Students' opinions after semester of Buffy
Steven Rubio
close. Today I asked the class to vote on their favorites in a variety
of categories. These are the episodes we watched during the course:
1-7 Angel
1-8 I Robot, You Jane
1-12 Prophecy Girl
2-7 Lie to Me
2-13 Surprise
2-14 Innocence
2-17 Passion
2-21 Becoming, Part One
2-22 Becoming, Part Two
3-9 The Wish
3-16 Dopplegangland
3-18 Earshot
3-20 The Prom
3-21 Graduation Day, Part One
3-22 Graduation Day, Part Two
4-10 Hush
5-16 The Body
6-7 Once More, With Feeling
Most of the class were Buffy neophytes at the beginning of the course;
most of them are now watching the final episodes on their own because
they are hooked. As I told them, this isn't because of my great
teaching skills, it's because Buffy won them over. It was great fun
experiencing those first three seasons with a group of newbies. They
swooned over Angel, they loved Willow/Oz, they never saw Jenny's death
coming.
Anyway, most of the things we voted on today resulted in close
results, but a couple were landslides. Favorite season: all but one
student chose Season Two. Favorite episode(s): Surprise/Innocence and
Becoming 1/2 were far ahead of all the rest. And the response that I
guess surprised me the most: their favorite character, by a good
margin, was Xander. Surprised because they were so taken with
Buffy/Angel that I expected Angel to win. Surprised because when they
weren't enthralled by that romance, they seemed to love everything
Willow did.
I've learned a lot from teaching the class ... probably the biggest
thing I learned was that Buffy is indeed complex enough to warrant an
entire semester of scholarly attention. We never ran out of things to
discuss and analyze.
Course website, for folks dying to see what essay assignments they
got:
http://socrates.berkeley.edu/~srubio/mc180/
Steven
Ziggyman
"Steven Rubio" <sru...@sonic.net> wrote in message
news:4b0kbvggs5cqq39tv...@4ax.com...
A course on Buffy? Man our education dollars really are being wasted.
Steven Rubio
>A course on Buffy? Man our education dollars really are being wasted.
Yeah, I hear you. A course on a television program ... next thing
someone will be claiming that television is important in contemporary
life or some other nonsense. Or making silly statements about it being
necessary to develop critical thinking skills for use on omnipresent
aspects of daily life ... how inane! And, of all television programs,
they chose Buffy? Jeez, it was only on for, what, seven years? How
important could it be? Why, if it wasn't for the academic conferences
about the show, and the academic journals about the show, and the
academic books about the show, there'd be nothing remotely academic to
be considered in such a course ... what a waste! It's not as if Buffy
covers any of the classic themes of classic literature ... it's just a
stupid teevee show, dude! If it was up to me, they'd simply close down
all of those useless Mass Communications departments ... who needs to
study that stuff?
Steven
Don Sample
<sru...@sonic.net> wrote:
And I'm sure that lots of 17th century people would be appalled that
anyone studies that Shakespeare guy, and 19th century scholars dismayed
that anyone still pays any attention to Dickens.
--
Don Sample, dsa...@synapse.net
Visit the Buffy Body Count at http://homepage.mac.com/dsample/
Quando omni flunkus moritati
The Zany Rogue
ridiculous IMHO.
But...hey.
Chelsea Christenson
> I like Buffy as much as the next person, but college credit for it? That seems
> ridiculous IMHO.
As compared to college credit for reading poetry or building sets or making
jewelry? It's not about mastering the subject of Buffy; it's about mastering the
principles of critical appreciation or dramatic impression or artistic
craftsmanship.
Arnold Kim
"The Zany Rogue" <thezan...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:20030508173025...@mb-m03.aol.com...
> I like Buffy as much as the next person, but college credit for it? That
seems
> ridiculous IMHO.
If you can't appreciate Buffy on that kind of level, I think you're missing
out.
Look at Slayage.tv. Or "Reading the Vampire Slayer," which I have on my
shelf right now. There are college professors, even professors from
academically renown institutions like Georgetown and UPenn that think the
series merits serious study. And if you don't agree, look at even some of
the discussions we have on this very newsgroup.
Arnold Kim
Arnold Kim
> I've learned a lot from teaching the class ... probably the biggest
> thing I learned was that Buffy is indeed complex enough to warrant an
> entire semester of scholarly attention. We never ran out of things to
> discuss and analyze.
>
> Course website, for folks dying to see what essay assignments they
> got:
>
> http://socrates.berkeley.edu/~srubio/mc180/
I liked the lecture notes. You raise some interesting points there.
Have you ever read "Reading the Vampire Slayer"? I just started reading it
not that long ago and wonder what others think about some of the points they
raise.
Arnold Kim
nimue
No kidding! Those are some damn lucky students, and an even luckier
professor! I admire and respect Steven Rubio for teaching this course. It
shows intellect and daring. Way to go, Steve!
--
nimue
"There are things I will not tolerate: students loitering on campus
after school, horrible murders with hearts being removed... and also
smoking." Principal Snyder
Aethelrede
The Zany Rogue wrote in message
<20030508173025...@mb-m03.aol.com>...
And if it's done at a state university, your taxes pay some of the
tuition. And after these people graduate, you pay for their employer to
teach them basic job skills by paying higher prices for your hamburgers and
fries.
nimue
Wow -- I wish I lived in CA just so I knew that my state taxes were helping
to pay for this creative, innovative, intellectually stimulating, and daring
class! You go, Rubio -- keep teaching! You RULE!!!!
Logical Anomaly
>As compared to college credit for reading poetry or building sets or making
>jewelry? It's not about mastering the subject of Buffy; it's about mastering
>the
>principles of critical appreciation or dramatic impression or artistic
>craftsmanship.
Yes I know, I just felt ornery (wow, I haven't worked that word in, in forever)
"With this new digital technology, the suckiness comes through with great
clarity." Mike MST3k
Buck Naked
Steven Rubio wrote:
> The course on Buffy I've been teaching this semester is coming to a
> close. Today I asked the class to vote on their favorites in a variety
> of categories. These are the episodes we watched during the course:
> Course website, for folks dying to see what essay assignments they
> got:
>
> http://socrates.berkeley.edu/~srubio/mc180/
>
> Steven
What department handles the "Gameboy" major?
nimue
Laugh it up, fuzzball. Pop Culture studies are the wave of the future. As
another poster pointed out, once upon a time, Shakespeare was just some new,
unproven playwright who didn't deserve any respect. The Impressionists were
reviled. Remember how Van Gogh was treated? Media pop culture is a
relatively new phenomenon, but it is gaining respect. There *is* value in
Buffy. Many academics have written scholary essays about the show. Check
out some of the books on Rubio's website. You look like a fool when you
adopt a snotty attitude -- I mean, after all, where is YOUR PhD?
Howie
than the conversation class at my school where you
just sit there and talk (or not, if you don't feel like
it) about any subject, and then 10 weeks later you
have 2 units.
Steven Rubio <sru...@sonic.net> wrote in message news:<4b0kbvggs5cqq39tv...@4ax.com>...
> And the response that I
> guess surprised me the most: their favorite character, by a good
> margin, was Xander. Surprised because they were so taken with
> Buffy/Angel that I expected Angel to win. Surprised because when they
> weren't enthralled by that romance, they seemed to love everything
> Willow did.
This doesn't surprise me too much. Xander is probably my favorite
regular character too. Nowadays I think that he is the only
character left that hasn't done something egregiously annoying
or evil. But even in the early seasons I liked him a lot. I think
he's probably the easiest character to identify with. Very few
of us know what it's like to be the hero like Buffy or Angel.
Not that many people are going to be as popular as Cordy. There
probably aren't that many of that are as brainy and bookish as
Giles and early Willow. I think Xander's role (besides comic relief)
is to be the everyman of the show. And given that he's just
this normal, not-so-smart, not-especially-strong guy, it makes
it all the more noble that he goes out there and fights the forces
of darkness every week.
Howie
AJ Denny
BA, but that faded pretty much within the first week. I'm doing a Bachalor
of Computer Science, with so far has been less about developing my
intellect, as working my ass off to meet a series of insane project dead
lines. I agree, the people doing courses like Media Studies may be setting
themselves up for a career in the fast food industry, but in a way they are
brave for devoting themselves to something which is interesting. To learning
to understand how society and people, instead of just narrowly focused job
skills, work.
Michael
Is this a joke? I'm surprised there is such a thing...
--
- JMM
"Steven Rubio" <sru...@sonic.net> wrote in message
news:4b0kbvggs5cqq39tv...@4ax.com...
Lieven Marchand
> Anyway, most of the things we voted on today resulted in close
> results, but a couple were landslides. Favorite season: all but one
> student chose Season Two.
This may be related to your choice of episodes. The real strength of
season three for me is the arc depicting the relation between Faith
and Buffy and her Scooby Gang and between Faith and the Mayor. Almost
all of the episodes you selected from season three are non-arc ones.
--
There is only one war, and it's not the rich against the poor,
the blacks against the whites, the Federation against the Borg,
or the Democrats versus the Republicans. It's those of us who
aren't complete idiots against those of us who are.
John
> Course website, for folks dying to see what essay assignments they
> got:
>
> http://socrates.berkeley.edu/~srubio/mc180/
>
> Steven
A few of those who replied seem not to have bothered following this link
so I have pasted the essay assignments here.
There's a bit more to it than just watching TV and writing messages
like those posted to this newsgroup.
Perhaps some of those who think it is a joke would like to try
submitting
such a paper.
Last year there was a newspaper report that Adelaide University
(in South Australia) offering Buffy as a course elective.
When I looked at their web page,
www.adelaide.edu.au/humss/english/courses/ug/english1a.html
I found the elective is much more than just Buffy. It is just one
option in the 12 week first semester English 1A subject. The core texts
are
Hamlet, Jane Eyre, Chaucer. Plus 2 options, Gothic or Poetry.
If you choose Gothic, you also have to study Frankenstein, Jekyll &
Hyde,
The Well (Elizabeth Jolly), other short stories, Emily Dickinson,
Silence of the Lambs, Jane Campion's film "The Piano"
and Buffy.
In previous years the course included The X Files.
Otherwise the Poetry option requires The Norton Anthology of Poetry.
The newspaper made the course seem much more lightweight than it really
is.
-----------------------------------------------
Essay Topics at the Berkeley course
-----------------------------------------------
Essay #1
Write a four-page paper on one of the following topics:
1 In the introduction to Fighting the Forces, Wilcox and Lavery claim
that "quality TV aspires towards 'realism.'" arguing that Buffy the
Vampire Slayer deals in "emotional realism." Discuss the presence or
absence of "realism" in Buffy, using the episodes we have watched in
class ("Angel," "I Robot, You Jane," and "Prophecy Girl") and/or any
other episodes you may have viewed from Season One. For this essay,
you might want to consider these questions: what does "realism" mean?
How do the fantasy elements of Buffy influence the show's realism or
lack of same? What is "emotional realism"?
2 In her essay "Why We Don't Count," Eileen R. Meehan writes, "to
national advertisers and networks, only the commodity audience
counts.... Neither intellectuals nor masses count" (118). Analyze
Meehan's article, explaining not only why "we" don't count, but why
it
should matter. Who are "we"? What is the "commodity audience"? What
biases are built into various rating systems? And most importantly,
why does it matter that ratings systems might be wrong; why do we
care
whether or not "we" count?
The best papers will not merely describe the various positions on
these issues, but will also analyze them. Be sure to offer concrete
evidence from the texts for your own arguments.
Essay #2
Write a four-page paper on one of the following topics:
1 In her essay on the postmodern politics of Buffy, Patricia Pender
asks "Is Buffy feminist?" The National Organization for Women would
seem to answer in the negative, considering the "C-" grade they gave
to the show. Using Pender's essay as a starting point, discuss and
analyze Buffy the Vampire Slayer as a feminist text. How does Pender
answer the question? How would you answer it? Why do you think NOW
has
such a low opinion of Buffy? In discussing this topic, be sure to use
specific examples from the first two seasons of Buffy to support your
argument.
2 Buffy the Vampire Slayer and My So-Called Life offer two different
approaches to the representation of teenage life. Using the MSCL
episode "The Zit" and any Buffy episode from Season Two, compare and
analyze these varying representations of teenagers. While the topic
of
"emotional realism" can be a part of your argument, take care not to
simply rewrite your first essay. The best papers will move beyond the
context of that earlier assignment. As always, specific examples from
the shows are necessary to support your critique.
3 Susan Douglas writes of Charlie's Angels, "It was watching this
women working together to solve a problem and capture, and sometimes
kill, really awful, sadistic men, while having great hairdos and
clothes that engaged our desire." Buffy the Vampire Slayer also
features people (girls and boys, women and men) working together to
solve problems. Using specific examples from the first two seasons of
Buffy, discuss and analyze the relationship between the Slayer and
her
mates: the "Scooby Gang," Giles, Ms. Calendar, Angel. To what extent
does Buffy value collective action over individual effort, or vice
versa? How do Buffy's relationships differ between her girl friends
and boy friends, teenage peers and adults? How does the use of
violence, by Buffy and others, affect not only the relationships
between the various characters but also whatever message the show
might be sending out about problem-solving, either individual or
collective?
Be sure to offer concrete evidence from the texts for your own
arguments. Remember that while a good, solid paper can be written
that
merely restates arguments from the texts and/or lectures in an
intelligent fashion, the best papers will feature original analysis,
and papers worthy of consideration for an "A" grade will not only be
original, but will also be mostly flawless in basic areas of grammar
and mechanics.
Essay #3
Write a four-page paper on one of the following topics:
1 The episodes "The Wish" and "Dopplegangland" introduce us to "Evil
Willow," vamp baddie from an alternate Sunnydale. Examine Evil Willow
in the context of Buffy the Vampire Slayer as a whole. What does Evil
Willow tell us about "real" Willow? Why is this character so
interesting to the show's long-time fans? What is Willow's role in
the
Buffyverse; what do we learn about the world of the program from
Willow's character (both good and "Evil") that is different from what
other characters teach us? How does Willow change over the course of
the first three seasons, and what are the larger implications for her
transformation? Use specific examples from the program. (You may make
reference to post-highschool episodes.)
2 Faith, like Buffy, is a Slayer, and Faith believes she and Buffy
are
similar not only in their job descriptions but also in their
enjoyment
of that job. How accurate is Faith's reading of Buffy? How similar or
different are they? What does Faith teach us about Buffy herself?
Does
Buffy cross a line when she stabs Faith? If Buffy has a darker side,
how does this affect whatever messages the show is promoting (if
there
are any such messages)? Use specific examples; you may refer to
post-highschool episodes.
3 Kristina Busse writes, "Generating their own version of the
Buffyverse, these fans use fiction to emotionally respond to the
show,
comment on its plot and character development, and, most important,
interpret and analyze the series, thereby teasing out its subtext....
fan fiction points us towards those emotional aspects of the show
that
resonate most strongly with these viewers/writers, thus offering the
viewer a creative outlet to contemplate the issues of the show that
she responds to most emotionally." What is the importance of fan
fiction in the world of the television program Buffy the Vampire
Slayer? What does fan fiction tell us about the show itself? About
the
show's audience? Is fan fiction a legitimate area for analysis of a
television program, or something unrelated to the show that inspires
it? If fan fiction offers interpretation and analysis, how does it
differ from straightforward critical/academic examination of Buffy?
Be sure to offer concrete evidence from the texts for your own
arguments. Remember that while a good, solid paper can be written
that
merely restates arguments from the texts and/or lectures in an
intelligent fashion, the best papers will feature original analysis,
and papers worthy of consideration for an "A" grade will not only be
original, but will also be mostly flawless in basic areas of grammar
and mechanics.
-----------------------------------------
English1A at Adelaide University.
-----------------------------------------
Core Texts
Fiction
* Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte
* An Imaginary Life, David Malouf
Drama
* Hamlet, William Shakespeare
Poetry
* The sonnet (to be provided)
* Chaucer (to be provided)
Film
* The Piano, Jane Campion
Gothic Options Texts
Fiction
* Frankenstein, Mary Shelley
* *Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde, R.L. Stevenson
* The Well, Elizabeth Jolly
* Gothic short stories (to be provided)
Poetry
* Emily Dickinson (to be provided)
Film
* Silence of the Lambs, Jonathan Demme
Television
* Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Joss Whedon
Poetry Option Texts
* The Norton Anthology of Poetry
nimue
> Degree is BtVS, its a just a course. When it comes to a lot of college
> courses the main purpose is to get people thinking critically and
> organizing their ideas in meaningful ways. Buffy the vampire slayer is
> accessible and is a critically acclaimed tv show that deals with all
> sorts of real world issues. In other words its a great springboard
> into discussion of the bigger more complex issues.
>
> Philosophy, women's issues, politics, law, etc... are all topics of
> conversation in this group, and I'm sure all of those things would be
> part of any class discussion. This is exactly why people go to post
> secondary school.
Brilliant analysis. Do you teach, also? You should, if you don't. I don't
know why people have such a knee-jerk reaction to pop-culture courses, why
they are so reluctant to see their value.
>
> st
>
> ------------------------------
> The Unlisted One
> Associate Member
> alt.tv.buffy-v-slayer
> Evil Underground
tmac
wrote:
>The course on Buffy I've been teaching this semester is coming to a
>close. Today I asked the class to vote on their favorites in a variety
>of categories. These are the episodes we watched during the course:
It's amazing to me (and not necessarily in a good way) that you can
get away with teaching a college course on a current TV show.
tmac
tmac
wrote:
>
>"The Zany Rogue" <thezan...@aol.com> wrote in message
>news:20030508173025...@mb-m03.aol.com...
>> I like Buffy as much as the next person, but college credit for it? That
>seems
>> ridiculous IMHO.
>
>If you can't appreciate Buffy on that kind of level, I think you're missing
>out.
I think if you appreciate it on that kind of level, you're giving it
too much credit. Academic studies of popular TV shows are usually
just a way for a show's adherents to convince themselves that it's
somehow more than just dumb (or moderately smart) fun.
Dumb fun is okay. Really.
tmac
Steven Rubio
wrote:
>I liked the lecture notes. You raise some interesting points there.
Thanks ... but I can't really take credit for them. I only started
using PowerPoint this year, so my "notes" tend to be nothing more than
relevant quotes from course readings that I use to remind me what to
say in lecture :-).
>Have you ever read "Reading the Vampire Slayer"? I just started reading it
>not that long ago and wonder what others think about some of the points they
>raise.
Haven't read it, sorry.
Steven
Chelsea Christenson
He posted the URL of the course website. See for yourself what he's
"getting away with." If you care.
Steven Rubio
wrote:
>I agree, the people doing courses like Media Studies may be setting
>themselves up for a career in the fast food industry, but in a way they are
>brave for devoting themselves to something which is interesting. To learning
>to understand how society and people, instead of just narrowly focused job
>skills, work.
The latter part is true, of course ... some of us actually think
education is good for its own sake, and believe it's possible to
attend university to learn, not just to improve your job prospects.
Having said that, degrees in Mass Communications can be useful in a
variety of fields, from scummy public relations to star-studded
television production.
Steven
Steven Rubio
>Steven Rubio <sru...@sonic.net> writes:
>
>> Anyway, most of the things we voted on today resulted in close
>> results, but a couple were landslides. Favorite season: all but one
>> student chose Season Two.
>
>This may be related to your choice of episodes. The real strength of
>season three for me is the arc depicting the relation between Faith
>and Buffy and her Scooby Gang and between Faith and the Mayor. Almost
>all of the episodes you selected from season three are non-arc ones.
Excellent point, and it was a difficult but conscious decision to
downplay "Faith episodes." To be honest, I might do it differently in
the future, and it should also be noted that I showed a lot of
Faith-centric segments from those episodes, so the class wasn't
entirely clueless about the arc you mention. I decided to push Willow,
though, resulting in Wish/Dopplegangland over Faith arc. Now I think I
was wrong, but it worked out OK in the end.
Of course, I originally intended to show only six episodes total, and
got lots of great advice from folks here in atbvs on which ones to
choose (along with one person who told me I was scandalously wasting
time for showing ANY episodes in class when I should have been
lecturing). But one way the course evolved during the semester was
that we focused a lot on serial television, how it works, what draws
an audience to it, and it became important that the class experience
the serial narrative over time.
Steven
Steven Rubio
>It's amazing to me (and not necessarily in a good way) that you can
>get away with teaching a college course on a current TV show.
Let's see. It's a course titled "Topics in Television," offered to
students majoring in Mass Communications. Unless you're prepared to be
amazed that a person can get a college degree in Mass Communications,
in which case I admit I don't have any more to say, then it's unclear
why a Mass Comm course on television would be noteworthy.
If you accept the notion that a Mass Comm major should have an
understanding of television, then what exactly is so amazing about
using as a central text, for a course on television, a program which
has lasted for seven years, which is ripe for analysis on several
levels, which offers students the opportunity to hone their critical
thinking skills, which is not only "dumb fun" (although it is
certainly that) but also complex, which addresses classic literary
themes, which serves as an excellent example of a particular genre of
television (the serial), which leads to discussions and essay
assignments on philosophy, feminism, violence in society, teenage
culture, ratings systems, sexual preference, fan communities,
narrative theory ... why be amazed that I would "get away" with
teaching such a course?
Steven
Arnold Kim
"tmac" <nos...@noemail.net> wrote in message
news:1u5nbvs1imctg36e3...@4ax.com...
Says who? You? I suppose you must be the end-all-be-all source when it
comes to literary analysis.
I see and appreciate a lot of the points these academics make when I read
their analyses. Don't presume to infer anything about what I get out of the
series.
Arnold Kim
Arnold Kim
You know, it really isn't that long ago that some academics scoffed at the
idea of cinema as being a noteworthy literary medium.
Nowadays it seems that good directors get more respect than authors.
Arnold Kim
Arnold Kim
"Michael" <n...@spam.net> wrote in message
news:KwHua.120$vk1....@news.uswest.net...
> "The course on Buffy I've been teaching "
>
> Is this a joke? I'm surprised there is such a thing...
You might want to actually look at the lecture notes on the course website
before you pass judgment.
> > http://socrates.berkeley.edu/~srubio/mc180/
> >
> > Steven
Arnold Kim