Communication 351: Documentary Studies
Instructor
Professor Norbert Elliot
Course Description
This course will allow students to study the methods by which documentary work is conducted and to complete a documentary project of their own. The course will connect the qualitative methods of the social sciences and the humanistic concerns of the arts by allowing students to study documentary subjects as captured by non-fiction, photography, film, digital recorder, and the world wide web. Special emphasis will be placed on narrative and metaphor.
Prerequisites
The Writing, Speaking, and Thinking Curriculum: Three credits of English are required.
The Basic Social Science Curriculum: Three credits of basic social science are recommended.
The Cultural History Curriculum: Six credits of cultural history are required.
Texts
Robert Coles. Doing Documentary Work. New York: Oxford UP, 1998.
Norman K. Denzin and Yvonna S. Lincoln, eds. Collecting and Interpreting Qualitative Materials. 2nd ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2003.
Henry David Thoreau. 1854. Walden and Resistance to Civil Government. Eds. William Rossi and Owen Thomas. 2nd ed. New York: Norton, 1992.
James Agee and Walker Evans. 1939. Let Us Now Praise Famous Men. New York: Houghton Mifflin.
Bruno Latour and Steve Woolgar. Laboratory Life: The Construction of Scientific Facts. Princeton: Princeton UP. 1986.
Studs Terkel. Will the Circle be Unbroken: Reflections on Death, Rebirth, and Hunger for a Faith. New York: New Press, 2001.
Deepa Narayan, Robert Chambers, Meera K. Shar, Patti Petesch. Voices of the Poor: Crying Out for Change. New York: Oxford University Press, 2000.
Podcasts
Lectures on podcast are available at the following site: http://podcast.njit.edu/
The Portfolio
Copies of all assignments-drafts and final copies of papers, slides from oral presentations, and examinations-will be kept by each student in a portfolio retained by the instructor at the end of the course. This document will reflect the overall quality of your work.
Late Assignments
Late assignments are not accepted and will receive a failing grade unless prior arrangements are made. If there is an emergency, I may be reached at either my office or by e-mail.
Assignments and Grading Procedures
There are six types of assignments in this course:
1. One assignment, an intellectual autobiography, worth seven points.
2. Ten assignments on the lectures, worth two points each.
3. Seven assignments on the texts and their themes, worth four points each.
4. One assignment, a formal proposal for documentary
research, worth ten points.
5. One assignment, an update on the documentary project, worth ten points.
6. One assignment, the final documentary project, worth twenty-five points.
The final grade will be based on your cumulative effort in the course; that is, your grade will be based on your improvement, not solely on a sum of grades.
Syllabus (This is a sample syllabus. While the basic elements of the course remain consistent across semesters, elements of the course change. For distance learning courses, the final syllabus is provided on the web site. For traditional classes, the final syllabus is provided the first day of class.)
Part 1: The Documentary Tradition
Week 1
Lesson 1
Course Introduction
Listen to Lecture 1: The Nature of Documentary Studies. Listen to
Lecture 4: The Research Proposal for a Documentary Project.
Listen to Lecture 5: Research Design in Documentary Studies.
Begin Robert Coles, Doing Documentary Work. Listen to Lecture 4:
The Research Proposal for a Documentary Project. Listen to
Lecture 5: Research Design in Documentary Studies
Assignments
Assignment 1 An Intellectual Autobiography (7 points) due
Lesson 2
Doing Documentary Work
Listen to Lecture 1: The Nature of Documentary Studies. Complete
Robert Coles, Doing Documentary Work.
Assignments
Assignment 2: Doing Documentary Work (2 pts) due
Week 2
Lesson 3
Documentary Studies and Qualitative Methods
Listen to Lecture 2: Documentary Studies and Qualitative Methods.
Read Norman K. Denzin and Yvonna S. Lincoln, eds. Collecting and
Interpreting Qualitative Materials.
Assignments
Assignment 3: Documentary Studies and Qualitative Methods (2
points) due
Lesson 4
Ethical Questions and Documentary Studies
Listen to Lecture 3: Ethical Questions and Documentary Studies.
Assignments
Assignment 4: Ethical Questions and Documentary Studies (2
points) due
Part 2: The Tools of Documentary Work
Lesson 5
Writing and Documentary Studies
Listen to Lecture 6: Writing and Documentary Studies.
Assignments
Assignment 5: Writing and Documentary Studies (2 points) due
Week 3
Lesson 6
Photography and Documentary Studies
Listen to Lecture 7: Photography and Documentary Studies
Assignments
Assignment 6: Photography and Documentary Studies (2 points)
Lesson 7
Oral History and Documentary Studies
Listen to Lecture 8: Oral History and Documentary Studies. Listen to
tape from CD on the work of David Boder.
Assignments
Assignment 7: Oral History and Documentary Studies (2 points) due
Week 4
Lesson 8
Film and Documentary Studies
Listen to Lecture 9: Film and Documentary Studies. Watch film clip
from Frederick Marx, Boys to Men.
Assignments
Assignment 8: Film and Documentary Studies (2 points) due
Lesson 9
The World Wide Web and Documentary Studies
Listen to Lecture 10: The World Wide Web and Documentary
Studies
Assignments
Assignment 9: The World Wide Web and Documentary Studies (2
points)
Part 3: Proposal for the Documentary Project
Week 5
Lesson 10
The Research Proposal for a Documentary Project
Listen to Lecture 4: The Research Proposal for a Documentary
Project.
Assignments
Assignment 10: The Research Proposal for a Documentary Project
(2 points) due
Lesson 11
Lesson
Research Design in Documentary Studies
Listen to Lecture 5: Research Design in Documentary Studies.
Assignments
Assignment 11: Research Design in Documentary Studies (2
points) due
Lesson 12
Formal Research Proposal for A Project in Documentary Studies
Assignments
Assignment 12: Formal Research Proposal for Documentary
Studies Project (10 points) due
Part 4: Masters of Documentary Work
Week 6
Lesson 13
Walden: Documenting Place
Henry David Thoreau, Walden.
Assignments
Assignment 13: Walden--Documenting Place (4 points) due
Week 7
Lesson 14
Let Us Now Praise Famous Men: Documenting an Event
James Agee and Walker Evans, Let Us Now Praise Famous Men.
Assignments
Assignment 14: Documenting an Event--Let Us Now Praise
Famous Men (4 points) due
Week 8
Lesson 15
Documening Science: Laboratory Life
Bruno Latour and Steve Woolgar, Laboratory Life: The Construction
of Scientific Facts
Assignments
Assignment 15: Documenting Science--Laboratory Life (4 points)
due
Week 9
Lesson 16
Update on the Documentary Project
Assignment 16: Update on the Documentary Project (10 points) due
Week 10
Lesson 17
Documenting Sports: Hoop Dreams
View the film Hoop Dreams.
Assignments
Assignment 17: Documenting Sports--Hoop Dreams (4 points) due
Week 11
Lesson 18
Documenting Faith: Will the Circle be Unbroken
Studs Terkel, Will the Circle be Unbroken: Reflections on Death,
Rebirth, and Hunger for a Faith.
Assignments
Assignment 18: Documenting Faith--Will the Circle be Unbroken (4
points) due
Week 12
Lesson 19
Documenting Globalism: Voices of the Poor
Deepa Narayan et al., Voices of the Poor: Crying Out for Change.
Assignments
Assignment 19: Documenting Globalism: Voices of the Poor (4
points)
Week 13
Lesson 20
Documenting Community: Local Heroes
Assignments
Assignment 20: Documenting Community--Local Heroes (4 points)
due
Part 5: Putting it All Together
Week 14
Lesson 21
The Final Documentary Project
Assignments
Assignment 21: The Final Documentary Project (25 points) due
Week 15
Lesson 22
Course Portfolio
Assignments
Final Course Portfolio due