About Ray Carney: Course Syllabi Page 5

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MISCELLANEOUS COURSE SYLLABI, EXERCISES, AND PAPER TOPICS FROM PROF. CARNEY’S CLASSES. THIS MATERIAL REPRESENTS ONLY A TINY SAMPLE OF THE AVAILABLE COURSE HANDOUTS, BUT IS PROVIDED TO GIVE AN IDEA OF HIS INTERESTS AND APPROACHES TO FILM AND THE OTHER ARTS.

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Page 5

Prof. Carney’s Spring 2004 Courses

CAS AM 501 A1 Special Topic
Four American Masters of the Short Story
Prof. Carney
Tues. and Thurs. 12:30–2:00
Room HIS 110 – American Studies Building

Mr. Carney’s office hours (College of Communication Room 223C):
Tues. and Thurs. 12:00–12:30 P.M.
Tues. and Thurs. 5–5:45 P.M.
Tel: 353–5976

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An in–depth analysis of four masters of the short story form representing four different periods in American art and culture: Nathaniel Hawthorne (stories from 1830–1850); Henry James (stories from 1898–1910); Eudora Welty (stories from 1930–1950); and Joyce Carol Oates (stories from 1990 to the present). What can these artists tell us about our culture and ourselves?

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READING LIST:

Nathaniel Hawthorne, Tales and Sketches, Library of America (paperback)

Henry James, Complete Stories, 1898–1910, Library of America (hardback)

Eudora Welty, The Collected Stories of Eudora Welty, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich (paperback)

Joyce Carol Oates, Will You Always Love Me?, Penguin Putnam (paperback)

Joyce Carol Oates, Faithless, Harper–Collins (paperback)

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CLASS SCHEDULE

Tues. Jan. 13 Introduction: Nathaniel Hawthorne, “The Ambitious Guest”

Thurs. Jan. 15 Hawthorne, “The Ambitious Guest,” “The Hollow of the Three Hills,” “The Wives of the Dead,” “My Kinsman, Major Molineux,”

Tues. Jan. 20 Hawthorne, “Roger Malvin’s Burial,” “The Gentle Boy,” “The Canterbury Pilgrims,” “The Gray Champion”

Thurs. Jan. 22 No class but read: Hawthorne, “Young Goodman Brown,” “The Maypole of Merry–Mount,” “The Minister’s Black Veil”

Tues. Jan. 27 Hawthorne, “The Great Carbuncle,” “Peter Goldtwaite’s Treasure,” “Night Sketches,” “Chippings with a Chisel,” “The Sister Years,” “A Virtuoso’s Collection,” “The Hall of Fantasy”

Thurs. Jan. 29 Hawthorne, “The New Adam and Eve,” “The Birth–mark,” The Celestial Railroad,” “Little Daffydowndilly”

Tues. Feb. 3 Hawthorne, “The Artist of the Beautiful,” “Rappacini’s Daughter,” “Ethan Brand,” “The Great Stone Face,” “The Snow Image”
First paper due.

Thurs. Feb. 5 Henry James, “The Given Case,” “The Great Condition,” “”Paste”

Tues. Feb. 10 James, The Great Good Place,” “The Abasement of the Northmores,” “The Special Type,” “The Tone of Time”

Thurs. Feb. 12 James, “The Two Faces,” “The Story in It,”

Tues. Feb. 17 *** No class—substitute Monday schedule ***Thurs. Feb. 19 James, “The Beast in the Jungle,” “Julia Bride”

Tues. Feb. 24 James, “The Velvet Glove,” “Mora Montravers”
Second paper due.

Thurs. Feb. 26 Eudora Welty, “Lily Daw and the Three Ladies,” “Petrified Man,” “Why I Live at the P.O.”

Tues. Mar. 2 Welty, “A Curtain of Green,” “Death of a Traveling Salesman,” “A Worn Path,” “The Wide Net”

Thurs. Mar. 4 Welty, “Asphodel,” “The Winds,” “Livvie”

Mar. 6–14 *** Spring Break ***

Tues. Mar. 16 Welty, “Shower of Gold,” “June Recital,” “Moon Lake,” “The Wanderers,” The Bride of the Innisfallen”

Thurs. Mar. 18 Welty, “No Place for You, My Love,” “Ladies in Spring,” “Going to Naples”
Third paper due.

Tues. Mar. 23 Joyce Carol Oates, Will You Always Love Me? “You Petted Me, and I Followed You Home,” “Good to Know You,” “The Revenge of the Foot,” “American, Abroad”

Thurs. Mar. 25 Oates, “Life after High School,” “The Goose–Girl”

Tues. Mar. 30 Oates, “June Birthing,” “The Handclasp,” “The Undesirable Table,” “Is Laughter Contagious?”

Thurs. Apr. 1 Oates, “The Vision,” “The Missing Person”

Tues. Apr. 6 Joyce Carol Oates, Faithless. “Ugly,” “Summer Sweat,” “Gunlove”

Thurs. Apr. 8 Oates, “Au Sable,” “Lover,” “Faithless”

Tues. Apr. 13 Oates, “The Scarf,” “Secret, Silent,” “A Manhattan Romance,” “Murder–Two”

Thurs. Apr. 15 Oates, “We Were Worried About You,” “The High School Sweetheart”

Tues. Apr. 20 Oates, “Physical,” “The Stalker,” “The Vampire,” “In Cop Land,”

Thurs. Apr. 22 Comparisons and contrasts

Tues. Apr. 27 Cultural conclusions

Requirements:

1. Attendance is required and will be taken. Promptness is required.

2. Additional reading or writing assignments may be issued in a particular class. If you miss a class, you are still responsible for obtaining information about assignments and completing them. No excuses will be allowed.

3. There will be no mid–term or final exam. Two different kinds of writing assignments are required and will be collected during the course of the semester:

A) A continuing, ongoing reading journal: The journal should chronicle your reactions to every story you read this semester. The journal should be kept entirely separate from your class notes, but may reflect them and build on points brought out in class discussions. The point is to keep a diary of your developing reactions to the work of these four writers, and that will help you remember the stories after you have read others.

Bring this journal with you to every class since class activities will be based on it (including asking you to share your entries with other members of the class). Another reason to bring it to every class is that it is likely that I will ask for the journal to be turned in at several points in the semester, and will expect you to have it with you at that time. Note that when I collect it in class, no extensions to get it or add additional entries to it can be granted. The journal will be collected at the end of the semester.

It will be helpful if you employ the following format for each journal entry:
• The title of each story at the top of a new page on which its journal entry begins
• Your notes as you read the story or think about it after you have read it. Document your honest, evolving responses. And be sure to compare and contrast the story with others you are reading.
• A repeat of the title of the story at the end of your reading notes, followed by:
• A brief plot summary and list of the names of the major characters and one or two sentence description of who they are or what they do

B) Four three– to five–page papers. Paper topics will be announced approximately one week in advance of the due date. No extensions may be granted. Lateness to class when papers are due is not allowed.

4. The final evaluation will be based on your journal and papers, your comprehension of and engagement with the reading (as evaluated through class discussion and quizzes), and your attendance, promptness, and quality of class participation. Any wit, wisdom, and passion you bring to the course will be rewarded.

COM FT 554 H1 Special Topic in Film
The Films of John Cassavetes
Tues. and Thurs. 9:00–11:30 AM
Room 5 – College of Communication
Prof. Carney
Teaching Assistant: Matthew Portner

Mr. Carney’s office hours (Room 223C)
Tues. and Thurs. 12:00–12:30 P.M.
Tues. and Thurs. 5–5:45 P.M.
Tel: 353–5976
Matthew Portner’s office hours (Room 223C):

The relation of an artist’s life to his or her work is a complex one. How relevant is knowing events in the life of the artist to understanding his or her art? How relevant is knowing the artist’s opinions and beliefs to understanding his or her art? Do good artists live good lives? (Was Yeats right when he said that an artist must choose between the perfection of the life or of the work?) How much can an interview with a director tell us about the meaning of a movie? Is it possible that an outsider can understand the artist’s work better than the artist? It is inevitable?

The life and work of John Cassavetes will be used as a test case. Films to be screened will include: Shadows, Too Late Blues, A Child Is Waiting, Faces, Husbands, Minnie and Moskowitz, Mikey and Nicky, A Woman Under the Influence, The Killing of a Chinese Bookie, Opening Night, Gloria, Marvin and Tige, and Love Streams. Texts to be read will include selections from the unpublished manuscript, John Cassavetes: A Life in Art; Cassavetes on Cassavetes; the BFI monograph on the making of Shadows; and transcripts of unpublished interviews with Cassavetes and people who knew him.

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Book list:

Ray Carney, Cassavetes on Cassavetes (Faber and Faber)
Ray Carney, Shadows (British Film Institute)

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CLASS SCHEDULE

Tues. Jan. 13 The editing process: the two versions of Shadows

Thurs. Jan. 15 The editing process: the two versions of Shadows

Fri. Jan. 16 Screening: the first version of Shadows

Tues. Jan. 20 The editing process: the two versions of Shadows

Thurs. Jan. 22 Too Late Blues First paper due on the two versions of Shadows

Tues. Jan. 27 Too Late Blues

Thurs. Jan. 29 A Child is Waiting

Tues. Feb. 3 Faces

Thurs. Feb. 5 Faces

Fri. Feb. 6 Screening: Faces

Tues. Feb. 10 Husbands

Thurs. Feb. 12 Husbands

Fri. Feb. 13 Screening: Husbands

Tues. Feb. 17 *** No class—substitute Monday schedule ***

Thurs. Feb. 19 Cassavetes at work: tapes of him working with actors and talking about his work. Second paper due.

Tues. Feb. 24 Elaine May, Mikey and Nicky

Thurs. Feb. 26 Mikey and Nicky

Fri. Feb. 27 Screening: Mikey and Nicky

Tues. Mar. 2 Minnie and Moskowitz

Thurs. Mar. 4 Minnie and Moskowitz

Mar. 6–14 *** Spring Break ***

Tues. Mar. 16 A Woman Under the Influence. Third paper due.

Thurs. Mar. 18 A Woman Under the Influence

Tues. Mar. 23 A Woman Under the Influence

Thurs. Mar. 25 The editing process: the two versions of The Killing of a Chinese Bookie

Tues. Mar. 30 The editing process: the two versions of The Killing of a Chinese Bookie

Thurs. Apr. 1 The editing process: the two versions of The Killing of a Chinese Bookie

Tues. Apr. 6 Opening Night. Fourth paper due.

Thurs. Apr. 8 Opening Night

Fri. Apr. 9 Screening: Opening Night (begins at 9:30 A.M.)

Tues. Apr. 13 Gloria

Thurs. Apr. 15 Gloria

Tues. Apr. 20 Love Streams

Thurs. Apr. 22 Love Streams

Fri. Apr. 23 Screening: Love Streams (begins at 9:30 A.M.)

Tues. Apr. 27 Selections from Cassavetes’ final scripts. Fifth paper due.

Requirements:

1. Attendance is required and will be taken. Promptness is mandatory.

2. Specific reading, writing, and viewing assignments will be announced in one class to be completed by the following class. If you miss a class, you are still responsible for obtaining all assignments and completing them. No excuses will be allowed.

3. Note that additional screenings will be conducted on Friday mornings 10–12 A.M. (9:30–12:00 A.M. on April 8 and 23.) Promptness is just as mandatory as for class.

4. There will be no mid–term or final exam. Five papers will be assigned. Topics will be announced approximately one week in advance. No extensions can be granted. Lateness to class when papers are due will not be tolerated.

5. The final evaluation will be based on your papers, your comprehension of the reading (as evaluated through class discussion and quizzes), and your attendance, promptness, and quality of class participation.

COM FT 554 G1 Special Topic in Film
Rebels with Causes
Tues. 2:00–4:00 and Thurs. 2:00–5:00
Room 5 – College of Communication
Prof. Carney
Teaching Assistant: Colin Root

Mr. Carney’s office hours (Room 223C)
Tues. and Thurs. 12:00–12:30 P.M.
Tues. and Thurs. 5–5:45 P.M.
Tel: 353–5976
Colin Root’s office hours (Room 223C):

A basic list of films in the Altman-Anderson-LaBute tradition:

Neil La Bute:
Shape of Things, The (2003)
Possession (2002)
Bash: Latterday Plays (2000) (TV)
Nurse Betty (2000)
Your Friends & Neighbors (1998)
In the Company of Men (1997)
Independent's Day (1998) (TV) .
High Spirits (1986)

Paul Thomas Anderson:
Couch (2003) (TV)
Punch-Drunk Love (2002)
SNL Fanatic (2000) (TV)
Magnolia (1999)
Flagpole Special (1998) (V)
Boogie Nights (1997)
Hard Eight (1997)
Cigarettes & Coffee (1993)
Dirk Diggler Story, The (1988)

Todd Solondz:
Storytelling (2001)
Happiness (1998)
Welcome to the Dollhouse (1995)
Fear, Anxiety & Depression (1989)
Schatt's Last Shot (1985)
As Good As It Gets (1997)

Wes Anderson:
Royal Tenenbaums, The (2001)
Rushmore (1998)
Bottle Rocket (1996, 1994)

Robert Altman:
Company, The (2003)
Gosford Park (2001)
Dr. T & the Women (2000)
Cookie's Fortune (1999)
Gingerbread Man, The (1998)
" Gun" (1997/II) TV Series
... aka "Robert Altman's Gun" (1997)
Jazz '34 (1996)
... aka Robert Altman's Jazz '34 (1996)
Kansas City (1996)
Prêt-à-Porter: Ready to Wear (1994)
Short Cuts (1993)
Real McTeague, The (1993) (TV)
Black and Blue (1993) (TV)
McTeague (1992) (TV)
Player, The (1992)
Vincent & Theo (1990)
" Tanner '88" (1988) (mini) TV Series
Caine Mutiny Court-Martial, The (1988) (TV)
Aria (1987) (segment "Les Boréades")
O.C. and Stiggs (1987)
Basements (1987) (TV)
Beyond Therapy (1987)
Fool for Love (1985)
Laundromat, The (1985) (TV)
Secret Honor (1984)
Streamers (1983)
Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean (1982)
Two by South (1982) (TV)
HealtH (1982)
Rattlesnake in a Cooler (1980) (TV)
Popeye (1980)
Perfect Couple, A (1979)
Quintet (1979)
Wedding, A (1978)
Three Women (1977)
Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull's History Lesson (1976)
Nashville (1975)
California Split (1974)
... aka Jackpot! (1974/II)
Thieves Like Us (1974)
Long Goodbye, The (1973)
Images (1972/I)
McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971)
Brewster McCloud (1970)
MASH (1970)

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Course description:

The 1990s saw the emergence of four new voices in American independent film – four young filmmakers with fresh, original visions of contemporary life and of the expressive possibilities of the medium. All are still at the beginnings of their careers. We will view and discuss the work of: Todd Solondz (Storytelling, Welcome to the Dollhouse, and Happiness); Wes Anderson (Bottle Rocket, Rushmore, The Royal Tennenbaums); Neil LaBute (In the Company of Men, Your Friends and Neighbors, Nurse Betty, The Shape of Things); and Paul Thomas Anderson (Boogie Nights, Magnolia, and Punch Drunk Love). The influence of other filmmakers (particularly Robert Altman) on this group will also be explored.

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CLASS SCHEDULE

Tues. Jan. 13 Todd Solondz, Welcome to the Dollhouse

Thurs. Jan. 15 Welcome to the Dollhouse

Tues. Jan. 20 Solondz, Happiness

Thurs. Jan. 22 Happiness

Fri. Jan. 23 Robert Altman, A Wedding

Tues. Jan. 27 Solondz, Storytelling

Thurs. Jan. 29 Storytelling

Fri. Jan. 30 Altman, Three Women

Tues. Feb. 3 Wes Anderson, Rushmore
First paper due.

Thurs. Feb. 5 Rushmore

Tues. Feb. 10 Anderson, The Royal Tennenbaums

Thurs. Feb. 12 The Royal Tennenbaums

Tues. Feb. 17 *** No class—substitute Monday schedule ***

Thurs. Feb. 19 Anderson, Bottle Rocket

Fri. Feb. 20 Altman, Thieves Like Us

Tues. Feb. 24 Neil LaBute, In the Company of Men
Second paper due.

Thurs. Feb. 26 In the Company of Men

Tues. Mar. 2 LaBute, Your Friends and Neighbors

Thurs. Mar. 4 Your Friends and Neighbors

Fri. Mar. 5 Altman, Ready to Wear

Mar. 6–14 *** Spring Break ***

Tues. Mar. 16 LaBute, Nurse Betty

Thurs. Mar. 18 Nurse Betty

Fri. Mar. 19 Altman, Brewster McCloud

Tues. Mar. 23 LaBute, Possession

Thurs. Mar. 25 Possession

Fri. Mar. 26 Altman, Images

Tues. Mar. 30 LaBute, The Shape of Things

Thurs. Apr. 1 The Shape of Things

Fri. Apr. 2 Altman, Nashville

Tues. Apr. 6 Paul Thomas Anderson, Boogie Nights
Third paper due.

Thurs. Apr. 8 Boogie Nights

Tues. Apr. 13 Anderson, Magnolia

Thurs. Apr. 15 Magnolia

Fri. Apr. 16 Altman, The Player

Tues. Apr. 20 Anderson, Punch Drunk Love

Thurs. Apr. 22 Punch Drunk Love

Tues. Apr. 27 Conclusions. Fourth paper due.

Requirements:

1. Attendance is required and will be taken. Promptness is mandatory.

3. Note that additional screenings will be conducted on Friday mornings 10–12 A.M. (9:00–12:00 A.M. on March 5, April 2, and April 16.) Promptness is just as mandatory as for class.

4. There will be no mid–term or final exam. Four papers will be assigned. Topics will be announced approximately one week in advance. No extensions can be granted. Lateness to class when papers are due will not be tolerated.