WST 2611:
Humanities Perspectives on
Gender and Sexuality
Spring 2013 - Section 02E2/16H3

with Dr. Picart

Home Description Syllabus Course Materials Requirements Policies

 

 

Download syllabus here: WST 2611 SYL - Picartv10.pdf

Syllabus (Subject to change)

SECTION I

SECTION II (A,B,C)

SECTION III

SECTION IV

SECTION V (A & B)

ASSIGNMENTS / GRADING

 

SECTION I: Monsters, Authors, Culture, Power (1 Week)

 

Monday, January 7, Classes Start

Introduction to class and Policies (Part I)

Slides of Goya’s paintings on monsters and Artemisia Gentileschi’s paintings on women

 

Wednesday, January 9

Introduction to class and Policies (Part II)

Mini-Workshop:  Guidelines Regarding Writing Take Home Essays

Practice Exercises Using Film Clips

 

Friday, January 11

Noel Carroll, “Nightmare and the Horror Film:  The Symbolic Biology of Fantastic Beings” in Picart and Browning, Speaking of Monsters, pp. 23-28 (Available via Sakai and Ares and as a hard copy book on reserve via UF Library)

 

 

SECTION II:    Teratologies of Gender and Sexuality

A.  The Frankensteinian Myth in Literature and Film (4 weeks)

 

Monday, January 14:  Monstrosity and Female Authorship

Mary Shelley, Frankenstein, first quarter of the book

 

Wednesday, January 16:  Visualizing the Monstrous:  Romanticism and Feminism

Mary Shelley, Frankenstein, second quarter of the book

 

Friday, January 18

Mary Shelley, Frankenstein, third quarter of the book

List of Recitation Groups and the Schedule for Being on Call is Released

 

 

Monday, January 21 - No Class – MLK Day

 

 

Wednesday, January 23

Graded Recitations Begin

Mary Shelley, Frankenstein, final quarter of the book

Assignment:  Watch either Frankenstein (1931) or Bride of Frankenstein (1935)

 

Friday, January 25

Lecture:  Introduction to Film Technique and the Vocabulary of Film Language (Lecture with Clips)

 

Monday, January 28

Writing Response Reading Paper (WRRP) #1, on Section I readings and lecture, due at the start of class – 100 points (choose 2 out of the 3 WRRP due dates)

Lecture:  A Psychoanalytic Reading of the Film:  Shadow Figures and Cultural Anxieties

 

Wednesday, January 30

Graded Recitations Continue

Monstrosity, Gender, Sexuality and Class in Frankenstein (1931) and Bride of Frankenstein (1935)

 

Friday, February 1

Monstrosity, Gender, Sexuality and Class in Frankenstein (1931) and Bride of Frankenstein (1935)

Assignment:  Watch Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (1994)

 

Monday, February 4

Monstrosity, Gender, Sexuality and Class in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (1994)

 

 

SECTION II:    Teratologies of Gender and Sexuality

B. The Monstrous Feminine and The Evolving Vampire Myth (2 weeks)

 

Wednesday, February 6:  The Monstrous Feminine and the Evolving Vampire Myth

Anne Rice, Queen of the Damned, first third of the book

 

Friday, February 8:  The Monstrous Feminine and the Evolving Vampire Myth

WRRP #2 on Section IIA  Due – 100 points (choose 2 out of the 3 WRRP due dates)

Anne Rice, Queen of the Damned, second third of the book

 

Monday, February 11:  The Monstrous Feminine and the Evolving Vampire Myth

Anne Rice, Queen of the Damned, last third of the book

Assignment:  Watch Queen of the Damned (2002)

 

Wednesday, February 13

Discussion of clips of Queen of the Damned compared with the novel

 

 

SECTION II:    Teratologies of Gender and Sexuality

C. Serial Killing in Film and Literature (2 weeks)

 

Friday, February 15:  The Vampire Myth and the Male Serial Killer

Thomas Harris, Hannibal (first third of the novel)

 

Monday, February 18:  The Vampire Myth and the Male Serial Killer

Thomas Harris, Hannibal (second third of the novel)

 

Wednesday, February 20

Thomas Harris, Hannibal (final third of the novel)

Assignment:  Watch either Silence of the Lambs (1991) or Hannibal (2001)

 

Friday, February 22:  Gender, Sexuality and the Serial Killer

Discussion of clips from Silence of the Lambs (1991) and Hannibal (2001) compared with the novel

 

Monday, February 25
Discussion of clips from Silence of the Lambs (1991) and Hannibal (2001) compared with the novel

Assignment: Watch Monster (2003) [the docudramatic rendition of Aileen Wuornos’ life]

 

Wednesday, February 27

In-class Quiz 1 based on Section IIB: 150 points

Discussion of Monster in relation to the Vampire and Frankensteinian Monster Cinemyths

 

 

MARCH 2-9:  SPRING BREAK

 

 

Monday, March 11

Take Home Essay #1 about Sections I and II: Questions to be released and Criteria for Grading to be Discussed in Class

 

Wednesday, March 13

Writing/Grammar Day in relation to Take Home Essay 1:  Consult with the Teaching Center:  www.teachingcenter.ufl.edu

 

Friday, March 15

Assignment: Take-Home Essay #1 Due --150 points

Final Discussion of Monster in relation to the Vampire and Frankensteinian Monster Cinemyths

 

 

SECTION III: Marginalization and Monstrosity: Gender, Race, Crime (1 week)

 

Monday, March 18

Documentary TV Show:  American Justice, The Atlanta Child Murders (2000/2001) [50 minutes]

 

Wednesday, March 20

Documentary TV Show:  Mark Mori, dir., The Atlanta Child Murders as Seen on Court TV (2010) [48 minutes]

 

Friday, March 22

Discussion of the documentaries

Picart, “Race and Serial Killing in the Media:  The Case of Wayne Williams” in Picart and Browning, Speaking of Monsters,” pp. 161-172  (Available via Sakai and Ares as well as a hard copy on reserve via UF Library)

 

 

SECTION IV: Bodies, Dance, Performance (2.5 weeks)

 

Monday, March 25

In-class Quiz 2 about Section III, inclusive of the two documentaries on the Atlanta Child Murders: 100 points

Lecture on Gender, Race, Sexuality and Dance (Part I)

Excerpts from Fuller’s Serpentine Dance, Baker’s Choreographic Improvisations, Balanchine’s Ballets, Graham’s Modern Dance and Dunham’s Black Ballets

 

Wednesday, March 27

Lecture on Gender, Race, Sexuality and Dance (Part II)

Excerpts from Fuller’s Serpentine Dance, Baker’s Choreographic Improvisations, Balanchine’s Ballets, Graham’s Modern Dance and Dunham’s Black Ballets

 

Friday, March 29

Julie Taylor, Paper Tangos (first third of the book)

Film excerpts from Tango (1998)

 

Monday, April 1

Julie Taylor, Paper Tangos (second third of the book)

Film excerpts from The Tango Lesson (1997)

 

Wednesday, April 3

Julie Taylor, Paper Tangos (last third of the book)

Assignment:  Watch Take the Lead (2006)

 

Friday, April 5

Excerpts from Mad, Hot Ballroom (Documentary) (2005)  and Take the Lead (2006)

Picart, “Beyond Dancing with the Stars:  Sexual Sports Rhetoric in Competitive Ballroom Dance,” in Linda K. Fuller, ed., Sexual Sports Rhetoric:  Global and Universal Contexts, pp. 57-68  (Available via Sakai)

Assignment:  Watch Dirty Dancing (1987) or Shall We Dance (1997)

 

Monday, April 8

Excerpts from Dirty Dancing and Shall We Dance

Picart, “Ballroom Dance in the Movies,” especially the section on Dirty Dancing (1987) and Shall We Dance (1997) in Picart, From Ballroom to DanceSport:  Aesthetics, Athletics and Body Culture, pp. 39-67 (Available via Sakai)

Assignment:  Watch Young Frankenstein (1974)

 

 

SECTION V: Destabilizing Stereotypes (2.5 weeks)

A.  Hybridity and Humor

 

Wednesday, April 10

WRP # 3 About Sections III and IV Due– 100 points (choose 2 out of the 3 WRP due dates)

Take Home Exam #2 Questions about Section IV Released in Class and Discussed

Lecture on Humor, Hybridity and excerpts from Young Frankenstein

Assignment:  Watch Pan’s Labyrinth (2006)

 

 

SECTION V:   Destabilizing Stereotypes

B.  Genre, Gender, Race, Sexuality in Science Fiction and Fantasy

 

Friday, April 12

Excerpts from:  Pan’s Labyrinth

Optional Text:  Dominick LaCapra, “Reopening the Question of the Human and the Animal,” (extract) in Picart and Browning, Speaking of Monsters,” pp. 267-270  (Part I) (E-Book via UF Library)

 

Monday, April 15

Assignment: Take-Home Essay #2 about Section IV Due -- 150 points

Excerpts from:  Pan’s Labyrinth

Picart, Browning and Thomas, “Where Reality and Fantasy Meet and Bifurcate:  Holocaust Themes in Pan’s Labyrinth (2006), X-Men (2000) and V (1983)” in Picart and Browning, Speaking of Monsters,” pp. 271-290  (Part I) (Available via Sakai and Ares and a hard copy on reserve via UF Library) (Part I)

Assignment:  Watch X-Men:  The Last Stand (2006)

 

Wednesday, April 17

Excerpts from:  X-Men Trilogy and discussion in relation to Picart, Browning and Thomas Essay (Parts I and II)

 

Friday, April 19

General Overview of the Course

Last Graded Recitation Day

 

Monday, April 22

Review Session in Relation to Testing on Section V

 

Wednesday, April 24:  Last Day of Class

In-class Quiz 3 about Section V: 150 points

 

No Final Exam

 

 

Assignments and Grading

Grading for this course will be rigorous. Form, as well as content, are both important.  I advise you to take advantage of the services available at the Reading and Writing Center, as you need to.  See:  www.teachingcenter.ufl.edu/rwcenter or call:  352-846-1138.

 

1. Two Writing Response Reading Papers [WRRPs] (2 pages each): 2 @ 10% each = 20% [1200 words]*
2. Three In-class, non-cumulative, closed book quizzes:  3 @ 10%-15% each = 40%
3. Two Take-Home Essays that will require close analytical reading of texts and/or comparison/contrast of one text and one film taken in class as well as one new or supplementary text or film (2-3 pages each): 2 X 15% = 30%
4. Participation Points: 10%

*You will have a choice of three due dates for the two WRPs you will write this semester Choose the two dates that work best for your schedule.

 

 

Note: For those doing the course for 6000 word Gordon Rule requirement, a final paper of 4,000 words, with the same formats as the Take Home Essays, will be due on the last day of class. This is done purely to maintain your grade and fulfill the necessary word count. It will be graded on a “pass”-“fail” basis. “Pass” means you maintain your grade; “fail” means your grade goes one half-level down (e.g., from a “B” to a “B-.” Note that plagiarism will result in disciplinary proceedings to be initiated by the university against you.

 

Grade Equivalencies (Including Final Grade):

 

 

Work Expectations:

The number of pages you will need to read will vary to some extent, depending on the difficulty of the materials and the activities going on in class.  In order to avoid feeling stressed around the end of the semester, a good general strategy is to look about a week ahead in terms of assignments and to spend two to three hours studying—reading, taking notes, visiting the Reading and Writing Center as necessary—for each hour spent in class.  Perfunctory or rushed reading or mechanical borrowing/copying of someone else’s notes are no substitute for sustained and thoughtful independent work. You are responsible for catching up with whatever you miss.  The grading scale for this class reflects these expectations.

 

Writing Response Reading Papers: Two (2 pages each) papers @ 100 points each = 200 points

This assignment tests your ability to summarize a primary text effectively and helps you to make inter-textual connections to a text you yourself will propose a connection to outside of class, based on credible reasoning.   These must be both submitted via the dropbox (posted before the class starts, for full credit) and in hard copy on the due date.

 

Grading Scale for Writing Response Reading Papers (WRRPs):

In order to receive any grade higher than 40 points on a 100 point scale, the student must meet the word limits set, which is between 250 to 500 words. At the top of the post, kindly indicate the word count. To check your word count, in MSWORD use "Tools" -> "Word Count" and look at the number after 'words.'

 

93-100 points

The student shows detailed comprehension of the question and the material and provides a very clear argumentation. Proper English grammar and spelling are essential for this grade.

 

87-92 points
The student shows detailed comprehension of the question and the material and provides for the most part a very clear argumentation. Proper English grammar and spelling are essential.

 

80-86 points

The student shows detailed comprehension of the question and the material and provides a good argumentation. Very few spelling or grammar errors may occur.

 

73-79 points

The student shows average comprehension of the question and the material. There are either minor argumentation or spelling or grammar errors in the writing.

 

67-72 points

The student shows either problems with the comprehension of the question and/or the material and at times lacks adequate argumentation. Spelling/grammar errors may also be frequently present.

 

60-66 points

The student shows problems with the comprehension of the question and the material and lacks proper argumentation. Spelling and grammar errors are frequently present. There may also be a large amount of wordiness.

 

00-59 points

The student meets any of the following criteria:

• word count too low (compare the required word count set by your instructor(s)).
• not answering the question provided (i.e. writing about everything else, but the question asked).
• student has no grasp of the material.
• excessive spelling and grammar errors, including--but not limited to--frequent incomplete sentences. You have access to a free teaching center on campus if you need help in improving your command of writing skills in English.
• Student is caught plagiarizing: automatic 00 for that assignment. Further consequences may follow!
  (I will run random checks using Turnitin.)
• 00 points for not turning in an assignment on time.

 

Reading/Comprehension In-Class Quizzes: 3 @ 100-150 points each = 400 points

It is imperative that you keep pace with the assigned reading so that you can participate meaningfully in class discussions and achieve the maximum benefits from this course.  To evaluate how efficiently you are keeping up with the reading schedule, and taking effective notes, you will take TWO reading/comprehension quizzes throughout the semester to demonstrate that you are adequately reading, paying attention in class, understanding and interpreting the texts.  Each in-class reading quiz is non-cumulative and requires you identify prompts from reading/viewing assignments as well as answer multiple choice questions and possible very short essay questions. These quizzes are more objective and fact-based.

 

Take-Home Essays: Two (2 – 3 pages each) @ 150 points each  = 300 points

You will have a choice of two essay questions for each Take Home Essay, and you will have to respond to one question. This question will require you to either closely analyze one text or compare and contrast two texts in relation to an aspect of gender, sexuality, race or class.  Details will be given as particular requirements become due.   These must be submitted online via the Sakai dropbox (before the class starts on the due date) and in class via a printed hard copy, which will be collected before the class starts.

 

Note: Your Take Home Essay grade will be based on the following criteria. Each category will be compiled of whole points, no partial points will be given. All of these criteria are proportionally weighted and are each worth between 20-40 points each.

 

1. Spelling Mechanics / Structural Detail (30 points): These essays are to consist of 3-4 pages, typewritten in a standard format (APA Style), double-spaced, with 11 point font and 1 inch margins. You must confer film credits (http://www.imbd.com) and spell the characters' and actors' names correctly, when you use a film; similarly, you should be just as conscientious when you cite to other types of texts. Your essay must have a clear thesis, which is to be followed by a series of arguments that support your thesis, using specific examples from the film and readings.
   
   APA Format:  http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/18/

2. Examples of Humanities and Women’s Studies Theory (40 points) (quality and quantity): The essay must make reference to and apply ideas found in at least one required text listed above, one movie we have used in class, one movie that we have not used in class or one supplementary text.  You must illustrate the interrelations of class, race, gender and sexuality using these Humanities-related texts. One practical approach to the paper might be to read the texts and sum up their main points. Once you have command of the ideas presented in the texts, watch the film. In this way, you will have a theoretical basis/perspective before viewing the film and will be more aware of certain interpretations and questions that can be raised while you watch the film.

3. Examples of Literary or Film or Dance Form (40 points) (quality and quantity): Explain fully in detail how textual and film content (story and plot) and textual/film form (mode of narration/genre conventions) inform your thesis. You should ask, for example, what is the thematic material or ideology of class, race, gender or sexuality in the selected text/film and how does the form of the text/film interact with, or enunciate, this theme or ideology? How does the author or filmmaker or choreographer attempt to express ideas and elicit emotional responses from spectators, using genre conventions? In what ways does the text/film/dance you have chosen to write about "address" an implied spectator by reference to codes of class, race, gender or sexuality through text/film/dance form (e.g., frame tale structure, subjectivity, point of view editing, close-up, angle, lighting, reaction shots, lines, flow of movements). Be sure to take abbreviated notes while watching the films, especially if they are shown in class because they are not commercially readily available, for later reference.

4. Synthesis of Women’s Studies and Sexuality Theory and Humanities-Related Textual Form (20 points): Evaluates the overall synthesis of ideas derived from the theories presented in the course readings and their relationship to the formal structuring of the selected text or film, with an eye to genre conventions.  How cohesively and persuasively do the arguments come together?

5. Quality and Creativity of Thesis and Arguments (20 points): Be specific in your arguments and try to avoid obvious or far-reaching statements. Creativity is assessed by your ability to often put unrelated ideas into a single conceptual framework and back these up with adequate and compelling proof.

Note: Subject to contingencies, one film, discussed in class, with one new film, are required. So are 2 textual sources: one from within class, and one that is new. These should be specified, on the front cover sheet, in APA bibliographic form, with the required texts and films being distinct from the new or supplementary texts and films. An abstract of at most 100 words is also required, as is an effective title. Failure to comply with any of the formal requirements stated above (including font size and margin spaces) results in a two point deduction, per infraction.

 

Participation 100 points

In general, you maintain your participation points by consistently contributing to class discussions meaningfully, practicing active listening (taking notes, paying attention, and staying engaged in class), not talking out of turn, and respecting the opinions of your classmates. Quality, and not simply quantity, matters; however, there is a certain minimum of quantity that must be met, especially during assigned recitation dates.

 

You will be assigned groups and particular days in which specific groups are in charge of being the “experts” on the assigned topic for that day.  Being unprepared when you are called on will be noted and taken into consideration during the overall evaluation of your grade.

 

Informed and reflective voluntary participation is welcomed even on days when you are not on call, but those on call are the ones who will be called on first.

 

You lose participation points by talking among each other, independent of class discussions, showing inattentiveness through any of the following: sleeping in class, texting, surfing the web, not paying attention, and not keeping up with the reading. I expect professional behavior in class.

 

Grading Scale for Participation Points:

In order to receive any grade higher than 40 points on a 100 point scale, the student must be in class especially when he or she is on call.  The schedule of groups and when these groups are on call will be released by the end of week 2, when the add-drop period has passed.

 

93-100 points

The student shows detailed comprehension of the question and the material and provides a very clear argumentation. The student is prepared for discussion and gives concise and pointed replies to questions posed, showing superior listening skills as well as skills of communication.  As a plus, the student volunteers, when the assigned group is unable to answer questions.

 

87-92 points
The student shows detailed comprehension of the question and the material and provides for the most part a very clear argumentation. The student can get to the essential points with some guidance.

 

80-86 points

The student shows detailed comprehension of the question and the material and provides a good argumentation. The student requires some elicitation to get to the essential points.

 

73-79 points

The student shows average comprehension of the question and the material. No major errors occur but the quality of the answers does not reveal either preparation or forethought.

 

67-72 points

The student shows either problems with the comprehension of the question and/or the material and at times lacks adequate argumentation. Some minor errors in comprehension are easily evident but the student generally gets the main points of the assigned text.

 

60-66 points

The student shows problems with the comprehension of the question and the material and lacks proper argumentation. The student appears to be vaguely expressing an opinion without sufficient justification.

 

00-59 points

The student meets any of the following criteria:

• Being unable to answer basic questions about the assigned material
• Not answering the question provided (i.e. talking about everything else, but the question asked).
• Student has no grasp of the material.
• Student is unable to create complete and coherent sentences in response to questions; student shows severe oral communication difficulty, revealing no or very little comprehension of the assigned materials.
• Student is caught using technology or other means to get answers from other students [texting; facebooking; emailing; passing notes during class]; or conversely, being so distracted by the inappropriate use of technology in class that the student is unable to answer a basic question.
• 00 points for not being in present in class, when the student is assigned to be on call.

 

 

 

© Caroline Joan S. Picart
All rights reserved on textual content.