HPR 319U

HPR 319U (3 cr.)

Money & Misery

Professors Judith Swift & Art Mead

Class	Monday	4:00 - 6:45 pm	Lippitt 203
Screenings	Sunday	6:00 - 9:30 PM	Independence 304 (Screening Room for film viewings)

Office Hours: Swift	By appointment Please e-mail with free times.		Office: 874-4408 E-mail: jswift@uri.edu
Office Hours: Mead	Monday Thursday and by appointment	2:00 - 4:00 p.m. 2:00 - 4:00 p.m.	Office: 874-4123 E-mail: acmead@uri.edu

Web page: 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 with a focus on sustainability. 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:

To consider how society suppresses humanistic values and ethical principles in support of money
To focus on the principles of sustainability as the underlying concern in aspects of money and misery
To witness situations of structural change where systems fail to work
To understand how and why a film impacts us as individuals and as a culture
To understand links between current and historical policies
To define filmic archetypes as means to capture social and economic trends and issues
To develop a shared vocabulary of analysis, criticism and emotion
To explore the voice of film as an alternative to text

Schedule:

Date	Screening	Date	Class
Jan. 18	NO FILM	Jan. 20	Introduction to Economics, Sustainability and Narrative Film *(Tuesday; Monday classes meet)
Jan. 25	The Grapes of Wrath	Jan. 26	The Promised Land: The Great Depression and the Dust Bowl DUE Debate FDR: Savoir or Communist
Feb. 1	Norma Rae	Feb. 6	Changing Status of Labor
Feb. 8	The Insider	*Feb. 9	Economics and Public Policy
Feb. 15	Silkwood	Feb. 16	Fueling America at What Cost DUE Public Hearing: Wind Farm
Feb. 22	Mosquito Coast	Feb. 23	The Quest for Utopia
Feb. 29	The Emerald Forest	March 1	Clash of Civilizations Midterm Due
March 7	SPRING BREAK	March 8	SPRING BREAK
March 14	NO FILM	March 15
March 21	Ghandi	March 22	Imperialism
March 28	Power of One	March 29	Racism and Economic Equity DUE Project to be assigned
April 4	Rabbit-Proof Fence	April 5	The Cost of Racism as Public Policy
April 11	Children of Heaven	April 12	Poverty: A Global View DUE Project to be assigned
April 18	Blue Vinyl	April 19	Toxicity and Progress
April 25	Dr. Strangelove	April 26	Technology: The Ultimate Solution
May 2	NO FILM	May 3 (last class)
May 12	Final Exam: 3-6:00 p.m.

University Exam Schedule:
http://www.uri.edu/es/calexams/examSpring2004.html

Film	Topics: Watch for additional information on assignments here.
Film 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. Imagine a dust bowl phenomenon of the future.
Film 2	Analyze the female hero in Norma Rae as an agent of change in oppressive circumstances. What happens to social equity when a company is the only game in town?
Film 3	Analyze the male hero in The Insider as a passive figure thrust into a complex web of political and corporate intrigue. Consider the role of corporate America in public health.
Film 4
Film 5
Film 6
Film 7
Film 8
Film 9
Film 10
Film 11
Film 12

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 either through the University Library Media Room or by borrowing directly from Judith Swift. 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:

Read additional assignments and answer posted questions for each week's class and be prepared to contribute to lively discussions of the assigned works and other in-class exercises.
Complete a midterm project as assigned .
Complete additional short writings, e.g.,. response papers as assigned.
Complete a final paper or project as assigned.
Complete all readings and viewings.

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 as follows: For Mead as attachments via e-mail to acmead@uri.edu; for Swift as attachments via e-mail to jswift@uri.edu. There is no need for hard copy. The proper method for turning in attachment assignments is as follows:

Complete the paper and make sure you have your name, the date and the topic in the heading.
Save the paper as YOURLASTNAME.ASSIGNMENT TITLE.DOC (title may be abbreviated)
E-mail as an attachment (not as a paste-in in the body of the e-mail)
In the header of the e-mail, write YOURLASTNAME.ASSIGNMENT TITLE
Please do not vary from these instructions because we 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	Ghandi
Norma Rae	Power of One
The Insider	Rabbit-Proof Fence
Silkwood	Children of Heaven
Mosquito Coast	Blue Vinyl
The Emerald Forest	Dr. Strangelove

Grading:

25%	In-class projects/discussion
25%	Midterm
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: as assigned but also begin to peruse the sites yourself.

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.