HPR 319U (3 cr.)

Money & Misery

Professors Judith Swift & Art Mead

Class
Monday
 4:00 - 6:45 pm Lippitt 203
Screenings
Wednesday
 6:00 - 9:30 PM Independence 304
(Screening Room for film viewings)
       
Office Hours: Swift
Monday,
Thursday
and by appointment
2:00 - 3:00 p.m.
1:00 - 3:00 p.m.		 Office: 874-4809
E-mail: jswift@uri.edu
Office Hours: Mead
Wednesday
Thursday
and by appointment
2:00 - 5:00 p.m
2:00 - 4:00 p.m. 		Office: 874-4123
E-mail: acmead@uri.edu

Webpage: http://www.uri.edu/artsci/com/swift

Course Description: Communicating the evolution of the global human condition through the lens of economics within the medium of film. Students will study the dramatic voice of film in conveying compelling stories about economic systems.  Students will be required to analyze the efficacy of film as a medium for economic theory.  Major economic principles raised by the films will be discussed in tandem with the cinematic style employed to embrace and explore those principles.  The course will require intensive class participation in both real and virtual time, the completion of writings as assigned and a creative project which could be the conception and completion of a short screenplay as a final exam.  

Goals:
Schedule:
Date Screening Date Class
Jan. 22 The Grapes of Wrath Jan. 27 Introduction to Economics and Narrative Film
Jan. 29 The Full Monty Feb. 3 Social Change and Comedy
Feb. 5 Norma Rae Feb. 10 Changing Status of Labor
Feb. 12 The Insider *Feb. 18

Politics, Economics and Public Policy
*(Tuesday; Monday classes meet)
Feb. 19 David Copperfield Feb. 24 Industrialization and Globalization
Feb. 26 Wall Street March 3 Corporate Greed
March 5 Fried Green Tomatoes March 5 Small Business and Community
March 10 SPRING BREAK March 12 SPRING BREAK
    March 17 Fantasy and the Gold Standard
March 19 The Wizard of Oz March 24 Midterm Due: Requirements
March 26 Power of One March 31 Racism and Economic Equity Assignment
April 2 Shawshank Redemption            April 7 Incarceration as Solution to Social Problems Death Penalty Project
April 9 Philadelphia April 14 Corporate Accountability and Public Policy Assignment
April 16 Minority Report April 21 Constitutional Rights and National Security Assignment
April 23 Thirteen Days April 28 Conflict and Competing Economic Ideologies Assignment
April 30 The White Balloon

May 5
(last class)

 Globalization and Social Systems Assignment/Topic
 May 10 (Saturday)

Final Exam: 3-6:00 p.m.

  

Final Exam Topic
                                        University Exam Schedule:
                                        http://www.uri.edu/es/calexams/examSpring2003.html

Week Topics
Week 1

Examine the narrative style of The Grapes of Wrath as a film designed to evoke emotion relative to the particular circumstance of the Great Depression and extrapolate concepts related to larger economic principles of social organization. Questions of the Week 1.
Week 2 Discuss devices of comedy in The Full Monty as the means to examine profound questions of social and economic change. Question of the Week 2.         Additional reading material.
Week 3 Analyze the female hero in Norma Rae as an agent of change in oppressive circumstances. Questions of the Week 3.
Week 4 Analyze the male hero in The Insider as a passive figure thrust into a complex web of political and corporate intrigue. Questions of the Week
Week 5 Examine a coming-of-age story in David Copperfield within the economic system of the Industrial Revolution.
Week 6 Analyze the portrayal of the evil manipulator versus the tempted in Wall Street through the playing out of corporate greed within the self-regulating nature of capitalism.
Week 7  Analyze Fried Green Tomatoes and its focus on women and their centrality to the power of community and tradition as organizing social principles, and relate to cinematic styles and economic themes previously discussed.
Week 8 Consider how the parable of  The Wizard of Oz  wraps in cinematic fantasy the populist debate over the Gold Standard. 
Week 9 Examine the role of the reformer in Power of One as traitor to his class in the face of racism and its role in economic inequality.
Week 10 Analyze the imprisoned as individuals in Shawshank Redemption as a means to explore the social and economic cost of prison policy and incarceration as a solution to social problems. Death Penalty Project
Week 11 Study the power of the individual in Philadelphia in the move from the role of victim to hero and as the driving force for corporate accountability and public policy.
Week 12 Explore the implications of the Patriot Act and the relationship between constitutional rights and individual protections in light of national security in the Minority Report and its futuristic style.
Week 13 Analyze the Western prototype embedded in Thirteen Days as the white and black hats engage in a modern day shoot-out between economic ideologies.
Week 14 Analyze the docudrama style of a child's journey in The White Balloon as an innocent view of the power of tradition and an example of the ways in which societies organize themselves. 

General Notes:

In addition to the films, there will be readings in this class and it is important that you keep up with the reading as well as be prepared through the film viewings. If you are compelled to miss class with a good excuse, e.g. "I cannot fog a mirror," arrangements will be made for you to access the film through the University Library Media Room.  If you simply miss the class, the viewing will be your responsibility to arrange through your local Blockbuster or the library as available.

Please note: this syllabus is subject to change.  We will never change the schedule to make anything due earlier for you but reserve the right to make changes if circumstances warrant.  We expect everyone to check e-mail regularly in order that we can communicate efficiently with all of you.  We will also use the listserv (hpr319u@pete.uri.edu) to increase class discussion by posting additional ideas, observations, questions and insights.  If you need to see us, drop by during office hours, call or e-mail and we'll get you in as quickly as possible.

Attendance is expected.  You are honors students and we assume you want the stimulation of class discussion with your professors and your peers.  If you will not attend on a given day, please call or e-mail copying in both professors. Absences will affect your grade because class participation is an important aspect of our evaluation of your work.

Course Requirements:

All writings will, of course, be word-processed and use correct grammar, spelling, etc., with references and resources properly credited. Length is to be adequate to address the assignment unless otherwise stated.  In other words, you determine the length based on your assessment of how best to complete the task which will be addressed in greater detail in the assignment posting you will receive for each of the above tasks. Each detailed assignment posting will contain a list of clear expectations against which you can compare your work prior to submitting it.

All writings will, of course, be word-processed and use correct grammar, spelling, etc., with references and resources properly credited. Assignments are turned in in two ways: For Mead, turn in as hard copy; for Swift as attachments via e-mail to jswift@uri.edu. There is no need for hard copy. The proper method for turning in attachemnt assignments is as follows:

  1. Complete the paper and make sure you have your name, the date and the topic in the heading.
  2. Save the paper as YOURLASTNAME.ASSIGNMENT TITLE.DOC (title may be abbreviated)
  3. E-mail as an attachment (not as a paste-in in the body of the e-mail)
  4. In the header of the e-mail, write YOURLASTNAME.ASSIGNMENT TITLE
  5. Please do not vary from these instructions because I (Swift) appreciate not having to be searching through files and papers to be sure you are credited with the proper work.
Film List:
The Grapes of Wrath The Wizard of Oz
The Full Monty Power of One
Norma Rae Shawshank Redemption
The Insider Philadelphia
David Copperfield Traffic
Wall Street Thirteen Days
Fried Green Tomatoes The White Balloon

Grading:
25% In-class discussion
25% Midterm Paper
25% Response papers, listserv postings  
25% Final  Exam 

Evaluation will be based on grades of the written and oral projects outlined above and the final project, as well as regular class attendance and participation.

Required Texts:

Economics Explained: Everything You Need to Know About How the Economy Works and Where It's Going; Robert Heilbroner and Lester Thurow; Touchstone Books; ISBN: 0684846411; Revised edition (May 1998)

A Viewer's Guide to Film; Richard M. Gollin; McGraw-Hill; ISBN: 007023700X; (November 1991)

Additional readings will be distributed or linked in details about assignments forwarded weekly on the listserv

Honor Code: We expect each of you to contribute his/her own work; however, we also encourage you to work together to solve problems, achieve solid analyses, critique films, and even to prepare and explore the theses of your papers.  We also expect that you will all be direct about crediting yourself and/or others about completed work.  There is nothing wrong with assisting each other.  The only caveat is to acknowledge that assistance.  With regard to group work, you will be required to sign a contract agreeing to be responsible for disclosing the portion of work legitimately credited to you and to be forthright about how much you did or did not contribute.  This saves each of you from ever having to be in the awkward position of reporting on or covering for another student.  We also know each of you wants to be honorable in your individual or group projects.  On the other hand, if a student violates rules pertaining to plagiarism or cheating, we will report that student to the appropriate university authorities.  We will do this because it is no favor to cover for a person who acts dishonestly.  We call this enabling.  It is also unfair to the students in the class who come by their grade honestly.
Special Needs:  If you have any special circumstances arising from a disability, please let us know how we can assist you.  As stated in the University Manual: "The student with a disability shall be responsible for self-identification to the Disability Services for Students in the Office of Student Life, providing appropriate documentation of disability, requesting accommodation in a timely manner, and follow-through regarding accommodations requested."   In other words, it is your responsibility to make arrangements for any special needs and our responsibility to accommodate them with the assistance of the office of Disability Services for Students.
Philosophy of Teaching: We are interested in an engaging, active partnership of learning in which we explore and discover aspects of these works as vehicles for examining individuals and society, and the economic systems that define the relationship between them.  Cinematic archetypes will be the organizational prototype from which we begin our analysis.  We are also interested in these  films as a springboard for the exploration of a wide range of topics from historical events to contemporary issues.  The potential for exploring and discovering new paths into the human experience is exciting. However, as we always tell students, just as no one is responsible for our individual happiness but us, no one is responsible for our intellectual excitement.  We can bring ours to the classroom but you also need to be prepared to risk exposing and exploring yours.  Learning should be fun and painful—thinking 'til it hurts—and addictive.  We chose this topic as the result of our belief in the power of the cinema as a vehicle for expressing and exploring major economic concepts in ways accessible to those with or without formal training in economics and/or film.   This class should give us insight into each other's ways of thinking, values, ideas and intellectual curiosity.  This should be an enjoyable and stimulating experience and your minds will make it so.  To that end, you need to keep the dialogue going with everyone by addressing topics we have discussed or will discuss via e-mail as well as in class.  Be prepared to make a regular posting to the class.  This will keep us thinking all the time.
Listserv: There is a listserv for this class at hpr319u@pete.uri.edu. We will use the listserv to post important notices and extended information on assignments. You may also post to the list but realize that it goes to the entire class. The ability to reach the whole class is useful for questions to which everyone might want the answer. The list also allows you to communicate with groups for project work and post points for discussion or think pieces. Papers will be submitted as attachments but should not be e-mailed to the list. Send them directly to us at jswift@uri.edu and acmead@uri,edu.  Please use the list considerately so you do not clutter everyone's mailboxes with extraneous materials. In this class, however, jokes and ideas are not extraneous. Sprinkle them liberally.
Etiquette: Although we are perfectly happy to enjoy the benefits of an informal classroom in which people feel free to speak without the raising of hands and can sit in less formal arrangements than row-by-row, this informal setting requires a particular adherence to good manners. Quite simply, we expect you all to be respectful of us and of each other. This includes extraneous private commentary between and among students, the use of any telecommunications devices that connect you to the outside world, and the continued courtesy of respectful attention without interruption when others are speaking. We all learned this behavior either at home or in Kindergarten or both. You are the Sesame Street generation—actually the second Sesame Street generation; you grew up with TV shows that taught the value of please and thank you. Consider this experience to be one in which your communication style will be judged and a major part of that judgment is your ability to be courteous on both an interpersonal and group level. We embrace humor; we do not embrace disruption. We are utterly intolerant of any student being harshly judgmental or making fun of a fellow student. We expect you are all courteous people whether through nature or nurture and will have absolutely no difficulty in meeting and exceeding these expectations.
Special Events: Following the final exam, we will have a potluck dinner.  We will provide the pizza.  You can get your chips 'n' dips recipes ready.
Course Credit: Students may receive credit for this course as an Economics elective by applying to the Department Chairperson, Yngve Ramstad, yramstad@uri.edu. This course is approved for Film Studies credit.