History of Film 1FLM 204

Summer Session 12016 (ONLINE)

Instructor: Lauri Mullens

Class Time:
Location:

Online (asynchronous)
Wherever you like

E-mail: lmullens01@cox.net (please note that this is NOT a URI address)

This course investigates the history of film starting with the invention of moving image
photography and running up until the middle of the twentieth century (approx. 1950).
Well look at the evolution of the technology and industrial structure of Hollywood, as
well as films social context.
The class is ONLINE and asynchronous (that is, we will have no class meetings
scheduled for specific times). You will, however, be required to participate fully by doing
the reading, viewing and processing the information from screenings, lectures, and other
materials, and by participating in class discussions (via sakai).
Note: Online courses like this present a unique challenge in that with no scheduled
meetings its very easy to procrastinate or forget and end up falling behind. Dont let that
happen to you. Make sure to check in often (preferably every day) to keep up with the
required readings and postings.
Student Learning Outcomes: Upon successful completion of this course, each
student will be able to:
General Education: Arts and Design
1. Identify concepts, terms, and facts related to film studies, film production,
and film audiences.
2. Analyze and interpret the significance of film artists, works and ideas through
historical knowledge and critical response to film and the moving image.
3. Demonstrate an understanding of the creative process and the aesthetic
principles that guide the art and history of film and the moving image.
4. Appreciate and articulate the varied approaches to film in creative expression,
preservation of cultural heritage, social responsibility, and/or global
communication.
5. Recognize, comprehend and communicate through film and moving images.
General Education: Global Responsibility
6. Understand and articulate individual identity within global contexts through
comparison of individual character, national, and cultural depictions
throughout the history of film and the moving image.
7. Develop and apply knowledge of patterns of cultural differences through the
use of critical analysis of films and moving images throughout their history to
communicate and interact appropriately with people from other geopolitical
areas.
8. Identify the perspective and points of view of individuals in varying cultural
circumstances through the analysis of the history of films and the moving
image.

9. Identify and synthesize knowledge of global implications of individual and

societal issues as they are depicted throughout the history of film and the
moving image, and make appropriate, sophisticated decisions relating to
those issues.

Course Requirements: Grading for this course is based on written assignments,

participation in the class discussion forums, quizzes, and one exam.
Weekly Quizzes
Weekly Forum Postings
Participation in Class Discussion
Three Short Assignments
Film Pioneers (8%)
Montage
(8%)
Assignment #3 (8%)
Exam

20%
18%
18%
24%

20%

Submitting your work:

All essay assignments should be typed, double-spaced, in a standard font and size, and
thoroughly proofread. Papers must conform to MLA style guidelines. Pages should be
numbered.
Any work that is not directly done on the sakai site MUST be submitted to me via email.
Please follow the steps below to do so:
1) Work MUST be submitted in a format I can read: .doc, .docx, or a form of pdf
that will allow me to make comments in
2) Email it to the following address: lmullens01@cox.net. Once again, note that this
is NOT a URI address. Also, dont forget the 01.
3) As your subject line please indicate your last name and course number as well as
which assignment you are submitting. For instance: jdoeFLM204 Montage
Assignment
Required Texts:
Wheeler Winston Dixon and Gwendolyn Audrey Foster, A Short History of Film (2nd ed),
New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 2016.
Other required (and recommended) readings, as noted on the syllabus, will either be
distributed in class or through the courses sakai site.
Written work must conform to MLA style guidelines. These may be found here:
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/
Sakai Site: As this is an online course the Sakai site will be the hub. This is where you
will access all course content, assignments, and announcements. It is where you will
hand in your assignments and participate in the class discussions. You should get into
the habit of logging onto the site daily to make sure that you are receiving all important
information and announcements.
Screening Requirements: Most of the required screenings for this course will be
available to stream for free from sites such as Youtube. However, there are a couple that

you will have to access in other ways. You may find it useful to have an account with
something like Netflix for this purpose. It is your responsibility to locate and screen the
required titles.
Quizzes: This course will feature weekly quizzes drawn primarily from the assigned
reading and/or lecture. These will be administered through the Sakai site and must be
submitted no later than 11:59 pm each Monday.
Weekly Forum Discussions: The weekly forum discussions will primarily
revolve around the film screenings and assigned readings for the week. You will be
given a specific question or questions to address in your primary postings. In these
primary postings you will need to specifically reference the reading, lecture, and/or
screening. In addition to this primary post, you will need to comment substantively
on two other classmates postings as well. The primary posting should be completed
no later than 11:59 pm on Friday; the response postings are due no later than 11:59
on Monday.
Late Paper Policy: Assignments are due on the date indicated on the syllabus or the
assignment sheet. They must be submitted in the manner indicated on the sheet. Due to
the abbreviated nature of the course no late papers will be accepted except with PRIOR
written permission.
Academic Integrity: Any work that you submit should be entirely your own work and
your own thought. Any information that you acquire from anywhere needs to be cited.
Otherwise it is plagiarism, and plagiarism is a very serious offense. To avoid plagiarism
make sure you properly credit authors words and ideas with appropriate citations. And
contrary to what you may think, it is not just direct quotes that need to be cited. ANY
information that comes from elsewhere needs to be cited.
If you plagiarize you fail the course (and the offense will be reported to the Deans office).
If you have any questions at all regarding proper acknowledgement of sources please see
me or make an appointment with the Writing Center.
In this course we will be using MLA style. The requirements of this style of
documentation can be found at https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/
One Final Note on Contacting Me: I look forward to hearing from you, but please
make sure to use the correct email address (lmullens01@cox.net) (dont forget the
01). Emailing an incorrect address is not an excuse and will not exempt you from late
penalties and anything else that might come up.

Course Schedule
If this was a traditional (face to face) class wed probably be meeting twice a week for
about 2 hours per meeting. As such, that is how Im going to be conceptualizing this
course. There will be two chunks of material per week for the five weeks of the class
(I sort of think of them as a Monday chunk and a Wednesday chunk). Your weekly quiz
will cover both of these chunks, and your forum postings will be addressing both as
well.

Week 1 (May 23 May 27)

Day 1 Intro to Course/Birth of Cinema
Reading: D/F (Dixon and Foster) Timeline, Ch. 1
Recommended Reading: http://www.earlycinema.com/
Day 2 The Birth of the American Film Industry

Reading: Reading: D/F Ch. 2

Independent Screening: The Birth of a Nation (Griffith, 1915)
Week 2 (May 30 June 3)
Day 1 World Cinema During the Silent Era: France and Germany
Reading: D/F Ch. 3
Independent Screening (Choose from the following):
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (Wiene, 1919)
Nosferatu (Murnau, 1922)
Ballet Mecanique (Leger, 1924) AND Un Chien Andalou (Dali/Bunuel,
1928)
Day 2 World Cinema During the Silent Era: The USSR
Reading: D/F Ch. 3
Independent Screening: Man With a Movie Camera (Vertov, 1929)

Film Pioneers Assignment Due SUNDAY, June 5th no later than 11:59
pm
Week 3 (June 6 June 10)
Day 1 The Hollywood Studio System in the 1920s
Reading: Mast and Kawin Ch. 5-6 (Sakai)
Independent Screening: The Kid (Chaplin, 1921)
Recommended Screening: Hollywood ep.6 Swanson and Valentino
Day 2 The Golden age of Silents and the Coming of Sound
Reading: Mast and Kawin Ch. 9 (sakai), D/F Ch. 4
Independent Screening: Choose one of the following:
Zero de Conduit (Vigo, 1933) AND Hollywood ep. 13 The End
of an Era
Recommended Screening: Singin in the Rain (Donen and Kelly, 1952)

Montage Assignment Due Sunday, June 12th no later than 11:59 pm

Week 4 (June 13 June 17)
Day 1 The Studio System in the 30s
Reading: Wexman Ch. 7 (sakai)
Independent Screening (Choose one of the following):
Golddiggers of 1933 (LeRoy, 1933)
King Kong (Cooper/Schoedsack, 1933)

Queen Christina (Mamoulian, 1934)

Day 2 Content Control in Hollywood
Reading: Leff/Simmons The Production Code (Sakai), Breen Packet
(Sakai)
Independent Screening: Complicated Women (possibly Thou Shalt Not:
Sex, Sin, and Censorship in Pre-Code Hollywood, if I can find it)
Week 5 (June 20 June 24)
Day 1 Hollywood in the 1940s
Reading: D/F Ch. 4, Wexman Ch. 7
Independent Screening: Citizen Kane (Welles, 1941) OR The Grapes of
Wrath (Ford, 1940) AND Moguls and Movie Stars, Warriors and
Peacemakers
Day 2 Postwar Hollywood and Postwar Genres: Noir
Reading: M/K pp. 207-210 (Film Noir) (Sakai), Film Noir documentary
Independent Screening: Sunset Boulevard (Wilder, 1950)
Recommended Screening: Detour (Ullmer, 1945)

Assignment #3 Due FRIDAY, June 24th no later than 11:59pm

Final Exam Due Sunday, June 26th no later than 11:59 pm (Sakai)