Dr. Glen Johnson
107 McMahon Hall - 202-319-5114 - JohnsonG@cua.edu
appointments Mon Tues Wed Fri by appointment

class meets MWF 10:10-11 am in McMahon 200
film screenings are at 4:10 Wednesdays in McMahon 200
Books (these are required):
Robert Kolker, ed. Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho: A Casebook (Oxford, 2004)
John Belton, ed. Alfred Hitchcock's Rear Window (Cambridge 2000)
Charles Barr, Vertigo (British Film Institute, 2002)
Course schedule:
Note: this website is the official syllabus and should be consulted prior to each class session. The schedule will be developed and revised throughout the course.
Note: assigned readings are to be completed prior to the assigned class meeting
Monday, January 8
Introduction to the course

Wednesday, January 10
Introduction to Hitchcock & Psycho
Ed Gein, Robert Bloch, & Psycho
Jack the Ripper, Doctor Crippen, and Reginald Christie, and Hitchcock's The Lodger
screening (4:10): Psycho (1960; 1 hour 49 minutes)

Friday, January 12
read before class: Psycho casebook: excerpt from Truffault interview (pp. 3-22) and chapter by Stephen Rebello (pp. 29-56)
montage theory

Monday, January 15
Holiday; class meets Tuesday instead of Monday

Tuesday, January 16: "administrative Monday"
Monday classes meet today
read before class: Psycho casebook: excerpts from Douchet, Wood, Durgnat (pp. 61-99)
Hitchcock and psychoanalysis

Wednesday, January 17
screening (4:10): Psycho, directed by Gus Van Sant (1999; 1 hour 45 minutes)

Friday, January 19
read before class: Psycho casebook: essay by Williams (pp. 163-204)

Monday, January 22
read before class: Psycho casebook: essay by Kolker (pp. 205-55)
Expressionism in art and film

Wednesday, January 24
read before class: Psycho casebook: essay by Tolles (pp. 119-145)
screening (4:10): Psycho influences, parallels, sequels, homages

Friday, January 26
Hitchcock's collaborators:
Bernard Herrmann
Saul Bass:
- Bass's work on film credit sequences
- Bass's storyboards for the Psycho shower sequence
Psycho: further considerations & review

Monday, January 29:
exam on Psycho and course material to this point:
- review
- text of the exam

Wednesday, January 31
review of the exam
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
screening (4:10): Shadow of a Doubt (1942; 1 hour 48 minutes)

Friday, February 2

Monday, February 5
Film theories & critical approaches to Hitchcock

Wednesday, February 7
screening (4:10): Strangers on a Train (1950; 1 hour 40 minutes)
essay topics assigned

Friday, February 9
Strangers on a Train

Monday, February 12
Strangers on a Train
selection from Rope

Wednesday, February 14
class canceled: essay due Friday

Friday, February 16
essay due: Shadow of a Doubt & Strangers on a Train
more on Rope
Sabotage

Monday, February 19
Sabotage

Wednesday, February 21
Sabotage
screening: North by Northwest (1959; 2 hours 16 minutes)

Friday, February 23
selections from The Thirty-Nine Steps and Saboteur

Spring break

Monday, March 5
discuss North by Northwest

Wednesday, March 7
North by Northwest
read: Rear Window book: essay by Curtis (pp.21-55)
screening: Rear Window (1954; 1 hour 52 minutes)

Friday, March 9
read before class: Rear Window book: essays by Lemire & Chion (pp. 57-90, 110-17)

Monday, March 12
read before class: Rear Window book: essays by Street & White (pp. 91-109, 118-40)

Wednesday, March 14
read before class: Rear Window book: introduction by John Belton (pp. 1-20)
review for exam
screening: I Confess (1953; 1 hour 35 minutes)

Friday, March 16
discuss I Confess
essay topics assigned

Monday, March 19
exam: Rear Window
text of the exam

Wednesday, March 21
I Confess, Expressionism, film noir, and the documentary style
assignment for essay due April 2
screening: Notorious (1946; 1 hour 40 minutes)

Friday, March 23

Monday, March 26

Wednesday, March 28
essay due
screening: Frenzy (1972; 1 hour 56 minutes)

Friday, March 30

Monday, April 2

Wednesday, April 4
essay 2 final deadline
screening: Vertigo (1958; 2 hours 8 minutes)

April 5-9: Easter break

Wednesday, April 11
screening: Vertigo
Vertigo book by Barr: read pp. 7-31

Friday, April 13
Vertigo book by Barr: read pp. 32-80

Monday, April 16

Wednesday, April 18
screening: Obsession, directed by Brian De Palma (1976; 1 hour 38 minutes)

Friday, April 20
discuss Obsession

Monday, April 24
Obsession
Hitchcock's Marnie

Wednesday, April 25: reading day; no class

Friday, April 27
last class meeting: review
notes on Barr book

Third exam: Wednesday, May 2, 4-6 pm
This exam is required; make travel plans accordingly
Course requirements:
Three exams
Two essays
Attendance, preparation, participation

Attendance: see http://policies.cua.edu for university policies on attendance.
You are expected to attend all class meetings and film showings, to arrive on time and to stay until the end of the class. Significant lateness or leaving early equals absence. Absences factor into course grades.

Excused absence requires a verifiable excuse such as a letter from a doctor or evidence of travel representing the university. It is your responsibility to provide me with appropriate verification. The Dean of Students provides excuse letters only for extended absences. Calling or emailing to say you will miss class is appreciated but does not verify an excused absence. Make-ups for missed classwork given only with verifiable excuse.

Film screenings on Wednesday afternoons are required. You may not skip a film by promising to watch it on your own or by claiming that you have already seen it. It is always advantageous to see a film more than once, so you are encouraged to view films on your own in addition to class screenings.

Watching the films is a serious part of the course. This means that appropriate behavior is expected. Quiet. No going in and out of the room during a showing. No cell phones--in fact, do not bring cell phones to this class.

Academic dishonesty includes cheating and plagiarism: We will follow CUA policy as given on policies.cua.edu: any instance of academic dishonesty will result in a grade of F for the course.