Information You Need to Know

Course Number: Psychology 24

Section Number: 3

Units: 1

Course Web site: http://courses.berkeley.edu:7525/psy24k2/index.html

Meeting Time: Monday, 3:00-5:00 PM

Place: Tolman 3105

Please Note:

The seminar will meet for only the first ten (10) weeks of the semester, August 28 – November 6. However, we WILL NOT meet on Monday, September 4, Labor Day.

Format of the Class

The class will meet for 2 hours each week. We will spend one class period viewing a film (with some time at the end for comments and questions). The next 2-hour class period will be devoted entirely to discussion of that film and the accompanying reading. This format will prevail for each of the four movies.

Grading

1. Each student will be required to prepare an essay (2 page maximum) that will address specific questions relevant to each movie and the related reading. The instructors will distribute the questions on the day that the movie is shown. So, you will need to write a two-page essay for each movie and you should be prepared to discuss with your fellow students what you have written during the next non-movie class period. Class discussion is an integral part of the grade.

2. As a final writing exercise, due November 6 (the last class session), each student will be required to compare and contrast one set of movies (EITHER David and Lisa & King of Hearts OR The Snake Pit & One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest) in a 2 page essay. Again, this essay will be structured around a specified set of questions that will be distributed by the instructors. You should be prepared to present this essay to the class as well as to turn it in.

Each student must post each of his/her writing assignments to the Bulletin Board on the course Web site by 3:00 PM on the Sunday before the relevant class.

This class must be taken for a letter grade.

Required Reading

Psychiatry and the Cinema (2^nd edition, 1999) Glen O. Gabbard and Krin Gabbard, American Psychiatric Press.

Mental Illness, Opposing Viewpoints (1995) William Barbour (Ed.), Greenhaven Press.

The Films

David and Lisa, (black and white, 1962, 1 hour and 34 minutes), is Frank Perry’s award winning film, made during the “Golden Age of Psychiatry”, that tells the poignant and touching story about two emotionally disturbed teenagers who fall in love in an institution. The film explores the role of the family, cultural stereotypes and psychotherapy.

King of Hearts, (color, 1966, 1 hour and 41 minutes, French with English subtitles and letterbox format), is Philippe de Broca’s wartime fantasy that provides delightful insights into human behavior. A World War I Scottish infantryman (Alan Bates) searching for a hidden enemy bunker enters a small town that, after being deserted by its citizens, has been taken over by inmates of an insane asylum.

The Snake Pit, (black and white, 1948, 1 hour and 18 minutes), is Darryl F. Zanuck’s breakthrough film that received six Academy Award nominations including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actress for its star, Olivia de Havilland. The film explores, among other things, the role of society and its institutions in the treatment of mental illness.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, (color, 1975, 2 hours and 14 minutes), is based on Ken Kesey’s best selling book. This movie won five major Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Actor (Jack Nicholson), Best Actress (Louise Fletcher), Best Director (Milos Forman), and Best Adapted Screenplay. The film explores commitment proceedings, dominant treatments for mental illness (of a particular era), as well as the role of psychiatry and institutions in defining mental illness.

Schedule

August 28 Introduction to the course, the Web site, and each other.

Reading:

1. Gabbard, “Therapy’s ‘Talking Cure’ Still Works—in Hollywood” (located on the course Website)

2. Psychiatry and the Cinema: Forward and Introduction pp. XV-XXVI

3. Mental Illness, Opposing Viewpoints: pp. 9-14

September 4 No Class

September 11 Movie: David and Lisa

Reading:

Psychiatry and the Cinema: Chapter 1

Mental Illness, Opposing Viewpoints: pp. 16-62

September 18 Discussion and Essay # 1 Due

September 25 Movie: King of Hearts

Reading:

Psychiatry and the Cinema: Chapter 2

Mental Illness, Opposing Viewpoints: pp. 238-263

October 2 Discussion and Essay #2 Due

October 9 Movie: The Snake Pit

Reading:

Psychiatry and the Cinema: Chapter 3

Mental Illness, Opposing Viewpoints: pp. 91-163

Schedule (cont.)

October 16 Discussion and Essay #3 Due

October 23 Movie: One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest

Reading:

Psychiatry and the Cinema: Chapter 4

Mental Illness, Opposing Viewpoints: pp. 194-236

October 30 Discussion and Essay #4 Due

November 6 Last Class

Discussion of Final Essay

Final Writing Exercise Due

Course Website

This section of Psychology 24 has a website on the World Wide Web (other sections may have them too, so don't get confused). This website includes a copy of the syllabus, supplements, as well as links to other resources related to the films. It is updated from time to time during the semester.

URL: http://courses.berkeley.edu:7525/public/psy24k2/index.html.

There is also a bulletin board for students and instructors to exchange information during the semester. Students whose comments and questions are not addressed during class can post them to the bulletin board, and the instructors will try to respond (other students may feel free to chime in, too!).

Course Web site:

http://courses.berkeley.edu:7525/psy24k2/index.html

Reaching the Course Website

Students should point their web browsers to the URL given above. This will take you to the course “Welcome Page”. Create a bookmark in your browser. Scroll down to the bottom of the page, and follow the instructions for creating an account:

click on the “Create Account” button;

enter your first and last name;

enter a LogIn ID (which may be your regular Internet ID);

enter a password (which can be your regular E-mail password or anything you want).

Keep a record of your password, as you will need it to gain access to certain course records, such as the Bulletin Board where you will post your responses to each film.

After you create your account, you may use your bookmark to reach the Welcome Page. Scroll down to the bottom, and Log In using your LogIn ID and password to reach the Home Page.

Individuals who do not have Internet access from their homes may reach the course website from any computer that has Internet access, including the various workstations in campus libraries and other sites.

Individuals who use an Internet Service Provider other than UCB, such as AOL or Hotmail, may experience some difficulty in accessing the course website. Make sure that Java is enabled on your browser. Make sure that you include the phrase “/index.html” in the URL. Check whether your browser adds a final “/” after the “index.html” phrase (this isn’t strictly necessary, but sometimes this helps). Try reaching the course website through the Psychology Department’s website (click on “Classes and Syllabi”). When you’ve reached the course Welcome Page, make a bookmark for easy access on subsequent occasions.

If you still have problems reaching the course website from home, create your account, following the instructions above, from a machine on the campus network. Then contact your GSI or the course instructor, and we’ll do our best to help you solve the problem.

Posting Comments to the Bulletin Board

In order to complete the writing assignments, and facilitate discussion of each film, you should post your comments on each film, and your final writing exercise, to the course Bulletin Board by 3:00 PM on the Sunday before the relevant class. That way everyone in the class can have time to reflect on what you have written.

You should also bring a hard copy of your writing to class.

The simplest way to post your writing to the Bulletin Board is to type it in directly. Go to the course Welcome Page, and sign in as usual to access the course Home Page. Then click on the green icon for the Bulletin Board. Once you are in the Bulletin Board, the upper right-hand panel lists any messages posted that you have not already read. When you are reading to write, click on the green “Compose” button in the left-hand panel on your screen.

You will then see a Message form. Stay in the “Main” forum (we don’t use the other for a). In the “Subject” section, type in the name of the film you are commenting on, or indicate which question you are using for your final writing exercise.

Then, in the message section, type in your comments. You may preview your message by clicking on the ‘Preview” button. If you want to make changes, you may do so by clicking the “Edit” button. But do not click the “Cancel” button, or you will irretrievably lose whatever you have typed (this is the voice of experience talking)!.

Then post your message to the Bulletin Board by clicking on the “Post” button. Because of the way the Bulletin Board operates, you will not be able to see your posting immediately. Click on the blue “Home” button in the left-hand panel to exit the Bulletin Board. In a few minutes, when the system has had time to digest your posting, you may return to the Bulletin Board. You should see your new posting listed in the upper right-hand panel. Click on the blue link to read your posting. While you are reading your posting, you can print out a hard copy by clicking in the lower right-hand panel (where your posting appears). The panel will be highlighted with a dark box. Then you can print out a hard copy of your message by clicking on the “print” button on your browser. Print out two(2) hard copies -- one to bring to class and leave with the instructors, the other to retain for your files.

If you wish to prepare your material on a word-processor such as Word or WordPerfect, you do not have to retype it to post to the Bulletin Board. Log into the course Home Page and go to the Bulletin Board as described above. Click on the “Compose” button and indicate your subject. Then, without exiting from the Bulletin Board, reduce or minimize your browser’s window. Open your file in your word processor. Click on Edit>Select All>Copy to copy your entire text onto the Clipboard. Then switch back to the Bulletin Board, minimizing or reducing your word-processor’s window, and paste the material from the Clipboard into the Message section in the lower right-hand panel. Then click the “Post” button. Print out two hard copies to bring to class.

If you are using a Macintosh system, or a word-processor other than Word or WordPerfect, follow an analogous procedure (this may take a little problem-solving on your part, but it will work eventually).