Hello! I'm Elizabeth Stockton, and I'll be the professor for the FYS section, "When You Walk Through the Garden." I've asked you to read Octavia Butler's novel Kindred over the summer, and we will be talking about her novel here before we meet each other in person in August. For now, though, let's start off by introducing ourselves to one another.
So, I'll go first. I am an Assistant Professor of English at Southwestern University. I specialize in antebellum American novels--meaning, novels written before the Civil War, from about 1820-1860. In particular, my research focuses on how legal changes affected novels that were written during that period. Our FYS course will dovetail with some of my specialties, but I'm really interested in the new directions it will take me--and new directions it will hopefully take you, as well.
I am originally from Katy, TX, but when I was 18, I moved away and have lived in Atlanta, Chicago, and most recently Chapel Hill, North Carolina, where I earned my Ph.D. I now live in Georgetown with my husband and two rather large dogs. In my spare time, I listen to indie rock, watch baseball, and desperately try to keep my failing vegetable garden alive. This summer, I taught a summer school course on Film Noir and am now working with two undergraduates on a summer research project.
I am eager to learn more about each of you. Please feel free to write as much or as little about yourself as you'd like here. Be sure to label your post "introduction" so that everyone will be able to find it.
And again, welcome!
Professor Stockton
3 comments:
What precisely separates film noir from other genres? I know that "noir" means black, but I can't figure out what's so much more "black" about it than other films.
You ask a good question, Evan, and one with a fairly complicated answer. You're right, though, that the "noir" in film noir comes from the French for black. That's because French film critics were the first to coin the term in the 1950s. Most purely, film noir refers to certain Hollywood films from the 1940s. These films provided a darker view of the world, particularly when compared to the more happy or romantic films of the time (think of the lavish musicals). In particular, film noirs didn't depict crime as a terrible or even all that unusual occurrence. Instead, they portrayed a confusing and fatalistic universe, which is often interpreted as indicating the post-war hangover, so to speak.
Critics continue to debate whether noir is a genre, style, or tone. Undoubtedly, though, noir continues to influence films today. So, for example, the last film we watched in the course was Brick, which I think is a great adaptation of the noir universe to contemporary America.
Thank you for that. Do you have any favorites you'd like to share?
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