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Russian/Soviet Film and History HIS 350L Prof. Joan Neuberger Tth 2-3:30 [email protected] GAR 1.134 Office

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Russian/Soviet Film and History HIS 350L Prof. Joan Neuberger Tth 2-3:30 Neuberger@Mail.Utexas.Edu GAR 1.134 Office Russian/Soviet Film and History HIS 350L Prof. Joan Neuberger TTh 2-3:30 [email protected] GAR 1.134 Office Hrs: W 1-3 GAR 2.102 During the twentieth century, Russians directed some of the greatest films ever made: popular entertainment features, avant-garde experiments, radical revolutionary agitation, comedies, melodramas, and animation. In this course we will study the ways Russian filmmakers used cinema to explore the history, culture, politics, and social issues in the Soviet Union in the 20th century. The course will combine screening of films, class discussion of issues raised in these films, and written, visual, and oral presentation of students’ ideas about the films. Goals of the course include • Learning to “read” films critically and creatively • Learning to read films as primary sources • Gaining appreciation for Russian avant-garde and entertainment films • Learning about Russian revolutionary and Soviet culture through films • Learning to write concise, articulate prose • Learning to produce a video essay on some aspect of Soviet film and history. Books to Purchase: Mark Edele, The Soviet Union: A Short History Rimgaila Salys, ed. The Russian Cinema Reader, vol 1, 1908-to the Stalin Era *Readings marked with an * will be posted on Canvas Films: • Students should watch the film assigned for each week before the class on Tuesday. You have several options for viewing: • All required films are available on DVD in the Fine Arts Library on reserve. • Some films are available to stream on Kanopy (utexas.kanopy.com), or the Mosfilm website (cinema.mosfilm.ru) or as indicated by links in the syllabus. • I’ll be screening most of the films on Monday evenings in Gar 1.102 at 5:00, if you want to watch better quality prints, on a big screen, with an audience (the time is negotiable). 1. The Province of Lost Film (Lahusen, McDonald, Nikitin, 2008) 2. Battleship Potemkin (Eisenstein, 1925) 3. Aelita: Queen of Mars (Protozanov, 1924) 4. Bed and Sofa (Room, 1927) 5. Man with a Movie Camera (Vertov, 1929) 6. Chapaev (Vasilievs, 1934) 7. Circus (Aleksandrov, 1936) 8. Ivan the Terrible Parts I (1944) and II (1946/58) 9. Ivan’s Childhood (Tarkovsky, 1962) 10. Nine Days of One Year (Romm, 1961) 11. Animation: Film-Film-Film, Man in a Frame (Fedor Khitruk), Tale of Tales (Yuri Norstein) 12. Wings (Shepitko, 1966) 13. Garage (Riazanov, 1979) 14. Urga/ Close to Eden (Mikhalkov, 1991) ASSIGNMENTS: Three kinds of assignment are used in this class. 1. Very Short Weekly response papers based on the reading and screening. Each week each student must be prepared to show the class one clip from the week’s film (no more than 30 seconds) and explain how that clip illustrates or explains a significant point about the film. The clip can be related to the story, to the historical context, to the director’s style, or to a specific cinematic technique. These are intended to help you think through at least one aspect of the week’s topic and be better prepared for discussion. Write up your comments (approx. 250 words), upload them to Canvas, but speak without the text in class. 2. Video Essay. Each student will construct a 5-10 minute video essay on a theme in Soviet film history. It will be based partly on work done in class and partly on individual research. Each student will present their video essay to the class during Finals. 3. Timeline: In order to think about the connections between history and film making, students will construct timelines using Cliovis (link on Canvas). Each week students will plot 3-4 historical events and link them to 3-4 elements of that week’s film. Additional information on assignments will be distributed and discussed in class GRADING: Participation in Discussion: 20% Very Short Weekly Assignments 30% Timeline 10% Digital Exhibit/Video Essay 40%, of which: Topic and bibliography 15pts Script for 2 minute segment 15pts 2 minute segment of final project 20pts Final Script 20pts Final Project 30pts +/- are used in this class. A 93-100, A- 90-92, B+ 88-89, B 83-87, B- 80-82, C+78-79, C 73-77, C- 70-72 D 60-69, F 0-59 FLAGS: This course has a Writing flag and an Independent Inquiry flag. More info on flags here: https://ugs.utexas.edu/flags/faculty-resources/criteria COMMUNICATION: All students are required to have functioning email addresses registered with the university. Information about the course will be posted on Canvas and I will send information via Canvas’s announcements. Availability, Questions, Concerns: Office hours are for students to drop by to discuss any aspect of the course. I have scheduled office hours once a week (Weds 1-3) but I am happy to meet with you at any other time during the week. Please feel free to schedule an appointment via email. HOW TO SUCCEED IN THIS COURSE: Participation: Join in discussion. Raise questions you had while viewing or reading, or questions that occur to you during discussion. This class will be run in seminar format and you will be graded on participation. If you are naturally shy or for any other reason feel uneasy joining the discussion, please come talk to me. Attendance: Come to every class. Students are required to attend every class meeting. Absences will be excused only for documented family or medical emergencies or specific religious holidays. If you miss more than two meetings you are required to talk to me about staying in the class. Reading and Screenings: Read and view films actively and critically. Come to class prepared to discuss that week’s reading and screening. All reading should be finished before the class day listed on the syllabus. All assignments uploaded to Canvas before class. If you find yourself falling behind, please come see me or email me; PLEASE don’t just give up and disappear. Alternatively, don’t download a paper or video from the internet. We can find ways to solve any academic problem - except plagiarism, which will be prosecuted. Read on… Academic Integrity: I take academic integrity seriously. If you have any questions about plagiarism or other issues of academic dishonesty please feel free to raise such questions with me. University policies are available at: http://deanofstudents.utexas.edu/sjs Accommodations: Students with special needs (documented by the Services for Students with Disabilities Office) should notify me immediately to set up accommodations. Electronics: Laptops may be used for note checking and note taking. I do not need to tell you how tempting it is to text, tweet, shop, and so on, so: Please don’t. Also, I do not want to see your phone. Title IX makes it clear that violence and harassment based on sex and gender are Civil Rights offenses subject to the same kinds of accountability and the same kinds of support applied to offenses against other protected categories such as race, national origin, etc. If you or someone you know has been harassed or assaulted, you can find helpful resources here: http://catalog.utexas.edu/general-information/appendices/appendix-d/ http://www.cmhc.utexas.edu/vav/index.html GUNS UT Austin is obliged to follow a law that allows the concealed carry of loaded handguns in our classrooms. Course participants with a license to carry a handgun must keep it concealed and on their person in a proper holster at all times. A gun carrier who moves further than arm’s reach away from their handgun while in the classroom is in violation of the law and policy. Therefore, handguns may not be brought to the classroom in backpacks, bags, or purses, because course participants will be called on at unpredictable times to move about the room for the purposes of group work or presentations causing them to be separated from their belongings. For more on state law and UT policy, see https://campuscarry.utexas.edu/ The law bars instructors from prohibiting guns in our classrooms but I am allowed to say that I would prefer to teach in a gun-free space. And I am allowed by law to point out that my preference is not based on a naïve belief that nothing dangerous ever happens in classrooms, but is based on reliable studies that show that carrying a gun might make people feel safer but does not, in fact, make people safer. I would prefer to teach in a gun-free space because I believe that the potential for the presence of loaded, concealed guns prevents the full practice of free expression. SCREENINGS, READINGS, DISCUSSIONS, ASSIGNMENTS * indicates reading on Canvas Week 1. Th Aug 29. Intro. Cinema & History. Films as primary sources. Individual and collective viewing In class screening: The Province of Lost Film (Lahusen, McDonald, Nikitin, 2008, 46 mins) Week 2 T Sep 3 Film Form Basics & Soviet Film Basics Battleship Potemkin (Sergei Eisenstein, 1925, 82 mins) http://cinema.mosfilm.ru/films/film/1920-1929/bronenosets-potemkin-1905-god/ Read: Edele, The Soviet Union, 1-48 *Youngblood, “Soviet Silent Cinema,” in The Russian Cinema Reader, 14-31 Write: Choose 4 major historical events for your timeline. Set up your account in Cliovis on Canvas. We’ll set up each student’s individual timeline in class. Th Sep 5 Read: *Timothy Corrigan, A Short Guide to Writing About Film, 34-77, 171-72 (1-34 optional) *Neuberger, Salys, Bordwell, “Battleship Potemkin,” in Russian Cinema Reader, 107-43 Be prepared to discuss: Basic film terminology and practices: the camera, the frame, the director, the actor, film genres, technology, politics and history. How were each of these elements or techniques shaped Battleship Potemkin? Write: choose any one film practice discussed by Corrigan, describe its uses in Potemkin (250 words).
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