Analysis of short story

8 Outubro 2020, 14:00 • Cecília Maria Beecher Martins

Analysis and discussion of Jessica Johnson’s  short story “A Band Apart”.

Discussion of research sets and projects

7 Outubro 2020, 14:00 • Cecília Maria Beecher Martins

Discussed the 4 research sets that students can work with for their research project.

Epistemic Injustice

1 Outubro 2020, 14:00 • Cecília Maria Beecher Martins

Presentation of two of the theoretical fram

Class Presentation - recorded class

30 Setembro 2020, 14:00 • Cecília Maria Beecher Martins

General Objects and Learning Outcomes for English in the World of the Arts: C2

 

The principle objectives of this Curricular Unit are to encourage students to develop a reflective and analytical encounter with the arts (in particular cinema/TV and literature); while they consider how the arts reflect society at any given time and also propel social change. Moreover, as this is a C2 English language Curricular Unit, students will be expected to discuss and write about literature and film at a C2 level of English.

The objectives will be achieved by introducing students will be introduced to academic texts that encourage the development of reflective and analytical thought in this area. They will also be provided with the vocabulary and analytical techniques that will allow them to discuss and write about film/TV and literature in English at an academic level. The analytical texts include:

1)      British philosopher, Miranda Fricker’s, theory of epistemic injustice and her use of the arts (in particular film and literature) to demonstrate how the arts offer illustrations and exemplification of testimonial and hermeneutical injustice and thus a vehicle for social change.

2)      John McLeod’s theory on the necessity of the development of the narrative of the self in contemporary post-modern society and a discussion of how connection with the arts can enhance the capacity to develop a suitable and relevant individual narrative of self.

The analytical techniques presented include:

3)      Close reading analysis of literary texts (Barnet & Cain 2011), as well as visual images – film and TV (Corrigan, 2012) and graphic novels (Saraceni, 2003), to enhance students’ capacity to work autonomously with literary and visual formats

4)      Expansion of the ideas presented in close reading to expand the discussion to include the basic elements of prose fiction and contemplate the devices used in academic literary analysis such as: plot and character development, the narrative voice, point of view (who sees, who speaks), time and space in narrative, use of symbolism and allegory (Barnet & Cain 2011)

5)      Expansion of the ideas presented in visual literacy so that students can understand how these underlie the categories (e.g. genre, tradition, auteur) that are often used in academic film analysis techniques (Corrigan, 2012)

6)      Introducing students to reader/viewer response techniques (Barnet & Cain 2011) and free associative film (Holland, 2006) and literary criticism (Holland & Schwartz, 2008) tools so that they can perform personally reflective as well as academic analysis

Students will use these tools in their written assignments.

 

 

While students will be working on technical analysis, they will also be encouraged to reflect on the following questions:

What is art?

What makes great literature?

How come some artists and writers die in poverty but their work makes them immortal – other enjoy fame and fortune while alive, but their work is quickly forgotten?

What contemporary writers/artists will be still valued in the next century and what best-selling authors’ names will be forgotten in the next generation?

Why are some classics, not only revered in their original form, but also transposed into other art forms and/or returned to by successive generations of artists and writers?

Do the arts reflect or impulse change in society?

Are the arts changed by society?

Does the form of a work of art affect expression, i.e. can a painting, graphic novel, film, novel or biographical/journalistic writing permit a different mode of expression?

 

Office Hours (online): Mondays 9.30-10.30 by prior arrangement. Students must send an email request for a meeting by Friday morning.

Links to the Zoom room will be sent on Friday evening. If an office hours session is complete when students send a request, they will be put on the list for the following office hours session. 

 

 

Grading and Assessment

40%: Written test

30%: Continuous Assessment – class participation (10%), abstract for second written assignment (10%) and oral presentation (10%).

30%: Two written assignments

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40%: Written test – this will be based on the theoretical content presented and student’s individual reading/viewing.

30%: Continuous Assessment – class participation (10%), abstract for second written assignment (10%) and oral presentation (10%).

Throughout the semester students will carry out individual work applying the theories presented to question.

Class participation (10%): students will be expected to read and discuss the theoretical texts presented during the semester.

Abstract and overview of research 10%): students will work individually with the materials in one or more of the four research sets presented below. They will perform 2 written assignments listed below. They will submit a 200-250-word abstract on the second of these assignments where they will present their central research question and methodology. If they do not submit this abstract, they will not be allowed to submit their second written assignment.

Oral Presentation (10%):

As carrying out individual research is very rewarding, the oral presentation was conceived to give students an opportunity to present the findings of their work in an individual ten-minute oral presentation. This can concentrate on their close reading/visual literacy exercise or their final research essay. The choice is open to the student. It will be accompanied with a Powerpoint support (4-5 slides). This will include the first introductory slide. The topics mentioned below should be discussed:

1)      Why they picked the research set they did

2)      How you analysed this

3)      What you learned from the work

4)      A unique feature in the work

5)      What avenues you would follow if you continued this research

If the presentation is made over Zoom, students will be able to share their powerpoint with the rest of the class using the “share screen” option on Zoom. Students can make notes, but this is an oral presentation, so texts cannot be read.

 

30%: Two written assignments:

1) 1,000-word – close reading or visual literacy (10%)

Students can either perform a literary close reading exercise on one of the novels in the research sets presented below or a visual literacy based on scenes from the films or TV series in the research sets.

1a) If you choose close reading for the first 1,000-word assignment you must select an appropriate section (approx. 200-300 words in the original text) from a book in one of the research sets. You should select sections of the text that they feel are particularly relevant to the flow of the story or change its direct, and then chose the one you consider most relevant to do the close reading exercise on.

The literary close reading exercise should begin with the identification of the location of the text in the book and explain its context before the close reading is presented.

1b) If you choose visual literacy for the first 1,000-word assignment, you should select 2-3 film stills or a 1-2-minute excerpt from one of the films or TV shows of their research project.

The visual literacy exercise should begin by locating the still/scene in the film or TV series. If you are working with a TV series, also identify the episode. This introduction is followed by the visual literacy exercise. Students will finish their analysis referring to how the stills/scene selected informed, drive or altered the narrative flow of the film. Opening scenes and stills can be analysed as these are often fraught with detail and foreshadow plot twists.

Note: The traditional three-part narrative framework characterized as equilibrium–disruption–equilibrium (or balance–imbalance–balance) that can be traced back to Aristotle's  Poetics (c.335 bce) is the basic formula for mainstream classical Hollywood movies in which the storyline is given priority over everything else.

The Three Act Structure commonly is employed in writing for stage and screen, sometimes referred to as: exposition, complication (or conflict), and resolution or dénouement (the latter sometimes being subdivided into climax, fall, and closure) because such homeostatic structures may serve psychological functions for individuals and/or broader social functions, such as resolving tensions (Catharsis), which is why movie goes return to the cinema (or other screen).

However, most good movies have twists – otherwise they would not intrigue or captivate us the way they do. Good film makers also understand that viewers need to have some form of subconscious warning of potential unexpected twists. Therefore, the opening scenes of films, often those that precede or contain the credits offer these hints.

While movies are complete units, TV series tell an ongoing, unfolding narrative. Therefore, they often look to present the leading characters/ contexts that will carry the storyline of the season (and perhaps even determine if the series will have repeat seasons) in the opening scenes. Therefore, the opening scenes of TV series are also highly relevant, even if for different reasons.

When working with clips, include the script and sound elements as well.

 

2) 1,500-word research essay (20%)

Writing a research paper requires in-depth and concentrated reading/viewing and thinking. This work takes time and effort. I consider the first close reading/visual literacy exercise will help to give you an orientation for the research essay because it will make you think deeply about one section of the work and even if this is a short section, it is still very important because it allows you to develop an intimate and individual connect with one of the pieces, and this is a very good place to start the work. In fact, one of the main purposes of the close reading/visual literacy exercise submitted earlier in the semester is to give you practise in this type of reading and viewing.

As you will see below, a research orientation is offered for each research set. However, you can also look at other subjects as they are developed in the books/films/TV series and graphic novels.  You just need to talk to me about this so that I can help you develop your idea appropriately.

In this essay you can compare how an issue is examined in two of the objects and question why this issue is dealt with in a similar or different fashion. You can ask questions like, is the difference due to the medium the subject is presented in? or the historic context it is produced in? or the author/or the director’s perspective?  Some possible ideas are listed below:

For instance, many people, including Sally Rooney herself, have classified her novel Normal People as a Marxist novel. If you wanted to look at the book from this perspective and verify if/that the same approach is used in the TV series, you would first have to define what a Marxist novel is (you could refer to the interview with Rooney in the manual to do this), and then examine how she achieves this in the book, and then verify if the same methods are use in the TV series or not.

The social issues faced by ordinary people are also often at the center of Ken Loach’s work and I Daniel Blake is no exception. Students could, for instance compare the cinematography of Loach and Abrahamson.

Another possible angle to investigate is how TV and film allow, maybe even force issues to be pursued in different manners, for instance the principle characters in The Perks of Being a Wallflower and Peaky Blinders both explore different consequences of PTSD – how would their stories have to be changed if they switched media?

In fact, when we look at the interviews about film and TV production, we are forced to acknowledge that the work of directors, producers and script writers are totally different in each media. How does this affect the technical aspects of the final products?

You could also blend research sets, if you are interested in exploring an idea that crosses over between sets, i.e. why are we, as viewers and readers, fascinated by a morally reprehensible character like Tommy Shelby in Peaky Blinders or Mr. Rochester in Jane Eyre?

Or you could do a free associative literary and film analysis exercise to a common idea.

As your essay is quite short, you will have to limit your research question to exploring a few key sections from your book and film/TV series. So, you will have to read and watch both carefully following the orientations presented by Barnet & Cain and Corrigan or Holland.

In the research project you can work with different segments that deal with the topic you wish to explore. You do not have select contiguous sections, but you must work with a theoretical framework and more than one book or film. Moreover, in all sets, you can look at how the medium of representation (literary or visual) alters the way topics are approached.

In either case, you must prepare an abstract where you present the main idea you will pursue in your essay and also the theoretical framework you will use to do this. You will also present a brief overview of the steps you took to come to this orientation.