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Russian Cinema from Potemkin to Putin

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Russian Cinema from Potemkin to Putin University of Texas at Austin Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures REE 325 / CL 323: Russian Cinema from Potemkin to Putin Fall 2015 Instructor: Petre Petrov Monday, Wednesday 3.00-4.30pm Office: BUR 476 JES A303A Email: [email protected] Office hours: TBA Office tel. #: 512-232-9230 Course Description and Format The course is intended as a general introduction to the history of Russian-Soviet film. It will survey prominent cinematic texts from the early days of filmmaking in Russia to the present. In viewing and discussing these films, we will also be following the course of Russian social and cultural history. The goal, thus, is not only to acquaint you with major achievements of Russian cinema, but to use these as a gateway to mapping the broader territory of Russian culture over a turbulent century. The course fulfills the basic Russian, East European, and Eurasian studies requirement and counts toward the GS (global studies) flag requirement. It has no special prerequisites for enrollment, apart from interest in Russian cinema and culture and commitment to shaping and sharing your thoughts. Prior familiarity with Russian culture and knowledge of Russian are a plus, but by no means a must. The class meets two times per week, with lecture on Mondays and film discussion on Wednesdays. For most weeks, homework assignments combine reading (50pp, on average), viewing (two films), and writing (a short film response or review). Required Readings: • Peter Kenez, Cinema and Soviet Society: From the Revolution to the Death of Stalin. NY: I.B. Tauris, 2008. • Scanned materials available through Canvas. Recommended Readings: • Beumers, Birgit. A History of Russian Cinema. NY: Berg, 2009. • Richard Taylor and Ian Christie, Eds. The Film Factory: Russian and Soviet Cinema in Documents, 1896- 1939. Cambridge: Harvard UP, 1988. • Lawton, Anna. Kinoglasnost: Soviet Cinema in Our Time. NY: Cambridge UP, 1992. • Leyda, Jay. Kino: A History of Russian and Soviet Film. 3rd ed. Princeton: Princeton UP, 1983. • Liehm, Mira and Antonin J. The Most Important Art: Soviet and East European Film After 1945. Berkeley: U of CA P, 1977. • Tsivian, Yuri. Early Cinema in Russia and its Cultural Reception. Tr. Alan Bodger. Ed. Richard Taylor. London: Routeldge, 1994. • Woll, Josephine. Real Images: Soviet Cinema and the Thaw. London: I.B. Tauris, 2000. • Horton, Andrew and Michael Brashinsky. The Zero Hour: Glasnost and Soviet Cinema in Transition. Princeton: Princeton UP, 1992. • Faraday, George W. Revolt of the Filmmakers: The Struggle for Artistic Autonomy and the Fall of the Soviet Film Industry. University Park: Penn State UP, 2000. Course Requirements and Grading: You will be required to • Complete the assigned reading (50 pages per week, on average) • View the film assigned to the entire class for each week • View one of the four suggested film for each week from the supplementary viewing list • Submit 10 reviews of films from the supplementary viewing list • Participate actively and intelligently in class discussions • Complete the midterm examination • Write a final course paper of approx. 2,000 words The following components will determine your final grade: • Class participation: 20pts (max) • Viewing journal (10 entries): 30pts … • Midterm exam: 25pts … • Term paper: 25pts … Total = 100pts 100 – 98 = A+ 89 – 87 = B+ 79 – 77 = C+ 69 – 67 = D+ 97 – 93 = A 86 – 83 = B 76 – 73 = C 66 – 63 = D 92 – 90 = A- 82 – 80 = B- 72 – 70 = C- below 62 = F Description of Assignments: TERM PAPER: Approximately 2,000 words in length, the paper should be based on a work (or works) of Soviet cinema, although not necessarily from our viewing list. The choice of films and the formulation of the topic are up to you. My requirements are that this be a well-thought-out and researched piece of writing, evidencing a clear and engaging thesis, cleanly written, solidly structured, and persuasively argued. The paper should treat in depth at least one film from the supplementary viewing list and reference at least 3 critical sources (scholarly articles and/or books; general information sites like Wikipedia do not qualify). A PAPER PROPOSAL of about 200 words outlining your topic and summarizing your anticipated argument, is due at the beginning of Week 14. In all aspects of formatting and citation the paper should follow the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. For a useful summary of the MLA styling guidelines, visit: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/557/01/. The term paper is due by Wednesday, December 9, via electronic submission. THE MIDTERM EXAMINATION will take place on Monday, October 12, in regularly scheduled class time. It will test your knowledge of material covered during the first half of the semester. Part of the exam will be a 1,000-word review of a film from the late 1920s, written from the position of a contemporary Soviet critic. Detailed instructions for the assignment are posted on Canvas. A review sheet for the midterm examination will be posted by the end of Week 6. THE VIEWING JOURNAL is for films you will watch outside our common viewing schedule. A list, containing 4 films for each week, is posted on Canvas. By the end of the semester, your journal should contain at least 10 entries of about 250-300 words each. Initially, your entries could have a more personal and informal character. In the second part of the semester, I will ask you to give them a more polished form approximating actual film reviews. The purpose of the assignment is to give you a broader exposure to Russian cinema than what the dozen scheduled screenings can accomplish. My hope is that you will draw from them material and ideas for your final paper, as well as additional insight into our ongoing discussion. The journal entries should be posted on Canvas and on imdb.com no later than midnight on Saturday of the week for which they are assigned. Your will earn the maximum number of points (3) for each entry, as long as it is posted on time, adheres to the prescribed length and format, and displays no alarming idiosyncrasies. There will be a 1pt deduction for submissions that are up to one day late, and 2pts for any further delay. CLASS PARTICIPATION: An optimal participation record in the course amounts to the following: you come to class always on time; always show clear evidence of having read the assigned texts and thought about the films we have watched; you regularly pose questions that evidence critical thinking and intellectual curiosity; you contribute to each class discussion, and most of what you have to say enriches the understanding of the film we are analyzing or the issue at hand; you speak not just to the instructor, but to your classmates as well, engaging them in a dialogue on the issues that interest you; you are an attentive listener of others, able to endorse their valuable contributions and respectfully argue against views you find unconvincing; sensitivity to class organization, time constraints, and the need of others to also say something means that you do not monopolize the conversation nor indulge in long-winded, rambling soliloquies. Attendance You are expected to attend all classes. Missing classes jeopardizes your participation record and puts you in danger of missing important information. More than two unexcused absences will adversely affect your final grade. More than five will result in automatic failure of the course, regardless of prior standing. Excused absences, such as illness or death in the immediate family, must be documented no later than a week after your return to class. In case of absence, it is your responsibility to obtain from your classmates any information passed out during the class you missed. You are, therefore, encouraged to exchange telephone numbers and e-mail addresses with your classmates. If you are experiencing special problems in the course, do not hesitate to make an appointment with me. Canvas By enrolling in REE 325 you automatically gain access to the Canvas site for the course. Please, familiarize yourself with its main areas and contents. If you are not familiar with the interface, consult the Canvas Student Guide: https://community.canvaslms.com/docs/DOC-4121. Academic Integrity By remaining enrolled in the course, you agree to abide by the regulations concerning academic dishonesty, as outlined in Section 11-402 of the Institutional Rules on Student Services and Activities: http://catalog.utexas.edu/general-information/appendices/appendix-c/student-discipline-and-conduct/ Disability Policy If you have a disability that requires special testing accommodations or other classroom modifications, please notify both me and the University Services for Student with Disabilities (SSD): http://ddce.utexas.edu/disability/, tel. 512-471-6259, email: [email protected] CLASS SCHEDULE WEEK I (August 26): Introduction. WEEK II (August 31 – September 2): Pre-Revolutionary Russian Cinema. Readings (total: 33pp): • Peter Kenez: “Cinema before October” (CANVAS 13pp) • “1896-1921: Introduction” (FF 19-23) • Maxim Gorky: “The Lumiere Cinematograph” (FF 25-26). • Leonid Andreyev: “First Letter on Theatre” (FF 27-31); “Second Letter on Theatre” (FF 37-38) • Vladimir Mayakovsky, “Theatre, Cinema, Futurism” (FF 33-34); “The Destruction of ‘Theatre’ by Cinema” (FF 34-35); “The Relationship between Contemporary Theatre and Cinema” (FF 35-37) • [Yuri Tsivian: “Early Cinema Architecture…” (CANVAS 12-38)] Viewing: • The Dying Swan (Evgenii Bauer, 1916) WEEK III (September 7-9): The Beginnings of Soviet Cinema. The Documentary Tradition. Readings (total: 60pp) • Peter Kenez, “The Birth of the Soviet Film Industry” (26-46); “Reaching the People” (68-87) • Anatoli Lunacharsky, “The Tasks of the State Cinema in the RSFSR” (FF: 47-49); Conversations with Lenin (FF: 56-57); “Revolutionary Ideology and Cinema” (FF 109-10); “Cinema—the Greatest of the Arts” (FF 154-56).
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