Russian

3023
Winter 2014, Slot 14 (MW 3:30-4:50)
SN4078

Instructor: Alec Brookes
@ProfAlecBrookes
abrookes@mun.ca
Office Hours: MWF 9-10am, MF 12-1pm

This course surveys the history of Russian and Soviet cinema from the end of World War II until
the present. Students will be introduced to a variety of films from the popular to the avant-garde
with a strong focus on fiction features. The aim of this course is to provide students with a broad
understanding of Russian and Soviet cinema as a national cinema, and to develop our
understanding of film analysis in that context.


All movies will be screened with subtitles. Screenings occur on Wednesdays from 1-3pm in
the Arts & Administration Building, room A1046. All films will be placed on reserve at the
QE II Library for review for 2 hours. It is recommend that you watch the films with at least
one other person.

Suggested films from the Post-Soviet era will also be available on reserve at QEII.

Textbooks:

Bordwell, David, and Kristin Thompson. Film Art: an Introduction. 10th ed. New York: McGraw-
Hill, 2013. Print.
Stites, Richard. Russian Popular Culture. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1992. Print.


Textbooks are available at the Memorial University Bookstore, in room 2006 on the 2nd
floor of the University Centre.

Russian Popular Culture and Film Art (4th ed.) will be on reserve at QEII along with the
following readings available for 2 hours at a time:

Condee, Nancy. The Imperial Trace: Recent Russian Cinema. New York: Oxford University Press,
2009. Print.
Kitson, Clare. Yuri Norstein and Tale of Tales: An Animators Journey. Bloomington, IN: Indiana
University Press, 2005. Print.
Pontieri, Laura. Soviet Animation and the Thaw of the 1960s: Not Only for Children. New Barnet,
UK: John Libbey Publishing, 2012. Print. (Pending acquisition by QEII)


Date
08-Jan
15-Jan
22-Jan
29-Jan
05-Feb
12-Feb*
19-Feb
26-Feb

Screenings
Director
Cancelled
M. Chiaureli
M. Kalatozov
L. Shepitko
S. Parajanov
A. Tarkovsky

V. Menshov

05-Mar
12-Mar
19-Mar
26-Mar

Y. Norshtein
V. Pichul
N. Mikhalkov
A. Popogrebsky

Title

Fall of Berlin
Cranes are Flying
Wings
Colour of Pomegranates
Stalker

Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears
Hedgehog in the Fog
Tale of Tales
Little Vera
Burnt by the Sun
How I Ended This Summer

Year

1950
1957
1966
1968
1979

1979
1975
1979
1988
1994
2010

Readings
Author

Stites
Stites
Bordwell
Bordwell
Bordwell

Stites

Pontieri
Stites
Condee
Bordwell

TBD
Perestroika and the Peoples Taste
Nikita Mikhalkov
Editing

Chapter Title

Holy War and Cold War
Springtime for Khrushchev
Narrative Form
Mise-en-Scene
Cinematography

The Brezhnev Culture Wars

* Midterm due (5-8 pages, double-spaced, 12-pt font size) or by midnight February 14.
Assigned watching: Part II of Stalker and Part I of Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears. Both films are available in QEII and for
open-access streaming with subtitles at http://cinema.mosfilm.ru/films/film/Stalker/Stalker-1-seriya/ and
http://cinema.mosfilm.ru/films/film/Moskva-slezam-ne-verit/moskva-slezam-ne-verit/ respectively.

Evaluation:

Participation, Attendance and Engagement with the subject matter: 20%
Essay I (5-8 pages, due February 14): 20%
Essay II (10-15 pages, due March 31): 40%
Exam (Part A: Identifications; Part B: Short Essay Questions, date TBD): 20%

Both essays may be on any film or films discussed in class. If you would like to write on other
films, you must first consult with the instructor. Requirements for the essay, including guidelines
for formatting and suggested topics, will be distributed on January 29.

Thesis statements for the second essay are due March 14.

Guidelines for Grading (from the MUN Calendar)

5.8.1
Letter Grades

Numeric Grades

Points Per Credit Hour

80-100%

65-79%

55-64%

50-54%

below 50%

5.8.2 Descriptions of Letter Grades

"A" indicates excellent performance with clear evidence of:

o comprehensive knowledge of the subject matter and principles treated in the
course,
o a high degree of originality and independence of thought,
o a superior ability to organize and analyse ideas, and
o an outstanding ability to communicate.
"B" indicates good performance with evidence of:
o substantial knowledge of the subject matter,
o a moderate degree of originality and independence of thought,
o a good ability to organize and analyse ideas, and
o an ability to communicate clearly and fluently.
"C" indicates satisfactory performance with evidence of:
o an acceptable grasp of the subject matter,
o some ability to organize and analyse ideas, and

an ability to communicate adequately.

"D" indicates minimally acceptable performance with evidence of:
o rudimentary knowledge of the subject matter,
o some evidence that organizational and analytical skills have been developed, but
with significant weaknesses in some areas, and
o a significant weakness in the ability to communicate.
"F" indicates failing performance with evidence of:
o an inadequate knowledge of the subject matter,
o failure to complete required work,
o an inability to organize and analyse ideas, and
o an inability to communicate.
o

Excerpt from 5.11.4 Academic Offences
o

Plagiarism: Plagiarism is the act of presenting the ideas or works of another as

one's own. [] The properly acknowledged use of sources is an accepted and
important part of scholarship. Use of such material without acknowledgment is
contrary to accepted norms of academic behaviour. Information regarding
acceptable writing practices is available through the Writing Centre at
www.mun.ca/writingcentre/about/.

If a student is found to have committed plagiarism or any other academic offence

according to section 5.11.4 of the University Calendar, they shall receive an automatic
grade of 0 (zero).


Exam

The exam will consist of two sections: A) identifications; and B) short essay
questions.

In Part A, you will have to identify the director and title of the movie from which a
frame was taken. Name characters in the frame if applicable, and discuss the
significance of that frame to the film as a whole.

In Part B, you will be responsible for answering 2 of 3 questions providing. You will
be graded according to your ability to demonstrate knowledge of the material
covered in class over the semester. Clarity is desired but the circumstances
surrounding an exam are understood.

Essays

Essays will be marked according to clarity in writing and thought, originality of
thought, your mastery of the subject, and your ability to create a consistent and
convincing argument.

Midterm essays are to be 5-8 pages, double-spaced, and in 12pt Times New Roman,
Cambria, or some similar typeface.

Midterm essays are due February 12 in class or by e-mail to abrookes@mun.ca by
midnight February 14. Students must receive confirmation or assume that it is not
received. Students are encouraged to make sure their e-mail is in their sent mail
folder and their paper was attached. PDF format is preferred but .doc and .docx are
acceptable.

Midterm essays will be returned on February 24. The last day to drop courses
without academic prejudice is February 27.

Final essays are to be 10-15 pages, double-spaced, and in 12pt Times New Roman,
Cambria, or some similar typeface. The instructor reserves the right to request that
the student change the typeface into a more readable one. In addition, the student is
required to include a bibliography with at least two works consulted for the essays,
one book and one article. Assigned course readings do not count towards the two
required sources. The ideas or research of those sources do not need to be used in
the essay, but if they are, they must be cited appropriately.

For stylistic considerations, including the formatting of footnotes and bibliography,
please refer to the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers (7th ed.), available
at the Info Desk of QEII (Call number: LB 2369 M53 2009).