I make a short speech on the first day of class indicating that the students will be able to see things better on a big screen projection in a classroom than they would in their dorm/fraternity/apartment screen. (I don't believe home theater setups have invaded student residences, but I could be wrong). Like Amy, I also say something about how watching the film together fosters the creation of a class community for the semester as they experience a film together. Matthew Bernstein, Emory University ----- Original Message ----- From: "Holberg, Amy" <[log in to unmask]> To: <[log in to unmask]> Sent: Monday, August 22, 2005 8:52 AM Subject: Re: [SCREEN-L] Viewing policy for film studies courses? > I've taught at a number of institttions where separate film screening > times are the norm for film stduies classes, and I haven't encountered an > attendance problem. The places I've taught have all treated screenings > exactly like other sorts of labs, which means they're officially scheduled > and included on the student's final university class schedule. I'm not > sure what the situation is where you teach, Aaron, but I hope there is > some sort of official aupport for your screenings. > I still put a statement on the syllabus that film screenings are > required, and explain that watching a film actively for a class is > different from watching it at home where it's easier to forget it's a > class text (and you don't get audience response from class peers, etc.) > just to make the importance of attendance that much clearer, but I really > do think that the culture of the schools is a primary factor. > > -----Original Message----- > From: Film and TV Studies Discussion List on behalf of Delwiche, Aaron > Sent: Sun 8/21/2005 7:06 PM > To: [log in to unmask] > Subject: [SCREEN-L] Viewing policy for film studies courses? > > Hi, > > I'm putting the finishing touches on a syllabus for an introductory film > studies course. According to the university course bulletin, students are > expected to attend weekly film viewing sessions on Tuesday evenings. > > What policies have other instructors adopted with respect to mandatory > film viewings? Do you take roll during viewing sessions? Do you force > students to attend the viewing sessions, or are they allowed to watch the > films at their own leisure? Do you require students to attend a certain > percentage of evening sessions? > > I would be grateful for any thoughts from other instructors who teach > courses with a film component. What approaches have you found to be > successful? What approaches have not worked? > > Thanks, > Aaron > ---- For past messages, visit the Screen-L Archives: http://bama.ua.edu/archives/screen-l.html