Summer 2019 - LBST 330 D200

Selected Topics in Labour Studies (3)

Studying Labour Through Film

Class Number: 2523

Delivery Method: In Person

Overview

  • Course Times + Location:

    May 6 – Aug 2, 2019: Mon, 2:30–5:20 p.m.
    Burnaby

  • Prerequisites:

    Strongly Recommended: LBST 101 and/or 301.

Description

CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:

Selected topics in areas not currently offered within the undergraduate course offerings. Students may take more than one offering of LBST Selected Topics courses for credit, as long as the topic for each offering is different.

COURSE DETAILS:

This course is concerned with the depiction of the working class and labour in film. We will focus on film practices and some of the theoretical perspectives that have emerged to account for them, with particular emphasis on class.  We will examine Hollywood films as well as independent films and documentaries to see how our ideas about labour, trade unions, and employment have been informed and misinformed by film and film practices.

COURSE-LEVEL EDUCATIONAL GOALS:

This course will allow students to learn how to read film in order to understand some of the techniques and methods it uses to construct meaning. In addition, students will come away with an understanding of how class is framed in film. Since filmmaking is a major industry, we will explore the consequences of having mass, popular, and working class culture turned into something you buy, rather than something you do. This course will also provide students with the basic vocabulary for understanding concepts in the field of film study (questions of narration, realism, and spectatorship). At the same time, the course examines specific themes in labour studies, through the movies themselves and through the issues, incidents, and events they portray.

Grading

  • Seminar participation 10%
  • Film critique 20%
  • Midterm exam 30%
  • Research essay 40%

NOTES:

Grading: The letter grade N (incomplete) is given when a student has enrolled for a course, but did not write the final examination or otherwise failed to complete the coursework, and did not withdraw from the course before the deadline date. An N is considered and F for purposes of scholastic standing. 

Grading System: Undergraduate Course Grading System is A+, A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+, C, C-, D, F, N (N standing to indicate the student did not complete).

A+ 95-100 B+ 80-84 C+ 65-69 D 50-54
A 90-94 B 75-79 C 60-64 F 0-49
A- 85-89 B- 70-74 C- 55-59  

Centre for Accessible Learning: Students with hidden or visible disabilities who believe they may need classroom or exam accommodations are encouraged to register with the SFU Centre for Accessible Learning (1250 Maggie Benston Centre) as soon as possible to ensure that they are eligible and that approved accommodations and services are implemented in a timely fashion.

Materials

REQUIRED READING:

Storey, J. (2016). Cultural Theory and Popular Culture: An Introduction, 8th edition. Harlow, UK: Pearson Longman.
ISBN: 978-0-415786638

Registrar Notes:

SFU’s Academic Integrity web site http://www.sfu.ca/students/academicintegrity.html is filled with information on what is meant by academic dishonesty, where you can find resources to help with your studies and the consequences of cheating.  Check out the site for more information and videos that help explain the issues in plain English.

Each student is responsible for his or her conduct as it affects the University community.  Academic dishonesty, in whatever form, is ultimately destructive of the values of the University. Furthermore, it is unfair and discouraging to the majority of students who pursue their studies honestly. Scholarly integrity is required of all members of the University. http://www.sfu.ca/policies/gazette/student/s10-01.html

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: YOUR WORK, YOUR SUCCESS