HIST 105: Gender and Comedy

Monmouth College
Department of History
Fall 2007

Dr. Stacy A. Cordery
Wallace Hall L-6
457-2372
Office Hours: Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, 10:00 a.m.--10:50 p.m.; Tuesdays noon to 2:00 p.m., and by appointment, gladly!

This is a one-hour course designed to teach you the following:
- How to view films critically; especially how movies, as popular culture, reflect and shape the concerns, values, and attitudes of our society;
- How to look for the ways U.S. society (that is, white, middle-to-upper-class U.S. society, i.e., the ones who are writing and producing these mainstream films) struggles with the difficult concept of changing gender roles;
- The importance of a film's era on the gendered message of that film,
- How Americans use comedy to make, illuminate, or suggest changing gender roles.

we will be asking the following questions throughout the term:

What is gender?

What is comedy?

How have gender roles and gender stereotypes changed throughout the twentieth century, and why?

How do the specific films use concepts of gender, that is, what are the filmmakers trying to make audiences feel or think about gender?

What can we learn about U.S. society from viewing these films critically?

Assignments and Grading
You will write three, five-page, double-spaced papers in which you address the theme as it runs through the four films for that third of the class. Do not summarize the film--you may assume that I've seen the movie. Each paper must focus on gender issues for men and for women in all of the films covered in that third of the class and then explain how each of the films illuminates that theme. (In other words, your papers must cover all four of the films, not just one.) Different themes will emerge as we view these films, and we'll talk about your ideas in class together. Consider that this is a History class, and so we're interested in change over time. If gender is a social construct, then it is logical that changes in society will be reflected in changing gender norms. The films are meant to be paired, by era. Your papers should explain change across the two eras in that third of the class. I am happy to look over drafts of your papers, but do, please give them to me with ample time to consider them and return them for you to make corrections.

Paper due dates are indicated below. Make sure that you keep a copy of your papers until you have received a grade for the class. Each paper is worth 50 points. The class is worth a total of 150 points. Since your grade is based wholly on your papers, you may want to show me a draft of them or take a draft to the Mellinger Center so that your grammar and syntax are as close to perfect as possible. Points will be taken off for poor grammar and other errors, so proofread your work.

All papers are due in class. Please print out a copy and bring it to me. LATE PAPERS WILL DROP ONE GRADE FOR EACH DAY LATE. If your paper is late, you should e-mail it to me, but don't consider that I've received it until I write you back to state that I have it.

PLAGIARISM POLICY: I follow strictly the Monmouth College policy on plagiarism. If you plagiarize on a paper in my class, you will be docked one grade. If you plagiarize a second time, I will file a report with the VPAA, Dean Jane Jakoubek, and it will stay in your file until you graduate. See me if you have any questions, either about the definition of plagiarism or about the plagiarism policy. If you have plagiarized in a prior class with me, and you plagiarize in this course, I will consider the plagiarism in this course to be a second case of plagiarism and will treat it as above. Don't put your papers off until the last minute, and don't even think about copying papers from websites about these films. You don't want the F in your gpa and you really don't want the F in a folder in the Dean's office.

Attendance

Attendance is mandatory. If an absence is to be excused, it MUST be cleared with me in advance. An unexcused absence is one that is not cleared with me in advance and one that does not conform to the campus definition of excused absences. If you miss a film, for any reason, you must write me a one-page, single-spaced summary of the film, due in class the Wednesday following the absence. If you have missed three movies, pick up a drop form and bring it by my office for my signature. That means you must check your schedule now, for any conflicts--even excused absences. If you have to miss three weeks of class, you should not be in this course.

If you habitually come to class late, I will ask you to drop. It's a major disturbance when someone enters the classroom late while the rest of us are trying to concentrate on the film.

TIME requireD

These are all full-length movies. With a short historical introduction and discussion afterwards, count on the full three hours for each class meeting. This is a credit-bearing course. It has more claim on your time than any social organization.

Organization of the Course

The class will meet once a week, on Wednesdays at 7:00 p.m. in the Hewes Library Electronic Classroom. After a brief introduction, the movie scheduled for that week will be shown.

Course Schedule
The Unsettling Aspects of the Great Depression and World War II:

29 August: Bringing Up Baby (1938)

5 September: The Women (1939)

12 September: The Miracle of Morgan's Creek (1944)

19 September: Without Love (1945)

Before and After the Modern Women's Liberation Movement:

26 September: The Thrill of it All (1963)--first film paper due at the start of class.

A 1954 Time Magazine article giving more information on the inner-directed and other-directed individuals. That part of the article starts on page 3.

3 October: Pillow Talk (1959)

10 October: What's Up Doc? (1972)

17 October: Shampoo (1968/1975)

Modern Times?

24 October: Mr. Mom (1983)

31 October: no class

7 November: Working Girl (1988)

14 November: You've Got Mail (1998)--second film paper due at the start of class.

21 November: Thanksgiving holiday

28 November: Junior (1999)

WEDNESDAY, 5 DECEMBER: THIRD PAPER DUE BY 5:00 P.M.--under my office door or e-mailed. If you miss the last class, your summary paper is due at the same time. Please staple them together. If you email your paper and you don't hear back from me with a confirmation, then I didn't get it.

Useful website:

Some helpful gender-related definitions

Return to Professor Cordery's homepage.