Bleak House

For each film that we watch, please write a 2-3 page essay that uses one
of core
disciplines as the lens
to evaluate the film’s handling of one or more of the Sisters of Mercy
critical concerns (earth,
nonviolence, immigration, poverty, racism, women). You may choose
your lens from the
following core disciplines:
·Communication
(The Oral Competency requirement and the “Global Awareness”
domain)
·Art,
Film Studies, Music, Drama (The “Expressive Arts” domain – DO NOT select
Literature)
·History
(The “Historical Roots” domain)
·Biology,
Chemistry, Physics (The “Natural World” domain)
·Philosophy,
Religious Studies (The “Ultimate Questions” domain)
·Criminal
Justice, Economics, Political Science, Psychology, Social Work, Sociology
(The “Self and Society”
domain)
So, for example, you
could write a historical examination of how Les Miserables examines
poverty or a
psychological examination of how Gone With the Women handles the struggles of
women. You can examine the same Mercy concern in more than one unit
paper, but you
must choose a different core discipline for each unit paper you write
this semester.
(So, for
example, if you write a
historical examination of how Les Miserables handles poverty, you
cannot use history as
your core discipline for the other three-unit papers.) However, you can
choose to write about two
different disciplines from the same core area (i.e., one unit paper can
use religious studies and
another unit paper can use philosophy even though they’re both in the
Ultimate Questions
domain).
In writing your unit
paper, you should grapple with the following questions, using thorough
analysis of and specific
examples from the film to back up your position:
·How
does your core discipline inform your specific assessment of how the film
tackles
the Mercy concern(s)?
What does this disciplinary approach reveal about the film that
other approaches might
ignore or miss?
·How
does your understanding of the film’s treatment of these Mercy concern(s)
affect
your overall reaction to
the severity and significance of these issues?
·How
does the film’s specific treatment of these Mercy concern(s) demonstrate the
need
for service or social
activism to remedy these issues? Given the film’s portrayal of the
problem, are there
specific service-oriented or activist solutions that could rectify the
situation?
·How
does your analysis affect your overall understanding/evaluation of how this
film
adaptation of a literary
text speaks out on or covers these Mercy concern(s)?

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