Gateway 100--------------Sitcoms & Society

Room: Buck 11    Time: MWF 10-10:50 a.m.

Instructor: James Plath    Phone: 556-3352    Office: CLA 143

Hours: MWF 9-10 a.m. & by appointment

URL: http://sun.iwu.edu/~jplath/plath.html    Email: jplath@iwu.edu

Text: Our "texts" will be sitcoms, with instructor handouts on writing, grammar, and humor. Be aware that some sitcoms will have nudity, strong language, adult situations, and situations/language now considered politically incorrect.

Web Resources: Internet Movie Database, Rottentomatoes.com, TV.com, Jumptheshark.com, Classic-TV.com, and TVmegasite.net. Remember to always corroborate data on three sites before you consider it accurate.

Course Objectives:

• To introduce students to the process of intellectual inquiry and develop students' critical thinking skills.
• To develop students' ability to evaluate competing ideas and experiences and to prepare them for academic life in the university.
• To develop students' writing and rewriting skills, from a short response paper to an extended research paper, and to introduce them to basic essay structures and writing for different audiences.
• The topic, as with all Gateways, is incidental; the subject matter is a means to an end, but by studying an overview of sitcoms students will hopefully gain an understanding of the ways in which American culture has changed over the decades.
  

Course Requirements: Students must complete ALL assignments in order to receive a grade for the course. In addition, because Gateways are discussion-based and peer review is both crucial and ongoing, students are expected to miss no more than three classes; more than three will affect your grade, up to one full grade per absence after the allotted three excused absences. If there are extenuating circumstances, students are expected to contact the instructor at once, and not let things get out of hand. One round of conferences is built into the syllabus, but students MUST sign up for at least one additional conference on their own.

Out-of-Class Work:  Students will spend 10-12 hours some weeks outside of class time working on research and writing assignments; plan your schedules accordingly.

Grades Will Be Determined on the Following Basis:

• 50 percent of grade--5 short writing assignments @ 10 percent each.
• 30 percent of grade--Longer research paper (8-10 pages)
  
• 20 percent--Class participation (including oral presentations, discussions, exercises)
  

Format/Deadlines: All papers (first drafts included) must be typed, double-spaced, and submitted in HARD COPY in 12-pt. Times New Roman, with standard margins. Late papers will be penalized up to one grade for every class period they're late.

Tentative Calendar:

Week 1 (Aug 26, 28, 30)--The Fifties.  Possible in-class sitcoms:  I Love Lucy, The Honeymooners, The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet.

Week 2 (Sept 4, 6)--The Fifties.  Possible in-class sitcoms:  Father Knows Best, The Donna Reed Show, Make Room for Daddy.  Due Sept 6:  2-4 page reaction paper.

Week 3 (Sept 9, 11, 13)--The Sixties.  Possible in-class sitcoms:  The Dick Van Dyke Show, Bewitched. Due Sept 13:  Draft, 3-5 page personal essay.

Week 4 (Sept 16, 18, 20)--The Sixties.  Possible in-class sitcoms:  Gilligan's Island, The Beverly Hillbillies, I Dream of Jeannie. Due Sept 20:  Final Draft, personal essay.

Week 5 (Sept 23, 25, 27)--The Seventies.  Possible in-class sitcoms:  All in the Family, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, M*A*S*H.  Due Sept 27:  Draft, 4-6 page comparison/contrast essay.

Week 6 (Sep 30, Oct 2, 4)--The Seventies.  Possible in-class sitcoms:  The Brady Bunch, Good Times, Taxi, The Jeffersons.  Due Oct 4: Final Draft, comparison/contrast essay. 

Week 7 (Oct 7, 9, 11)--The Eighties.  Possible in-class sitcoms:  Three's Company, Night Court, Cheers, Newhart, Murphy Brown.  Due Oct 11: Draft, 4-6 page argument & persuasion essay.

Week 8 (Oct 14, 16, 18)--The Eighties.  Possible in-class sitcoms:  The Cosby Show, Married with Children, Family Ties. Due Oct 18: Final Draft, 4-6 page argument & persuasion essay.

Week 9 (Oct 21, 23, 25)--The Nineties.  Possible in-class sitcoms:  Seinfeld, Will & Grace, Friends, Frasier.  Due Oct 25: Draft, 4-6 page right brain or left brain essay (analysis or creative humor).

Week 11 (Nov 4, 6, 8)--The 2000s.  Possible in-class sitcoms:  Sex and the City, Curb Your Enthusiasm, 30 Rock, Arrested Development, Ugly Betty. Due Nov. 8: topic/thesis for research paper; sign up for conferences.

Week 12 (Nov 11, 13, 15)--Comedy Writing / Conferences.  In-class handouts. Students are expected to attempt 3-5 pages of comedy writing, either as stand-up or as a script for an existing or imagined show, to be presented during the final exam. Students may perform stand-up, a scene, or show a short film they've made; students can work alone or in pairs or teams.  Possible in-class sitcom w/script: Will & Grace or The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Due Nov. 15: Sources for 8-10 page paper, annotated.

Week 13 (Nov 18, 20, 22)-- Extended Research Paper/Development.  Due Nov. 22: First draft of 6-8 page research paper/critical essay; in-class peer review.

Week 14 (Nov 25, Thanksgiving)--"Turkeys Away" episode of WKRP in Cincinnati and research paper troubleshooting. 

Week 15 (Dec 6, 8)--Due Dec. 8: Final Draft of 8-10 page research paper. Roundtable on sitcoms then and now.

FINAL EXAM: Tues., Dec. 10, 3:30-5:30 p.m.  (Five-Minute Stand-up Comedy Routine, Performed Scene, or Short Film; may work in pairs or teams). Final draft of 8-10 page research paper is due at the beginning of the final exam period.