SYLLABUS - ASU



SYLLABUS

"PUTTING (CHICANA/O & LATINA/O) HISTORY ON FILM"

Transborder Chicana/o & Latina/o Studies TCL 465 SLN # 23159

Film and Media Studies FMS 465 SLN #23220

Spring Semester, 2009

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From The Hunt for Pancho Villa From The Trail North From The U.S-Mexican War

Prof. Paul Espinosa Department of Transborder Chicana/o & Latina/o Studies

Class meets: Tue 4:40 – 7:10 pm

Palo Verde West 159

Professor’s Office: 6664 Coor Building

Phone: 480-965-5120

paul.espinosa@asu.edu

Office Hours: Wednesday 2:00 – 4:00 pm and by appointment: 6664 Coor

Course Description: In this course we will explore the process of putting history on film, developing a critical perspective about history, historiography and history on film. We will explore a range of questions: How do we “translate” history into film? What tools do historical films use? What role does film play in creating public history? How do we evaluate history and historical representation? How effective are filmmakers in presenting history? Film is increasingly a critical source for the public’s knowledge of history. Through an examination of both documentary and narrative films, students will learn about the use of various film techniques including oral history and archival materials, the role of memory in local history, and the challenge of presenting documentary history when limited historical materials exist. Film segments to be screened employ a wide variety of strategies in approaching history, reflecting diverse perspectives and formal concerns.

Required Readings: The course reader must be purchased at . Students must order the reader immediately on-line. Once a student has ordered the reader, the readings for the first several weeks of class can be downloaded (from the website) by the student. The downloadable readings will be PDF documents from the website which students can use until the reader arrives in the mail. In addition to the course reader, a small number of additional readings may be assigned over the course of the semester.

Requirements: This is a seminar class which meets only once a week, so attendance at all classes is mandatory and will be taken at the beginning of every class. Students must come to class on time and remain for the full class period. Active participation in all class activities is essential. Students must come to class not only having completed the reading assignments, but having something meaningful to say about them. When doing the reading, think about issues you would like to discuss in class. Students must bring their copy of the day’s reading with them. Each assignment should be carefully read before class because major portions of each class will be spent discussing the week’s reading. No credit for class will be given if students leave before the end of class. You will be evaluated for class participation after each class. To insure that students are doing the reading, the instructor may administer quizzes over the course of the semester.

Most films will be viewed in class, in whole or in part. With at least one partner, students will be assigned to facilitate the discussion of the reading for one particular class starting after Week 3. There will be a sign up sheet for this purpose later in the semester. Students will be required to turn in at least five reflection papers on the readings (approx 3 pages long) which will be assigned at different points in the semester. A hard copy of the papers will be due at the beginning of class on the due dates. Late papers will be penalized. A final paper will be due after the reading period on Tuesday, May 12, 2009 at 12 noon. No final papers will be accepted after that date. All papers must be typed and double spaced. Remember to put your name on the first page, number your pages and use a standard 12 point font.

University Standards on Academic Integrity apply in this course. Make sure you are familiar with the university policies on academic honesty by visiting . In the “Student Academic Integrity Policy” manual, ASU defines “’Plagiarism” [as] using another's words, ideas, materials or work without properly acknowledging and documenting the source. Students are responsible for knowing the rules governing the use of another's work or materials and for acknowledging and documenting the source appropriately.”  Academic dishonesty, including inappropriate collaboration, will not be tolerated. There are severe sanctions for cheating, plagiarizing and any other form of academic dishonesty.

Grading: 15% Class Attendance

20% Class participation

20% Facilitating discussion

25% Reflection Papers

20% Final Paper

SCHEDULE OF READING ASSIGNMENTS AND FILMS

Week 1 - Introduction

Jan 20 Expectations, Readings, Films, Grading, Syllabus, Questions

Film: 1492 Revisited

Week 2 – Critiquing History

Jan 27 Readings: Zinn, Howard, "Columbus, the Indians and Human Progress"

Films: Segments of Martyrs of the Alamo and The Alamo

Week 3 – My History Not Yours

Feb 3 Readings: Flores, Richard R., "Preface and Introduction"

Films: Segments of Reds and The Hunt for Pancho Villa

Reflection Paper #1 due

Week 4 – History and Film

Feb 10 Readings: Rosenstone, Robert, "History in Images/History in Words: Reflections on the Possibility of Really Putting History onto Film"

Film: Segments of The U.S.-Mexican War

Week 5 – My History Not Yours

Feb 17 Readings: Padilla, Genaro M., “’It is my history, not yours I propose to tell’: History as Autobiography in Mariano G. Vallejo’s ‘Recuerdos historicos y personales tocante a la alta California’”

Reflection Paper #2 due

Film: Segments of Glory

Week 6 – The Role of Historical Film

Feb 24 Readings: Rosenstone, Robert, "The Historical Film: Looking at the Past in a Postliterate Age";

Film: Segments of The Alamo (with John Wayne)

Week 7 – The Alamo

Mar 3 Readings: Flores, Richard R., "Cinematic Images: Frontiers, Nationalism and the Mexican Question"

Reflection Paper #3 due

Film: Segments of The Civil War

Mar 10 Spring Break – No class

Week 8 – Interpreting the Civil War

Mar 17 Readings: Toplin, Robert Brent, “Preface and Introduction”; Burns, Ken, “Four O’Clock in the Morning Courage”;

Film: Segments of The Civil War

Week 9 – Interpreting the Civil War

Mar 24 Readings: Litwack, Leon, “Telling the Story: The Historian, the Filmmaker, and the Civil War”; Foner, Eric, “Ken Burns and the Romance of Reunion”;

Film: Padre Martinez Trailer

Week 10 – Case Study: Padre Martinez

Mar 31 Readings: The Dawning of Liberty: Part I (available from instructor)

Reflection Paper #4 due

Film: The U.S.-Mexican War – Army of the West

Week 11 – Interpreting the U.S.-Mexican War

Apr 7 Readings: The Dawning of Liberty: Part II (available from instructor)

Film: The Last Conquistador

Week 12 – History and Memory

Apr 14 Readings: Penn-Hilden, Patricia, “How the Border Lies”

Film: Nat Turner ~ A Troublesome Property

Week 13 – History and Memory

Apr 21 Readings: Greenberg, Kenneth S., “Name, Face, Body”

Film: Segments from John Sayles films

Week 14 – History, Film and Accuracy

Apr 28 Readings: Carnes, Mark, “A Conversation between Eric Foner and John Sayles,”

Reflection Paper #5 due

Film: Segments of Ruins

Week 15 – Contesting Authority

May 5 Readings: Anderson, Steve, “The Past in Ruins: Postmodern Politics and the Fake History Film”; Lerner, Jesse, “No Lies About Ruins”

Film: To be announced

May 6 Reading Day

Week 16

May 12 Final Paper Due

REQUIRED READINGS (in Reader)

Zinn, Howard, "Columbus, the Indians and Human Progress" pp. 1-22, in A People’s History of the United States: 1492-Present, Harper Perennial Modern Classics, 2003.

Flores, Richard R., "Preface and Introduction," pp. ix-xxi, in Remembering the Alamo: Memory, Modernity and the Master Symbol, University of Texas Press, 2002.

Rosenstone, Robert, "History in Images/History in Words: Reflections on the Possibility of Really Putting History onto Film," pp. 19-44, in Visions of the Past: The Challenge of Film to Our Idea of History, Harvard University Press, 1995.

Padilla, Genaro M., “‘It is my history, not yours I propose to tell’: History as Autobiography in Mariano G. Vallejo’s ‘Recuerdos historicos y personales tocante a la alta California’,” pp. 77-108, in My History, Not Yours: The Formation of Mexican American Autobiography, University of Wisconsin Press, 1993.

Rosenstone, Robert, "The Historical Film: Looking at the Past in a Postliterate Age," pp. 45-79, in Visions of the Past: The Challenge of Film to Our Idea of History, Harvard University Press, 1995.

Flores, Richard R., "Cinematic Images: Frontiers, Nationalism and the Mexican Question," pp. 95-129, in Remembering the Alamo: Memory, Modernity and the Master Symbol, University of Texas Press, 2002.

Toplin, Robert Brent, “Preface and Introduction,” pp. v-xxvi, in Ken Burns’ The Civil War: Historians Respond, edited by Robert Trent Toplin, Oxford University Press, 1996.

Burns, Ken, “Four O’Clock in the Morning Courage,” pp. 153-183, in Ken Burns’ The Civil War: Historians Respond, edited by Robert Trent Toplin, Oxford University Press, 1996.

Litwack, Leon F., “Telling the Story: The Historian, the Filmmaker, and the Civil War,” pp. 119-140, in Ken Burns’ The Civil War: Historians Respond, edited by Robert Trent Toplin, Oxford University Press, 1996.

Foner, Eric, “Ken Burns and the Romance of Reunion,” pp. 101-118, in Ken Burns’ The Civil War: Historians Respond, edited by Robert Trent Toplin, Oxford University Press, 1996.

Espinosa, Paul and Daniel Cutrara, The Dawning of Liberty, Film Script, 2009. [Note: this reading will be available from the instructor]

Penn-Hilden, Patricia., “How the Border Lies: Some Historical Reflections,” pp. 152-176, in Decolonial Voices: Chicana and Chicano Cultural Studies in the 21st Century, Arturo J. Aldama and Naomi H. Quinonez (Eds), Indiana University Press, 2002.

Greenberg, Kenneth S., “Name, Face, Body,” pp. 3-23, in Nat Turner: A Slave Rebellion in History and Memory, Kenneth S. Greenberg (Ed), Oxford University Press, 2003.

Carnes, Mark (ed.), “A Conversation between Eric Foner and John Sayles,” pp. 11-28, in Past Imperfect: History According to the Movies, Henry Holt and Company, 1995.

Anderson, Steve, “The Past in Ruins: Postmodern Politics and the Fake History Film,” pp. 76--87, in F is for Phony: Fake Documentary and Truth’s Undoing, Alexandra Juhasz and Jesse Lerner (Eds), University of Minnesota Press, 2006.

Lerner, Jesse, “No Lies About Ruins,” pp. 67-75, in F is for Phony: Fake Documentary and Truth’s Undoing, Alexandra Juhasz and Jesse Lerner (Eds), University of Minnesota Press, 2006.

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