
Assignment 6:Log and Capture first 3 weeks of footage (producer, writer, dv, editor).
Week 8
10/14: S6To Render A Life (1992)90 mins.
Sunday evening at 6 pm in the New South Film Screening Classroom
10/16: C14Rendering “Famous Men”: Documentary Video and the Agee/Evans Model
Ross Spears, Visiting Filmmaker.
*Reading:Agee, James and Walker Evans. Let Us Now Praise Famous Men (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1941). Read entire book.
Assignment 7:Post Writing Assignment (whole class). Post writing assignment to Blackboard Discussion Board.
10/18: C15“The Cruel Radiance of What Is”: Documentary and the American Past
Ross Spears, Visiting Filmmaker.
Week 9
No Screening.
10/23: C16Production Reports, Re-pitching, Story Workshop
Production (videography) continues.
10/25: C17Production Reports, Re-pitching, Story Workshop
Final Shooting Day
Week 10
No Screening.
10/30: C18Group Research Presentation and Discussion.
Assignment 8:Interview Transcripts and Paper Edit/Outline (Producer, Writer, Editor, with DV).
11/1: C19Group Research Presentation and Discussion.
Week 11
No Screening.
11/6: C20Workshop:1-2 Minute Edits (screened in class).
Post-Production continues.
11/8: C21Workshop:Multi-sequence Edits (screened in class).
Assignment 9: Editing Script. Writers post Editing Script to Blackboard before class.
Week 12
No Screening.
11/13: C22Workshop: First Rough Cuts.
Assignment 10: First Rough Cut. Editors prepare and screen first rough cuts.
11/15: C23Workshop: Next Rough Cuts.
Week 13
No Screening.
11/20: C24 Workshop: Second Rough Cuts.
Assignment12: Second Rough Cut. Editors prepare and screen second rough cuts.
11/22Happy Thanksgiving (no class)
Week 14
No Screening.
11/27: C25Screen Final Cuts
Assignment13: Final Cut. Editors prepare and screen second rough cuts.
11/29: C26 Screen Final Cuts
11/30:Premiere Screening (time TDB)
New South Film Screening Classroom
Week 15
No Screening.
12/4: C27Afterlife of the Projects
12/6: C28From Docs to Theses
Assignment14: Course Reflection Papers Due. Post to Blackboard by noon (12/14)
Nota Bene:
The syllabus is subject to change. Students will be notified of changes in class or by email.
Please be sure that you are in compliance with the University Honor System. Visit for details on the Honor Code. In your writing and media work for the course, you must cite all sources completely and accurately for direct
quotations and paraphrased material.
Course Objectives/Learning Objectives
American Civilization III: Documentary is organized around documentary as a mode of engaging the cultural history of the first half of the 20th Century. Since the period under consideration, 1890 – 1945, was marked by the explosive development of audio-visual media, especially film, the course asks students to view and analyze both period and contemporary documentary films as visual and aural evidence of the social, political, and cultural history of America. Students read documentary theory, film theory, histories, and primary accounts from the period.
As the major project in the course, students in small groups collaborate to produce short documentary videos engaging American social history during the period. Each group consists of a producer, a writer, a director of photography, and an editor. Each student has both individual and group responsibilities for researching, writing, shooting, and editing the documentaries. Each student reflects and writes about their role in the production, analyzing the choices made in producing their documentaries, linking these choices to course readings and discussion. Students in the course learn to use documentary methods and audio-visual technology to work directly with the raw material of American History, shaping various forms of evidence into historical argument.
See also, Cook, Bernie. “Producing Audiovisual Knowledge: Documentary Video Production and Student Learning in the American Studies Classroom”. In New Media Technologies and the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning. Randy Bass and Brett Eynon, Eds. Academic Commons, January 2009.
Assignments
1. Screenings(Sundays, 6 – 9 pm)
2. ReadingsWeekly (Prep for Tues. & Thurs.)
3. Short AssignmentsAnalysis of Student Docs; Chronology; Short Writing Assignment
4. Documentary Video Project (Group and Individual Responsibilities)
A. Group Pitch (all members, Producer) In Class (9/20)
B. Treatment (Writer)Posted (10/2)
C. Production Schedule (Producer)Posted (10/4)
D. Screen Footage (Director)In Class (10/2-10/11)
E. Groups Presentations of ResearchIn Class (10/30, 11/1)
F. Transcripts and Paper EditIn Class (10/30)
G. One Minute Edit (Editor)In Class (11/6)
H. Editing Script (Writer)Post (11/8)
I. Rough Cuts #1 (Editor)In Class (11/13, 11/15)
J. Rough Cut #2 (Editor)In Class (11/20, 11/22)
K. Final Cut (Editor)In Class (11/27, 11/29)
L. Reflection PapersPosted (12/14)
Documentary Video Project Schedule
Preproduction (Pitch, Treatment, Script) 9/18 – 9/27
Production (Audio taping, Video taping, Video shooting, Scripting)10/2 – 10/25
Postproduction (Editing)10/11 – 11/30
Screening and Presentations11/30
GRADE BREAKDOWN
Participation (Attendance, Screenings, Preparation, Participation)35%
Assignments (Chronology; Discussion Board Postings)10%
Individual Responsibilities for Documentary Video Project30%
(Includes Individual Assignments and Final Reflection/Analysis Paper)
Group Grade for Documentary Video Project25%
(Includes Group Research Presentations and Final Cut of Documentary)