english 725 |spring 2007 ethnic mannequins or the obscene machine a graduate seminar on ethnic american theory and gender studies in film and literature w. nericcio | eyegiene.sdsu.edu | obscenemachineblog | tex[t]-mex blog | day-to-day tasks day to day tasks tuesday, january 23, 2007 first class. go over the plan for the semester. marvel at the ugliness of our classroom. introductions. screening of animated cartoons from the 1930's, including little black sambo. adieu. tuesday, january 30, 2007 The assigned reading is to consume up to page 80 from Tex[t]-Mex: Seductive Hallucination of the "Mexican" in America"; however, if you wish to, you can hold up and delay reading the TOUCH OF EVIL chapter from that book until after we screen the movie in class. That day we will screen ORSON WELLES's classic film, and, in the time left to us, discuss the implications of the film for enquiries of a cultural studies or gender studies nature. My view is that Welles's 1958 opus provides us simultaneously with a garish bestiary of stock stereotypes even as he works to destabalize these "hallucinations" in the process of representing them. Your views, challenges, questions, will be key. If film theory and film criticism is new to you, do take the time to read some recent and past reviews by J. Hoberman at the VillageVoice.com--Hoberman is a mainstream film critic whose rhetorical range and film knowledge offers a painless way into the sometimes choppy and abstract waters of film theory (this is one of the reasons's theorist extraordinaire StephenHeath comes under fire in my book.) tuesday, february 6, 2007 an amazing day for e725--the professor skulks away on a trip and the graduate students take over and rock the asylum; discussion included (thanx to bianca chapman for the notes):
a discussion of century of the wind by eduardo galeano ensues today! tuesday, february 20, 2007 your reading for today is the Electrolysis/Rita Hayworth chapter in Tex[t]-Mex in preparation for our screening of GILDA. in addition BEGIN your reading--try to get halfway--in cristina rivera-garza's novel NO ONE WILL SEE ME CRY. in two weeks we will discuss it and finish up gilda! tuesday, february 27, 2007 as we walk into our rectangular "smart" classroom, we will all have finished reading rivera-garza's NO ONE WILL SEE ME CRY. class discussion will focus on the novel as well as a follow-up and concluding discussion on vidor's GILDA. tuesday, march 6, 2007 today's reading is more seeing than reading--walk into class having carefully "read" Flor Garduño's INNER LIGHT album of photography. be prepared to stand and share with your colleagues a close reading of ONE or a comparative reading of at least TWO of Garduño's renderings. NOTE: This seminar will be held in ARTS AND LETTERS 132; additionally, you are welcome to bring the humble refreshments we discussed earlier in the semester! tuesday, march 13, 2007 carefully prepare a reading of Gilbert and Jaime Hernandez's short works contained in their HOUSE OF RAGING WOMEN graphic compilation from fantraphics books. key tales include "holidays in the sun," "house of raging women," "an american in palomar" (as lucid a gloss on photography and photographers as cristina rivera-garza's novel and susan sontag's ON PHOTOGRAPHY), and "love bites." The Hernandez brother's work is touched upon in the Speedy Gonzales and Frida/Hernandez chapters of Tex[t]-Mex--you may want to read or reread these pieces in anticipation of our seminar. NOTE: This seminar will be held in ARTS AND LETTERS 132; additionally, you are welcome to bring the humble refreshments we discussed earlier in the semester! tuesday, march 20, 2007 frida kahlo week! read/scan/see all of her diary in preparation for this week's seminar; in addition, bring your frida kahlo and diego rivera stickers to class in preparation for an in-seminar writing adventure. as you read in her diary (nosy intellect that you are!), see if you can make connections between the kahlo/rivera's works pictured in your decals and moments, flashes, scenes, dreams, nightmares figured in the diary! The Frida/Hernandez chapter of Tex[t]-Mex addresses key elements from Kahlo's biography--you may want to read this to supplement your preparation. tuesday, march 27, 2007 Spring Break week--being graduate students, however, you resist such puerile delights such as Rosarita bacchanalias and South Padre Island pub crawls for the charms of Carnegie Research I Libraries, ProjectMuse, and JSTOR. Enjoy the week off and start seriously planning your essay; at the very least, before we meet again next week, narrow down your target journal (in which your research paper will appear) to two or three. tuesday, april 3, 2007  In class, we will screen that riveting schlockfest, Richard Fleischer's Mandingo. But how will we have prepared to witness this "delicious" tripe? First, you will have carefully read Black Skin, White Masks
by Frantz Fanon. Second, you will have researched and printed out a
scholarly essay/chapter on the work of Fanon that you found
illuminating (this is key!).
Lastly, you will have carefully translated said essay into a
one-page (no exceptions; about 250 words tops) abstract. Odds are
that with the screening, the bulk of our discussion will be reserved
for next week!tuesday, april 10, 2007 Towards a theory of the "African," Prolegomena to an Africanesque-ness, Touching the "Black" Mannequin: any of these might provide us with guides for today's discussion. For today's seminar, we have taken over the 6th floor patio of Arts and Letters (weather and dean's office permission pending: watch this space for updates). In addition to the readings from last April 3, 2007, go ahead and re-read the introduction to Tex[t]-Mex.  tuesday, april 17, 2007Readings for today include an article from postmodern culture by Paula Willoquet-Maricondi and another from positions: east asia cultures critique by L.H.M. Ling--you must be signed in as an SDSU student at infodome.sdsu.edu to access these articles. Most of our class today, in 4176 Adams Humanities, will be taken up with our screening of Peter Greenaway's The Pillow Book. tuesday, april 24, 2007 Today our ethnic mannequin lenses focus on the bodies of Asian Americans as we complete our discussion of Greenaway's The Pillow Book; also carefully read Jessica Hagedorn's introduction to her 1993 edited collection, Charlie Chan is Dead. Weather and the Dean permitting, class will take place on the A&L 6th floor patio. tuesday, may 1, 2007 The text for today? Loteria Cards and Fortune Poems by Artemio Rodriguez and Juan Felipe Herrera. Our purpose? Conclude the discussion portion of our seminar with a bang! tuesday, may 8, 2007 no seminar today--your essays are due under my door in Arts and Letters 273 at 3:30 sharp; all-night-video-dance party to celebrate the end of the term to be announced. |