Narrative and Ideology
COL 249
Fall 2011
| Section:
01
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| Crosslisting:
ENGL 247 |
When ballads were very popular songs that told stories, Andrew Fletcher (1655-1716) underlined the importance of narrative: "If a man were permitted to make all the ballads, he need not care who should make the laws of a nation." Nowadays, stories take various forms, among them cinematic, and they circulate and are consumed in vast quantities. People make stories, and the consumption of those stories, in turn, "makes" people, helping to construct individual subjectivity and collective discourse. How do narratives function as the vehicles for overt and unacknowledged ideologies? How do stories change as they become such vehicles, and how do ideologies change when they are embedded in stories? This course pursues these questions through the reading of theory and the analysis of film. It combines short lectures (mainly in the first few weeks) with much discussion, with the aim of introducing students to recent and current concepts concerning the nature of, and the relationship between, narrative and ideology. Post-1980 American films we will watch together will serve as primary texts. Analysis of the films' narrative structures is an indispensable part of the course. |
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Essential Capabilities:
Ethical Reasoning, Interpretation
Interpretation:
Intensive discussion, oral presentation of arguments, and careful interpretation of texts, images and theoretical concepts will be emphasized.
Ethical Reasoning:
It is impossible to sustain a long narrative without making or inviting ethical judgments, whether this is done intentionally or not. Students will learn how actors, narrators, and texts solicit ethical judgment.
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| Credit: 1 |
Gen Ed Area Dept:
HA COL |
| Course Format: Seminar | Grading Mode: Graded |
| Level: UGRD |
Prerequisites: None |
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Fulfills a Requirement for: (CSCT)(ENGL)(ENGL-Literature)(FILM-MN) |
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Past Enrollment Probability: Not Available |
| SECTION 01 |
Major Readings: Wesleyan RJ Julia Bookstore
No textbook. However, a coursepack must be purchased. It will contain readings in narrative and film theory and critical essays on individual films.
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Examinations and Assignments:
A shorter midterm paper (5-8 pages) and a longer final paper (12-15 pages). Informed and thoughtful participation in discussion will matter to the student's grade. |
Additional Requirements and/or Comments:
This course fulfills the Theory major requirement and contributes to the Theory & Literary Forms concentration of the English major. |
| Instructor(s): Tölölyan,Khachig Times: ...W... 07:00PM-11:00PM; Location: BTFDC314; |
| Total Enrollment Limit: 18 | | SR major: 2 | JR major: 10 | | |
| Seats Available: -5 | GRAD: X | SR non-major: 0 | JR non-major: 6 | SO: 0 | FR: 0 |
| Drop/Add Enrollment Requests | | | | | |
| Total Submitted Requests: 6 | 1st Ranked: 2 | 2nd Ranked: 1 | 3rd Ranked: 1 | 4th Ranked: 0 | Unranked: 2 |
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