Page 2 - ISLA 320 REVIEW PACKET

SYLLABUS
ISLA 320: Issues of Ethics and Morality in Hollywood Films Term: WINTER 2019 Instructor: Muara C. Johnston Office Hours: Wednesdays 3-5:30 Bldg 34 Room 224 Email: mcjohnst@calpoly.edu Phone: 805-434-8472
This course will explore the interplay of values, media, and culture from an interdisciplinary perspective. Employing resources from history, sociology, religion, and media studies, students will evaluate historical cinematic trends and how they were and are represented in historical and contemporary film. From politics to relevant ethical issues commanding the zeitgeist during different eras, students will examine Hollywood movies representing subject matter that was/is foremost in the social consciousness of the audience. While we will devote some of our time toward reading and discussing films that illustrate the societal issues from each decade, as well as, better understand the historical context of the films in a larger sense. We will apply the knowledge gained through a self-guided independent study, where critical thinking skills will be employed to create an insightful analysis and review of a contemporary movie and how it relates to current issues of morality an ethics in today’s society. Students will also work in small teams to debate in class different sides of an issue raised by the films we have watched.
Students who successfully complete this course will have developed a basic framework and critical vocabulary for understanding cinema from the historical viewpoint of ethical and moral storytelling. Course texts: There are four textbooks for this course, along with required selected readings. Reel Spirituality (Engaging Culture): Theology and Film in Dialogue, Robert K. Johnston (no relation), Film Violence: History, Ideology, Genre (Short Cuts), James Kendrick, also readings from Conversations with the Great Moviemakers of Hollywood’s Golden Age, George Stevens, Jr., and Conversations with the Great Moviemakers: The Next Generation, George Stevens, Jr., plus selected readings from both the Web and books on the subject matter. In addition, students may be asked to watch certain movies in their entirety in order to provide a full analysis. Course texts are available to purchase at the Cal Poly bookstore and additional content will be provided as downloadable PDFs or website links through the PolyLearn course site. Students are expected to read or watch all assets.
Grade breakdown:
Participation 10% Quizzes (5) 40%