We had a good discussion of the potential uses of documentary film in Expository Writing on Tuesday, November 13 over the lunch hour in the Plangere Conference Room. There were seven of us in attendance. I had asked people to view Tony Silver and Henry Chalfant's "Style Wars" (circa 1983) available online:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5065949310221269915
During our discussion, the film played in the background on the Conference Room's computer projector, with the sound low (raised only to hear Ed Koch speak).
Everyone in attendance agreed that there is a place for documentary film in 101, and a film like "Style Wars" should already be linked to in the 101 link-o-mat entry for Malcolm Galdwell (also available from the New Hum website). The film would also make a good connection with Gladwell, Virginia Postrel's "Surface and Substance" and James C. Scott's "Behind the Official Story" -- or as a secondary text (or "case") in a discussion among any or all of these.
We especially thought that students reading Gladwell's piece, which is about New York City in the 80s and after, would benefit greatly from seeing the film since they really have no idea about the situation in New York in the Bernie Goetz era. Remember, our first-years were generally born in 1989 or even 1990! They just have no idea about New York in the 80s, so a film like "Style Wars" can give them more palpable experience to draw upon so that they can appreciate what Gladwell is talking about. By engaging with the graffiti "writers" of the period, the film also gives another voice (absent from Gladwell) that could even provide evidence to help students reframe the issues.
The main question seemed to be whether documentary films like "Style Wars" could ever take the place of a reading in the course. That is, should documentaries supplement readings (such as as Gladwell's) or occasionally supplant them? -- so that students might write on Gladwell for paper 1; then Gladwell and Postrel for paper 2; and then Gladwell, Postrel, and "Style Wars" for paper 3.
The consensus seemed to be that film should only serve a supplementary role in the course, but that we should begin incorporating links to available films (and other interesting media) into the link-o-mat. This may even become a necessity, as in the case of Henry Jernkins's "Convergence Culture" chapter on Harry Potter fan fiction, which we intend to use as the main selection for next year's training sequence for new instructors. Shouldn't we at least link to Harry Potter fan fiction directly referenced by the essay so that students can judge it for themselves? Wouldn't that material make a good supplementary text, especially for paper 1, where students write about only one reading?
It would also be interesting to create a video and mutli-media supplement to the text along these lines, which is one idea that Kurt and Richard have for next year. I think we would welcome suggestions for films to include.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment