assignments

Midterm and Final

These will include IDs taken from the class term sheets and short answers. The final is not cumulative.

Reviews — Due MONDAYS by 5pm (20 points)

Write a 250-word review of one of the selected films. Your review may mention whether you liked the film or not and it may evaluate acting, directing, etc. But it MUST mention relevant historical information. Just for example, does the film demonstrate something about the Production Code or the new corporate structure of the New Hollywood? Does it relate in some way to changing sound technology or to an emerging home video market?

** Please submit all reviews using this link or email them with the subject heading “HFI review.” Also, please submit reviews by pasting them into email messages rather than sending them as attachments.**

Annotated Bibliography — Due December 3 (20 points)

Your annotated bibliography must pose a narrow question about Hollywood’s history. You may address contemporary Hollywood as long as there is an historical component to your project.

Then choose the 8 sources that best help you answer your question. Sources should be journal articles book chapters, and primary documents (e.g. film reviews, Production Code Administration notes, legal decisions). You may use blog entries , but be sure that they contain either new information or significant analysis. An article or blog entry that simply reports the outcome of a court case, for example, is not acceptable. It would be better to use the decision itself. You may not use encyclopedias, reference works, textbooks, or assigned readings as sources. And you may not use more than one chapter from the same book.

Write 500-word summaries of each source, noting (1) the argument or findings, (2) the methodology, and (3) how it helps answer your question. Final projects should be both emailed to decherney@sas.upenn.edu and turned in in class.

SOME RESOURCES

Historical Newspapers

Film Literature Index

Media History Digital Library

Production Code Files

Social Science Research Network

Oxford Bibliographies Online

Google Scholar (with PennText links)