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American History in Literature & Film
Renmin University of China, International Summer School 2016
Teacher:
Michael Wutz (PhD, Emory University)
James Brady Presidential Distinguished Professor
English Department, Weber State University, Ogden, Utah, USA
http://faculty.weber.edu/mwutz;   mwutz@weber.edu
 
Course Prerequisites:  None — open to undergraduates and postgraduates
 Language Prerequisite:  Yes — English. Xiexie! 谢谢
Class Format:  Seminar, lecture and class discussion, and discussion groups
 Participation in Course:  50% of final grade — credit for daily attendance, participation in discussions, and a final examination
 Writing Assignments:  50% of final grade — two short papers (1,000 words each)
 Scholastic Credit:  Two (= 2) credits

 

Philosophical and Scholastic Statement

The four selected films, along with their complementary printed texts, are reflections of the country that has produced them. They are driven by deep-seated conflicts and offer cultural snapshots of the United States at a particular historical moment. More so than literature by itself, film (together with print) offers insight into both high and popular culture, and hence both public and scholarly history. By studying these films and ancillary texts, students will get a good grasp of some of the concerns that have defined the United States at a certain period, and in the process develop their cultural literacy.

All four films have been chosen with the pedagogical goals described above. At the same time, these films also offer particular challenges and opportunities from a linguistic point of view. That is, while exposure to English in most any film will over time lead to better comprehension and an enlarged vocabulary, the films proposed here also introduce students to specific vocabularies and discourses. Thus, the class work also aims at three practical goals that are subsumed under the overarching, content-specific learning outcomes:

  • (1) a greater facility with spoken and written English,
  • (2) a greater ability to analyze the complexities of plots and characterizations, including cultural context, and
  • (3) a greater ability to move from literal to figurative or symbolic interpretation.

 

Course Description

The primary objects of study will be four films

  • Gone With the Wind (dir. Victor Fleming, 1940)
  • All the King’s Men (dir. Robert Rossen, 1949; alt. Steven Zaillian, 2006)
  • Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (dir. Stanley Kubrick, 1964)
  • American Graffiti (dir. George Lucas, 1973)

Screenings of these films will be supplemented with crucial passages from the films’ supporting novels and/or related materials
  • Margaret Mitchell’s Gone With the Wind (1936, Pulitzer Prize 1937)
  • Robert Penn Warren’s All the King’s Men (1946, Pulitzer Prize 1947)
  • Peter George, Red Alert (1958, the fictional basis for Dr. Strangelove)
  • Interviews with George Lucas; excerpt from Jack Kerouac, On the Road (1957)

Most supplementary readings will be provided as web links or downloadable pdfs or, in some few cases, as handouts in advance of the actual screening and class discussion. I also maintain active electronic resource hubs on film and on modern & contemporary American literature, to which I will direct students’ attention. Please follow the links listed under Course WebPALs on my website, http://faculty.weber.edu/mwutz. If appropriate, I will also share useful clips and interview excerpts from the bonus features available on most DVDs.

 

Due Dates & Grades

The first paper will be due at the mid-term, two weeks into the course. The second paper will come due, of course, at the end of the term, four weeks into the class.

Grades for the papers will break out according to a traditional four-point scale:
A = 4.0 points B = 3.0 points C = 2.0 points D = 1.0 point
The average of the points on the two papers will be the final grade for the written portion of the course.

 

Course Policies

Students should understand that they are required to attend class meetings and do their best to participate in discussions. For a short summer class, such as this one, students cannot miss class more than twice (= 2 times). There may, of course, be reasonable exceptions for those who have fallen ill or run into other difficulties.

Students should also understand that they must write their own essays; plagiarism is unacceptable and grounds for failure.

Students are very welcome to meet individually, or in small groups, with the teacher for help with the papers or for additional help in understanding the points of discussion. I have an open-door policy and look forward to meeting with students.

 

Course Calendar
Week One:Screening and discussion of Gone with the Wind

Points of historical background
  • The first transatlantic (triangular) trade: Caribbean sugar, New England rum, African slaves
  • The rise of abolition and the Underground Railroad answered by states’ rights
  • The myth of southern chivalry answered by northern industrialization
  • Reconstruction answered by the South’s “rising again”

Readings

 

Week Two:Screening and Discussion of All the King’s Men (1949)

Points of historical background
  • The republican constitution and its democratic expressions
  • The rise of populism
  • The danger of demagogues
  • The career of Louisiana governor Huey Long

Readings

Paper workshop the class period before due date of first paper => Editing Checklist

***** FIRST (#1) PAPER DUE *****

 

Week Three: Screening and Discussion of Dr. Strangelove (1964)

Points of historical background
  • Nazi Germany and Missile Technology
  • Cold War politics and the Nuclear Arms Race
  • McCarthyism and its Aftermath
  • NATO and the Warsaw Pact
  • Fears of a Nuclear Holocaust in Popular Culture

Readings

 

Week Four: Screening and Discussion of American Graffiti (1973)

Points of historical background
  • The post-World War II baby boom generation
  • Cruising and the culture of Rock and Roll
  • The Beat Generation
  • The Cult and Culture of the Automobile
  • The phenomenon of the summer block buster

Readings

Paper workshop the class period before due date of second paper => Editing Checklist

***** SECOND (#2) PAPER DUE *****

This site was created by Michael Wutz; last updated, 18 July 2018