Honors Comprehensive American Studies

Monday, May 8, 2017

Contemporary Civil Rights

Today, we take such freedoms as the right to privacy and freedom of speech for granted. But our civil liberties and rights are the result of many years of agitation and activism. Plus, our conceptions of civil rights and liberties have evolved. Recent events such as the debates over gay marriage, immigration, voter suppression, health care, and the war on terror ensure that our conceptions of liberty and equal rights will continue to evolve in the years to come.

The thing to always keep in mind: What basic, human rights should everyone have, and are these rights being violated by the government, corporations, or groups of people?

Your task is to choose a topic and write a researched, contemporary civil rights speech. Go to the libguide sau57.org/civilrights for current articles concerning the topics. Here is The Assignment and Rubric

Monday, March 20, 2017

WWII: Saving Private Ryan

Saving Private Ryan is an Oscar-winning film, winning for Best Director, Cinematography, Film Editing, Sound, and Sound Effects Editing. The film was praised for its gritty, realistic portrayal of combat in World War II (particularly the storming of the beach).

Our focus while watching this film is to study the “film form.” We discussed “form following function” with graphic novels and comics (with Maus), and it is the same idea with filmmaking. The filmmaking form provides tools for the director to better tell his/her story. We will focus on two such tools unique to the film form—Sound and Cinematography.

Sound & Sound Effects Editing

Believe it or not all sound in a film is put in AFTER principal photography (with the exception of dialogue, but even sometimes THAT is dubbed over). The sounds themselves are created artificially in a studio. The sound editing is the seamless blending together of all the sounds.

HOW IS SOUND USED EFFECTIVELY IN THIS FILM?

Cinematography

The cinematographer is responsible for the technical aspects of the images (things like lighting and camera work), but works closely with the director to ensure that the “look” of the film supports the director's vision of the story being told.

HOW DOES THE CINEMATOGRAPHY OF THE FILM ADD TO THE STORY?

Use the sheet to track these elements of the film form.

Thursday, March 9, 2017

World War II/Maus

One of the goals of this unit is to analyze different media that we may not be accustomed to analyzing in a traditional English/Social Studies course. We will do this by looking at Maus by Art Spiegelman and Saving Private Ryan directed by Steven Spielberg.

Looking at Comics Protocol
Maus introduction
Maus: Chapters 1-2; chapters 3-4; chapters 5-6
Sample Analyses: Chapter 1 and Chapter 4

Tuesday, February 21, 2017

Dorothea Lange

Dorothea Lange Photo Analysis/Vignette

For some great tips on analyzing photographs, check out “Exploring Photographs” from the famous Getty Museum. Using their basic template for analysis, you will analyze some Dorothea Lange photography, which you will find at The History Place.

Step One: Description--Objective and descriptive; make no judgments
What do you see? What is in the photo--objects, scenery, people? Where are they placed? What is happening? What are people doing?

Step Two: Reflection--Subjective and speculative; inference
What are the people in the photograph thinking about? What are they feeling? What emotions are they going through?

Step Three: Formal Analysis
A good place to start formal analysis is to look at a work of art and take note of how your eye moves around the object. Where does your eye go first, and why were you attracted to that part of the image? What colors, textures, and shapes appear in the image? What did the artist include in the composition to guide your eye or to direct your gaze to a certain part of the image? Check out the elements and principles of composition to help you.

Step Four: Vignette
What is a “vignette?” A vignette is a short, well written sketch or descriptive scene. It may reveal character, or mood, or tone. It may have a theme or idea of its own that it wants to convey. It is the description of the scene or character that is important. Think of the two Steinbeck pieces we read-”Breakfast” and “The Turtle.” These pieces do not necessarily have a plot (which would make them stories), but, rather, reveal larger ideas about life during the Depression.

Using the same photo you analyzed, write a “vignette” based on your photo.This is your chance to be very descriptive and creative! Paint the picture with your words.

This vignette should be at least 3 paragraphs. You will be graded using a six-trait rubric—with emphasis on word choice and voice, i.e., how detailed and descriptive you are. Use Steinbeck as an exemplar.

Friday, February 17, 2017

Great Depression

Most of our learning about the Great Depression will come independently through the 1930s Project.Part of this project includes some individual work, where you have to analyze a photo and write a vignette. A vignette is a short, well written sketch or descriptive scene. It does not have to necessarily have a plot which would make it a story, but it does reveal something about the elements in it. It may reveal character, or mood or tone. It may have a theme or idea of its own that it wants to convey. It is the description of the scene or character that is important. This is your chance to be very descriptive and creative! Paint the picture with your words.

A couple of examples of a vignette come from John Steinbeck (remember Of Mice and Men?). Two such pieces are "The Turtle" and "Breakfast." Both these come from a larger novel, The Grapes of Wrath, which has an interesting narrative structure...Read a summary here.

For "The Turtle," think about what the central metaphor is (in the context of the Depression)...
For "Breakfast," note the exquisite sensory images that reveal theme...