1. ENGL 4860: Special Topics in Film Studies The Gangster Film Spring 2011 Room: PH 322 Day/Time: Monday, 430-730 pm Gangster Film

2. Dr. David Lavery Office: PH 372 | Office Hours: M 300-420; W 200-400 | E-mail: david.lavery@gmail.com | Office Phone/Voice-Mail: 615 898-5648; Home Page: http://davidlavery.net david.lavery@gmail.comhttp://davidlavery.net Dr. David Lavery is Professor of English at MTSU (1993- ). The author of over one hundred and twenty published essays, chapters, and reviews, he is author / co-author / editor / co-editor of twenty three books, including the forthcoming textbook Television Art (Blackwell), a Sopranos trilogy: This Thing of Ours: Investigating The Sopranos (Columbia U P, 2002); Reading The Sopranos (I. B. Tauris, 2006); The Essential Sopranos Reader (U P Kentucky, 2011), and books on Cult Television, Lost (2), Twin Peaks, X- Files, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Teleparody, Seinfeld, Deadwood, My So-Called Life, Gilmore Girls, Heroes, Battlestar Galactica, Supernatural, TV Finales, and Crying. The organizer of international conferences on the Whedonverses, Lost, and The Sopranos, a founding co-editor of the journals Slayage: The Online International Journal of the Whedon Studies Association and Critical Studies in Television, he has lectured around the world on the subject of television (Australia, Turkey, the UK, Portugal, New Zealand, Ireland, Germany) and has been a guest/source for the BBC, NPR, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, The New York Times, A Folha de Sao Paulo (Brazil), Publica (Portugal), AP, The Toronto Star, USA Today. From 2006-2008, he taught at Brunel University in London. Gangster Film

3. Texts A Resource CD (provided by me) GFR

4. Gangster Film Course Policies and Procedures Class format: We will follow a lecture / discussion format during most class meetings. A substantial portion of class time will be spent screening and discussing the gangster films/television in question. Manuscript form: All written assignments must be word-processed and submitted as Microsoft Word or Rich Text e-mail attachments sent to david.lavery@gmail.com. Please name the file with your own last name (for example: lavery.doc.) Essay Evaluation: I will evaluate your essayusing a grading scale which can be found here. Reading assignments: You are responsible for having read the entirety of each week's assignments See the agenda. Participation & involvement: Please come prepared for each day’s class. I encourage you to become an active participant in class discussion and to ask constructive and meaningful questions at all times. Attendance: Regular attendance is essential to the ongoing progress of the course. Two absences will be permitted. A third absence may result in the loss of a letter grade. A fourth absence may result in failure of the course. Inclement Weather Policy: Go here.david.lavery@gmail.comusing a grading scale which can be found hereGo here

5. Gangster Film Course Policies and Procedures Plagiarism / Cheating: The unacknowledged use of the words / ideas / insights / original research of another is, of course, prohibited. Should I catch you plagiarizing, or cheating in any way, you will receive a grade of "0" on the assignment in question, the violation may be reported to University authorities, and you may fail the course. Students with Disabilities: Any student with a disability will be given all the rights and privileges guaranteed under the Americans with Disabilities Act if he/she is registered with Disabled Student Services (call/contact John Harris, KUC 120/2783). University Writing Center: At The University Writing Center (now located in the Walker Library), sponsored by the English Department and staffed by full-time and adjunct faculty and graduate teaching assistants, you can get constructive help with a variety of writing problems, from pre-writing to organization to grammatical errors. (Please be aware, however, that the UWC does not do proofreading.) Grading Scale: 90- 99%=A | 80-89%=B | 70-79%=C | 60-69%=D | 0-59%=FDisabled Student ServicesThe University Writing Center

6. Gangster Film Course Requirements Critical Essay. A critical essay of at least 1500 words interpreting/analyzing one of the films or two or more considered together. This essay must be solely the product of your mind and imagination.—30% of course grade. Source Paper. A critical essay of at least 1500 words on some aspect of the gangster genre which makes use of at least ten sources [sources may include course readings in the GFR and RCD and no more than three purely internet pages].—30% of course grade. Final Examination [two parts]: Part I: A take-home essay exam, consisting of a menu of topics, from which you will select two. These topics will all be "leading questions," intended to inspire your own comprehensive synthesis of course ideas, questions, problems.—20% of grade. Part II: An in-class cognitive-memory test, consisting of a variety of primarily matching questions (on films, filmmakers, characters, terms). It will be a piece of cake for anyone who has been present and attentive in class throughout the semester.—20% of grade.

7. Gangster Film Agenda 1/24/11 | Meeting 1 Introduction to the Course Little CaesarLittle Caesar (Mervyn LeRoy, 1930; 79m)

8. Gangster Film Agenda 1/31/11 | Meeting 2 Public EnemyPublic Enemy (William Wellman, 1931; 83m)

9. Gangster Film Agenda 2/7/11 | Meeting 3 ScarfaceScarface (Howard Hawks, 1932; 83m)

10. Gangster Film Agenda 2/14/11 | Meeting 4 The GodfatherThe Godfather (Francis Ford Coppola, 1972; 175m)

11. Gangster Film Agenda 2/21/11 | Meeting 5 The Godfather II The Godfather II (Francis Ford Coppola, 1974; 200m)

12. Gangster Film Agenda 2/28/11 | Meeting 6 The Long Good FridayThe Long Good Friday (John Mackenzie, 1981; 114) Spring Break, March 7-13

13. Gangster Film Agenda 3/14/11 | Meeting 7 Miller’s CrossingMiller’s Crossing (Joel and Ethan Coen, 1990; 115m)

14. Gangster Film Agenda 3/21/11 | Meeting 8 GoodFellasGoodFellas (Martin Scorsese, 1990; 148m) Either Critical Essay or Source Paper Due by this Date

15. Gangster Film Agenda 3/28/11 | Meeting 9 Reservoir DogsReservoir Dogs (Quentin Tarantino, 1992; 99m) or Bound (The Wachowski Brothers, 1996; 109m) or Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (Jim Jarmusch, 1999; 119m) Bound Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai

16. Gangster Film Agenda 4/4/11 | Meeting 10 The SopranosThe Sopranos (1999- 2007) Episodes: "The Pilot" (1.1); “College" (1.5)

17. Gangster Film Agenda 4/11/11 | Meeting 11 The SopranosThe Sopranos (1999- 2007) Episodes: "Funhouse" (2.13); "Pine Barrens" (3.11)

18. Gangster Film Agenda 4/18/11 | Meeting 12 The SopranosThe Sopranos (1999- 2007) Episodes: "Whoever Did This" (4.9); "The Test Dream" (5.11)

19. Gangster Film Agenda 4/25/11 | Meeting 13 The SopranosThe Sopranos (1999-2007) Episodes: “Mayham" (6.3); "Made in America" (6.21) Either Critical Essay or Source Paper Due by This Date

20. Gangster Film Agenda 5/2/11 | Meeting 14 Final Exam Part II in Class; Final Exam Part I due by the end of the day, May 4