American Stories

Week One:     March 29 – April
Reading (sem):      Writing Creative Nonfiction (WCN), ed. Carolyn Forche and Philip Gerard (pp. 14-33) and The Truth About Stories, Thomas King
Assignments due:      Complete writing assignment #1 on page 33 in Writing Creative Nonfiction (WCN).
One page description of your project due on Thursday.
NOTE: All writing assignments, unless otherwise indicated, are due at Tuesday’s seminar.
Lecture:              Welcome to the program
Film:                  Getting started on project/internship

Week Two:    April 5 – April 9
Reading (sem):     Lydia’s Open Door, Patty Kelly
Reading (film):     “Introduction to film studies” (handout)
Assignments due:    Read pp 38-44 in WCN and use it to analyze how Patty Kelly turns herself into a character. What does she do? And to what end?
Lecture:         Rita: Writing ethnography
Film:            “McCabe and Mrs. Miller” 1971. Directed by Robert Altman

Week Three:     April 12 – April 16
Reading (sem):     Enrique’s Journey, Sonia Nazario
Reading (film):     “The film text and film form” (handout)
Assignments due:    Read pp 50-56 in WCN and complete writing assignment #3 on page 56 in response to this week’s reading.
Lecture:         Diego: Immigration today
Film:             “The New Americans” 2008.

Week Four:     April 19 – April 23
Reading (sem):     Joy Luck Club, Amy Tan
Reading (film)        “Classic film theory and semiotics” (handout)
Assignments due:    Complete writing assignment #4 on page 100 in WCN as a way to respond to this week’s reading.
Lecture:         Trio: What is fiction and how does it change our understanding of stories?
Film:             “Joy Luck Club” 1993. Directed by Wayne Wang

Week Five:     April 26 – April 30
Reading (sem):      Sula, Toni Morrison
Reading (film):    “Feminism and film”  (handout)
Assignments due:    Write a two-page essay on the question What makes Sula an  American story?
Lecture:         TBA
Film:             “The Color Purple” 1985. Directed by Steven Spielberg

Week Six:     May 3 – May 7
Reading (sem):     On The Move, Rudy Martin
Reading (film):     “Race, ethnicity, and film” (handout)
Assignments due:    Read pp 50-56 in WCN and complete writing assignment #3 on page 56 in response to this week’s reading.
Lecture:         Rudy Martin
Film:             “Grapes of Wrath” 1940. Directed by John Ford

Week Seven:     May 10 – May 14
Reading (sem):     The Things They Carried, Tim O’Brien
Reading (film):    “Film and cultural identity” (handout)
Assignments due:    Read 57 through 66 in WCN, and complete exercise #1
Lecture:         Chico Herbison: Vietnam vets
Film:             “Born on the 4th of July” 1989. Directed by Oliver Stone

Week Eight:     May 17 – May 21
Reading (sem):     White Noise, Don DeLillo
Reading (film):     TBA
Assignments due:    Project draft due on Tuesday.
One page reflection on truth and irony in White Noise.
Bring 3 copies of project introduction for Thursday morning.
Lecture:         TBA
Film:            “I’ve Heard the Mermaid Singing” 1987. Directed by Patricia Rozema

Week Nine:     May 24 – May 28
Reading (sem):      Housekeeping, Marilynne Robinson
Reading (film):    TBA
Assignments due:      Housekeeping is a story about place, family, mobility, conformity (or lack of), and what it means to be a woman. Choose one other book                 from the year that treats one of these topics, and compare them in a two-page essay.
Lecture:         Trio: What makes a story an American story?
Film:             “Housekeeping” 1987. Directed by Bill Forsyth

Week Ten:     May 31 – June 4
Assignment due:    Final project due on Tuesday
Presentations:        We will use our scheduled time this week for project presentations.

Evaluation week: June 7 – June 11