Tuesday, October 26, 2010

For Thursday (October 28) and more

For Thursday, read the first 3 chapters of Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights.

Also, take a look at the final Law and Order assignment.

And, because I mentioned it in class - - here's a sample of the very cool whiteboarding that the Royal Society of Arts has been producing and distributing:


Monday, October 25, 2010

For Tuesday (October 26)

Read the Fiske chapter on "Character Reading"(see below). Also, be sure to finish analyzing your second Law and Order episode.




Tuesday, October 19, 2010

For Thursday (10/21)




First, make sure that you've finished up your Proppian analysis of your second Law and Order episode. You'll collaborate on the wiki page, e.g. you and your comrades should work together via the wiki page to elaborate the episode's sequence of narrative functions, dramatis personnae, oppositions, and plot summary.

Second, read both the Saussure piece and Daniel Chandler's Semiotics for Beginners.  We'll discuss these two pieces in class.

Monday, October 18, 2010

For Tuesday (October 18)






By now you should have completed the following for at least one episode of Law and Order: on the wiki page for that episode, you and your comrades should have created a plot summary, a quick outline of dramatis personnae and oppositions, and a "Proppian" sequence of narrative functions. Your page should be organized with the sequence of narrative functions at the top, separated by a horizontal line from the section on dramatis personnae and oppositions, separated by a horizontal line from the plot summary.

(It might also be helpful to insert a table of contents into your wiki page. To do this: first, highlight each section heading (narrative sequence, dramatis personnae/oppositions, plot summery) and under the "Format" menu click on "Heading." This will turn each section title into a heading. Next, go to the "Insert" menu and click on "Table of Contents." If you've properly formatted each section title as a "Heading" - - a table of contents box will appear on your page. You can position this box wherever you like - - typically the upper-right hand corner of the page. When you mouse over or click the box, a small menu bar appears below it. It's often helpful to turn "On" the text wrap function so that page text flows around your table of contents.)

Monday, October 11, 2010

For Tuesday (October 12)


Be sure to download the first episode of Law & Order, Season 1 - Law & Order and two other episodes of your choice. Check the class wiki before you download your two episodes.

Watch "Prescription for Death" and do a plot summary. (You might also find it helpful to look at the "narrative grammar" of the Western, as outlined by Will Wright.)

Also, don't forget our extra credit assignment on Raymond Carver.

Friday, October 1, 2010

For Tuesday (October 5)


We'll be reading Hawthorne's short story, "Young Goodman Brown." As you read the story, try to create a plot summary. We'll see if we can match Hawthorne's narrative "grammar" with the fairy-tale grammar outlined by Propp.

Also, you should begin browsing through Law & Order, Season 1 - Law & Order on iTunes to select the two episodes you want to analyze. (You might as well download the first episode - - Law & Order, Season 1 - Law & Order - - as we'll be talking about this episode together in class.) Once you've selected a couple of episodes, be sure to sign up for them on our class wiki.