CONSUMING UTOPIA: FROM WILDERNESS TO WAL-MART
Fall, Winter, 2005-2006

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CREDIT POLICY AND REQUIREMENTS

  1. Full and conscientious participation; on-time completion of all readings, writing assignments, and examinations; attendance at all program activities, including films.
  2. No late essays.
  3. No plagiarism. If you know what it is, don’t do it. Ever. If you don’t know, ask, or read about TESC plagiarism policy.
  4. An end-term portfolio (bound loose-leaf) that includes all of your work during the quarter.
    Read: "Don’t lose or throw anything away!"
  5. Signed covenant of responsibilities and obligations.

SEMINAR

Come to seminar prepared to speak, argue, and discuss program texts and relevant program themes. Prepare for seminar by reading carefully, taking notes, and bringing a one page response to the day’s reading. Do not respond to each text as a whole. Select one passage from the text that strikes you, and write a brief response to it. These responses will often serve as jumping off points for discussion. Closely and critically reading the assigned texts, and cultivating the habit of responding to narrow passages, will make our seminars effective and enjoyable. These practices will also serve you well in your research work and term paper.

FILM

This is an integral and required aspect of our program. We expect all students to come to the films on time and with a critical eye. Over the course of our two-term study, we will view a wide array of feature films and documentaries, a great number of which are considered classics of their genre. Once per term each student will be required to join a small group in which members will preview, introduce, and lead the program in small group discussions on a particular film. Additionally, all students will write a short (2-3 page) critique of their chosen film (Assignment # 9). Although it may be difficult to find critical reviews for some of the films (particularly some of the documentaries), the more information that you can find in advance of our screening, the more fruitful will be our post-film discussions. The following library and internet resources, among others, will help you in this process:
- Magill's Survey of Cinema, English Language Films (TESC Ref, PN 1993.45.M3)
- The Internet Movie Database (IMDB): http://www.imdb.com (particularly good for diverse critical reviews of most feature films)

 

FIELD TRIPS (Fall 2005)

We will take three field trips, two of which entail multiple overnight stays. Trips are required and will depart promptly from the circle in front of the CRC (Gym). Detailed itineraries forthcoming.

Field Trip I: The Columbia River. Depart 11:00 a.m., TESC on SUNDAY, Oct. 2.
Return: approx. 4:00 p.m. on Wed, Oct. 5

Field Trip II: LaPush and the Olympic National Park: Depart 9:00 a.m., TESC on Monday, Oct. 17.
Return approx. 6:00 p.m., on Thursday, Oct. 20.

Field Trip III: LeMay Auto Museum & Wal-Mart: Depart 9:00 a.m, TESC on Monday, Nov. 7.
Return approx. 4:00 p.m., same day.

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Last updated: February 2, 2006 © Robert Smurr. All Rights Reserved.