This isn't a text, but have you seen Zizek's "Pervert's Guide to  
Cinema" (directed by Sophie Fiennes)? There are lots of clips and  
discussions of Hitchcock. Zizek manages to present his ideas pretty  
accessibly and it's very entertaining as well. Even the non-Hitchcock  
sections could help your students develop an interesting conceptual  
vocabulary that could be useful in your course.

Richard Wohlfeiler

>
> On Mon, Dec 15, 2008 at 1:12 PM, Frank, Michael <[log in to unmask]>  
> wrote:
>
>> this question is aimed primarily at those who have taught hitchcock
>> courses, especially to non-specialist students
>>
>>
>>
>> in the spring i'll be teaching a hitchcock course once again . . .  
>> almost
>> all of the students in the class will be business majors [bentley's
>> specialization] and this will most likely be their only experience  
>> with
>> anything like a text based humanities course . . .  though i've  
>> taught
>> versions of this course a number of times i've yet to find a book,  
>> text or
>> trade, that effectively introduces hitchcock's work to this  
>> audience,  and
>> am hoping that one of you can recommend one
>>
>>
>>
>> in my experience there are two related problems in choosing a  
>> text:  most
>> of the really interesting work on hitchcock [allen, zizek,  
>> modleski, marantz
>> cohen, naremore, wollen, even robin wood] is really too challenging,
>> especially since it inevitably takes for granted one or another of  
>> certain
>> foundational concepts [the gaze, psychoanalysis, representation,  
>> ideology,
>> etc.] that will be totally unfamiliar to the students . . . and  
>> even when i
>> can find isolated essays that are relatively accessible without  
>> dumbing down
>> the material [leitch , for example, or some of spoto] it tends to  
>> be in the
>> form of essays on specific films rather than an introduction to the  
>> body of
>> work as a whole
>>
>>
>>
>> so i'm hoping for two things:   1.  a book that is a useful and
>> intellectually sophisticated introduction to hitchcock for students  
>> with NO
>> background; and 2.] essays that might be accessible to my students  
>> and deal
>> with more than individual films . . . has anyone written an essay  
>> on the use
>> of POV shots in H? or on his use of sound? or the influence of german
>> expressionism? or even on "the blonde"???
>>
>>
>>
>> but i think you get the idea, and i'd be grateful for any and all
>> suggestions
>>
>>
>>
>> many thanks
>>
>>
>>
>> mike
>>
>>
>>
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>
>
>
> -- 
> Catherine Clepper
> Doctoral Student, Screen Cultures
> Northwestern University
>
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