Sean Cannon (Department Chair) and John Ivers (Dean),
The following is a report of what I accomplished during my three-hour leave Spring Semester 2014.
The purpose of my leave was to develop the course HIS 381—History of Film in America. This course development consisted of expanding my expertise in the field through intensive reading, developing policies, learning activities, and a framework for the class, accumulating and organizing content, and then topping it all of with a Hollywood History trip that I just returned from.
In order to improve my knowledge of the subject, I read the following books:
o Mast, Gerald & Bruce F. Kawin. Short History of the Movies, A [9th ed.]. NY: Pearson, 2006
o Sklar, Robert. Movie-Made America: A Cultural History of American Movies. NY: Vintage, 1994
o Harris, Mark. Pictures at a Revolution: Five Movies and the Birth of New Hollywood. NY: Penguin, 2009
o Cousins, Mark. Story of Film, The: A Worldwide History. NY: Thunder's Mouth Press, N/D
o Robinson, David. From Peep Show to Palace. NY: Columbia UP, 1996
o Eyman, Scott. Lion of Hollywood: The Life and Legend of Louis B. Mayer. NY: Simon & Schuster, 2005
o Chopra-Grant, Mike. Cinema and History: The Telling of Stories. NY: Wallflower, 2008
o Epstein, Edward J. Hollywood Economist, The: The Hidden Financial Reality Behind the Movies. Melville House, 2010
o McBride, Joseph. Searching for John Ford: A Life. NY: St. Martin's Press, 2001
o Dixon, Wheeler Winston & Gwendolyn Audrey Foster. Short History of Film, A. New Brunswick: Rutgers UP, 2008.
o Wallace, David. Lost Hollywood. NY: St. Martin's Press, 2002
o Rausch, Andrew J. Turning Points in Film History. NY: Citadel, 2004
o Buckland, Warren. Understand Film Studies: From Hitchcock to Tarantino. Blacklick, OH: McGraw Hill, 1998.
o Smith, Leon. Famous Hollywood Locations: Descriptions and Photographs of 382 Sites Involving 289 Films and 105 Television Series. Jefferson, NC: McFarland and Company, 1993.
o Murray, John A. Cinema Southwest: an illustrated guide to the movies and their locations. Flagstaff: Northland,2000
o Rendleman, Todd. Rule of Thumb: Ebert at the Movies. NY: Continuum, 2012
o Ebert, Roger. Great Movies, The. NY: Broadway, 2002
o Canby, Vincent and Janet Maslin. New York Times Guide to the Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made, The. NY: Random House, 1999
o Ebert, Roger, ed. Roger Ebert's Book of Film. NY: W.W. Norton, 1997
o Schickel, Richard. Steven Spielburg: A Retrospective. NY: Sterling, 2012
o Friedman, Lester D., ed. Steven Spielburg Interviews. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 2000
o Ebert, Roger. Life Itself: A Memoir. NY: Grand Central Publishing, 2011
o Thomson, David. Big Screen, The: The Story of the Movies. NY: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2012
o Sarris, Andrew. American Cinema, The: Directors and Directions, 1929-1968. Chicago: Da Capo Press, 1968
Beyond my reading,I have also created a course syllabus, which contains grading criteria, course assignments, and a tentative a calendar. I’ve also begun organization of materials: taking all of the information I’ve learned and placing it within a historical framework with learning activities, assessment tools, etc., to help students master andanalyze this content. I also developed a question-based method for preparing and assessing the students. Preparation Questions will guide the students in their class preparation and give them direction in what they will need to teach their fellow students at the start of each day’s class. Review questions will help them cement what they learned in class by explaining it to a peer. Analytical questions require them to interpret, explain, and apply the information they will have acquired.
I will probably be continuing to master and organize content up until the momentI teach the class.
Developing this class has been very rewarding so far andI believe the course, when finished, will be a blessing to students. Thanks for giving me the three-hour leave with which to make progress on it.Istill have a ways to go and will probably apply for another three-hour leave this upcoming Winter Semester to put on the finishing touches.
Thanks again,
Hyrum