this is the syllabus (rough!)

FRAMING THE ELECTION
FILM 248 FALL 2008
Thursdays 9:30-12:30 Avery 217/333
INSTRUCTOR: Jacqueline Goss (goss@bard.edu)
OFFICE HOURS: Wednesdays 1:30-4:30 and by appointment
Avery 324 phone: 758-7366
BLOG: http://framers2008.blogspot.com/
YOU TUBE: http://www.youtube.com/Framers2008


Objectives and Format of the Class:
This course is designed to coincide with the months immediately prior to and following the US presidential election in November. “Framing the Election” provides a structure for the course participant to capture, process, frame, and produce some aspect of presidential politics in terms of one’s own personal experience. Following the chronology of the election, we will use the first two months of the semester to consider texts (written, visual, sonic, interactive) made in response to prior US presidential elections and develop a vocabulary for describing their various ways of working. The latter part of the semester is dedicated to the production of films, videos, sound works or internet-based projects made in response to the results of this year’s presidential election. Works may reflect any political persuasion and take any form including documentary, diary, personal essay, fiction, and music.

Prerequisite: a familiarity with and access to the tools one intends to use to produce work.

Materials:
Tape Stock (miniDV, DAT, VHS), zip disks for small storage and backup, and I also strongly recommend you buy your own Firewire drive to store digital media if at all possible.

Grading:
Your grade is based on three criteria: engagement in the class (attendance, participation in critique and conversations); productivity outside of class (assignments, readings completed); and innovation (formal risk-taking, creativity, complexity of work). Each criterion is worth a maximum of three points (0-3). Nine points is equal to an A+, eight an A, seven an A-, etc.

Attendance:
Attendance is crucial. I don’t differentiate between excused and unexcused absences. If you are more than 20 minutes late to class, I will consider your tardiness an absence. Each absence reduces your grade by a point. If you miss more than three classes you will automatically fail the class.



Method:
Each class will be dedicated to examination and discussion of a particular work or genre of political writing or media production, including our own. As the semester progresses, we will consider work of all natures including reportage, analysis, testimony, bricolage, propaganda, and satire. After a series of video editing workshops, we'll budget time for de facto technical workshops as they become necessary. We will hold one public screening of our work prior to the election, and each course participant will also complete a longer, final project for the end of the semester.

Schedule:

September 1
Introductions, review syllabus, develop taxonomy for political work. look at "Spin" (Brian Springer), livingroomcandidate.org, "Decision 80" (Jim Finn)
Read selections from Mencken’s Last Campaign (HL Mencken), Insider Baseball (Joan Didion), Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail
(Hunter S Thompson)
Assignment: choose two ads to compare from livingroomcandidate.org

September 8
Nonlinear workshop I
livingroomcandidate presentations
Look at "Perfect Leader" (Maxine Almy), "Triumf" (Seth Price)
Assignment: fashion an artifact from previous presidential campaign

September 15
Nonlinear editing workshop II
Look at "Notes From The Underground" (Les LeVeque), "We Will Rock You" (EBN), "Hot Bush" (Damian Catera), "Burnt Coal" (Jason Vosu), "States of the Union" (Aaron Valdez), and “Yippees”
Assignment: make a found footage piece from State of the Union address or Convention speeches

September 22
Discuss found footage projects
Watch: "Primary" (Ricky Leacock)
Assignment: record and then edit an interview two different ways (due 10/6)

September 29
Visiting artist: Skip Blumberg, producer: "Four More Years" (tentative)
Look at on-line communities and projects: votauction.com, yesmen.org, warroomproject.org, moveon.org, blogs, radio.socialtechnology.net
Assignment: read sections from “Partly Cloudy Patriot” (Sarah Vowell)



October 6
Power of direct address, discuss cut interviews, Watch "Artist Statement "(YH Chang), "Tower of Industrial Life" (Alfred Guzzetti), "Stanley (Steve Mattheson), "It’s Not My Memory Of It" (The Speculative Archive for Historical Clarification), “No Power To Push Up the Sky” (Lana Lin)
Assignment: make a first or second person piece (any medium)

October 13
Discuss first or second person pieces
Watch "Medium Cool" (Haskell Wexler)
Assignment: propose final project

October 20
Visiting lecturer Michael Slackman: reporter New York Times (tentative)
Review proposals, discuss curated public screening on October 27
Assignment: start work on final projects
Read: "Displays of Evidence for Making Decisions" (Edward Tufte)
and bring in a chart or graph relating to election

October 27
Group curate selection of works to show in evening
discuss "Displays of Evidence", charts, graphs
Screening in evening

November 3
Discuss election results
Read “The Selling of the President" (Joe McGinniss) (due: 11/17)

November 10
Look at work in progress

November 17
Watch: "Chisholm '72: Unbought and Unbossed" (Shola Lynch) (tentative)
Discuss "The Selling of the President"

November 24 (Thanksgiving: no class)
Schedule individual meetings

December 1
Look at rough cuts

December 8 (Registration: no class)

December 15
Final projects revealed.