Dr. K. van Noort
Office:	317 Hammond Hall
Telephone:	817-272-5529 or 3161 (Main Office)
E-mail:	vannoort@uta.edu
Hours:	Tues. 10:00 to 11:00 am; Wed. 11:00 to 12:00; and by appointment

COURSE DESCRIPTION AND GOALS

This course explores the representation and construction of gender (both masculine and feminine) in and through film. Adopting both an historical and theoretical approach, we will focus on how masculinity and femininity, in its various forms and combinations, is signified, how both the gender of the character and the spectator is implicated in the cinematic gaze, and how gender characterizations inform and reflect the larger culture/society surrounding the film. A wide variety of cinematic traditions will be discussed, and although French film will form the base of the course, other national and regional cinemas will be explored, both through the screening of full-length films and numerous excerpts of others. We will screen films by François Truffaut, Max Ophüls, Agnès Varda, Bertrand Blier, Luc Besson and others, as well as Pedro Almodovar, Doris Dörrie, Alfred Hitchcock and other filmmakers from Latin America and the United States Films will primarily be screened in class.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS

Students will give one presentation in class on a critical or theoretical article as well as write one paper (7-10 pages for undergraduates; 15-20 pages for graduates) on a topic decided upon in consultation with the professor. Graduate students will present their research to the class. Students taking the course for credit in French will write in French (exceptions granted for graduate students from other degree programs). There will be a final examination.

GRADING

In-class presentation 30%

Paper 30%

Final Exam 20%

Preparation and participation 20%

TEXTS

Glover, David and Cora Kaplan. Genders. London and New York: Routledge. 2000.

ISBN: 0-415-13492-7 (Available at UTA Bookstore)

Articles on Reserve in Central Library

PRESENTATIONS

Students will present an overview of the article they have chosen: its structure, its arguments and its conclusions, as well as a critique of the article. The critique should be based upon the article itself &endash; how well does it support its conclustion? Does the author support statements with concrete examples? What theories are used and how effectively? What aspects of the film are discussed or should be discussed? Commentary based upon personal ideological positions or anecdote is discouraged.

PAPERS

In consultation with the professor, students will formulate a topic, research relevant materials, and write a paper using MLA style (style sheet will be distributed). Topics might include: a comparison of films, study of a particular aspect of a film &endash; either one screened in class or one chosen independantly, or other pertinent topics. Graduate students will present their papers at the end of the semester.

PROGRAM:

17 January	Gender(s) in Film Introduction to Film analysis
24 January	Introduction (ix-xxvii): Genders; Model presentation Ma Vie en rose. (My Life in Pink) Alain Berliner. 1997. (Belgium)
31 January	Chap. 1: Femininity and feminism, Genders Mme de… (The Earrings of Mme de...) Max Ophüls. 1953. (France)
7 February	* Susan White. "Still Unpaid." (on Mme de…) &endash; on reserve Sans toit ni loi. (Vagabond) Agnès Varda. 1985. (France)
14 February	*Alison Smith. "Strategies of Representation in Sans toit ni loi." On reserve. *Richard Dyer. "Monroe and Sexuality." (on reserve) *Judith Mayne. The Female Audience and the Female Critic. (on reserve)
21 February	Chap. 2: Masculinities, Genders Jules et Jim. (Jules and Jim) François Truffaut. 1961. (France)
28 February	Sandy Flitterman-Lewis. "Fascination, Friendship and the 'Eternal Feminine' or the Discursive Production of (Cinematic) Desire" (on reserve) Männer (Men) Doris Dörrie. 1985. (Germany)
7 March	Ginette Vincendeau. "Gérard Depardieu: The axiom of contemporary French cinema. (on reserve) Buffet froid. (Cold Cuts). Bertrand Blier. 1979. (France)
14 March	* Laura Mulvey. "Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema." (on reserve) * Peter Lehman. "What Have We Done to Deserve This?" (on reserve)
21 March	Spring Break &endash; No class
28 March	Specularity and voyeurism * John Bertolini. "Rear Window or the Reciprocated Glance" (on reserve) Rear Window. Alfred Hitchcock. 1954. (United States)
4 April	* Carol Mason. "Rear Window's Lisa Freemont: Masochistic Female Spectator or Post-War Socioeconomic Threat?" (on reserve) Monsieur Hire Patrice Leconte. 1989. (France)
11 April	*Paul J. Smith. "Gender, Space, Representation" (on reserve) Qué he hecho yo para merecer esto?!!! (What Have I Done to Deserve All This?) Pedro Almodovar. 1984. (Spain)
18 April	Chap. 3: Queering the pitch, Genders * Frank Tomasulo. "Masculine/Feminine: The 'New Masculinity' in Tootsie." (on reserve) The Crying Game. Neil Jordan. 1992. (United Kingdom)
25 April	* Sarah Edge. "Women are trouble, did you know that Fergus?" (on reserve) La Femme Nikita. Luc Besson. 1991. (France)
2 May	Art. on Femme Nikita Presentations - GRADUATE STUDENTS
9 MAY	FINAL EXAM