Special Section Course Description: This Special Topics section explores various oral traditions of folklore, as meaningful and lasting human content, so as to aid students in adapting these storytelling traditions into modern scripted (fictional cinematic) tales, thus helping them grow into skilled scriptwriters of audiovisual forms including film, TV, cable, video, and streaming narratives.
.. To distinguish between various classical genres of stories that communities produce (and reproduce), to analyze the functional, ethical, and artistic value of each narrative genre
... To assess the strengths of modern (especially audiovisual and cinematic) forms of folklore-based stories for delivering both contemporary and specific, as well as universal, lasting themes, functioning as critical messaging in times of crisis
... To evaluate through rigorous sociopolitical lenses how both these classical forms and modern media narratives that adapt traditional tales, sometimes operate against the public interest as well as sometimes produce societally necessary or sustainable community outcomes
...And to master the scripted-narrative form by writing a polished short screenplay that follows industry-formatting conventions, and in doing so, to pass on the cultural lessons of folkloric archives with aesthetic skill and imagination while demonstrating this creative-technical skillset
- Jorgensen, Jeana, Folklore 101: An Accessible Introduction to Folklore Studies, Monee, Illinois: Jeana Jorgensen, 2022.
- Trottier, David, The Screenwriter’s Bible: A Complete Guide to Writing, Formatting, and Selling Your Script (Seventh Edition), New York: Silman-James Press, 2019.
- Subscriptions to Netflix and Disney+ streaming services.
Out of a total possible 100 points maximum (90-100 = A; 80-89 = B; 70-79 = C; 60-69 = D; 59 and under = F), these are the required grade items that help build your total score.
- 10 Cinematic Elements Exam
- 10 Screenplay Formatting Quiz
- 25 Midterm Portfolio including (a) Archive Bibliography, and (2) Treatment or Story/Step Outline
- 20 Participation including regular attendance, in-class discussion/Q&A, Canvas Discussion posts, and in-person as well as Canvas/virtual groupwork
- 15 Group slideshow and Oral Presentation on a narrative genre of folklore
- 20 Final Paper including final paper talk
In-person attendance is mandatory from the first day of instruction to the last. After the 4th absence (including the first day and week of class), they will lose 2 points of participation for each session not attended from the start to the finish time. Students with valid doctor’s notes or students listed in the GT Athletics Dept.’s ongoing notifications of official Georgia Tech games will be excused. Regardless of the reason, absent students should keep up with coursework and learn from classmates what they have missed, also checking in with the Canvas website or notifying the instructor in advance of missing class.
Students are expected to maintain the highest standards of academic integrity. All work submitted must be original and properly cited. Plagiarism, cheating, or any form of academic dishonesty will result in immediate consequences as outlined in the university's academic integrity policy.
For information on Georgia Tech's Academic Honor Code which students are expected to follow, please visit:
Any student suspected of cheating or plagiarizing on a quiz, exercise, or writing assignment will be reported to the Office of Student Integrity, who will investigate the incident and identify the appropriate penalty for violations. This class prohibits use of AI except for specific in-class exercises under the guidance of the instructor; if Artificial Intelligence is used outside of that to perform the homework or assigned exercises, this will be considered cheating and/or plagiarism.
Core IMPACTS Statement: This is a Core IMPACTS course that is part of the Humanities area [See https://undergradcurriculum.oue.gatech.edu/general-education for more information]:
Core IMPACTS refers to the core curriculum, which provides students with essential knowledge in foundational academic areas. This course will help students master course content, and support students’ broad academic and career goals. This course thus directs students toward a broad Orienting Question:
How do I interpret the human experience through creative, linguistic, and philosophical works?
- Completion of this course should enable students to meet the following Learning Outcome:
Students will effectively analyze and interpret the meaning, cultural significance, and ethical implications of literary/philosophical texts or of works in the visual/performing arts.
- Course content, activities and exercises in this course should help students develop the following Career-Ready Competencies:
- Ethical Reasoning
- Information Literacy
- Intercultural Competence