Paul just sent along a sheet defining the abbreviations that he has used on your essays. You can find a link to the handout at the top of the Assignments page.

… from Reading Week! I hope you enjoyed Hiroshima Mon Amour. I will be returning your essays in class tomorrow. Also, several of you have asked me about the exam — I will address that in class tomorrow as well. In the meantime, the outline for this week’s lecture is available on the Outlines page. See you soon!

We are very lucky to have accomplished actor Wendy Crewson visiting DRAM 205 on Wednesday March 25. Crewson has played a wide range of roles in such films as Away from Her (2006), What Lies Beneath (2000), Better than Chocolate (1999) and The Santa Clause (2004), and has had recurring roles in TV series such as 24, ReGenesis, Street Legal, and Night Heat. Wendy will visit the class on Wednesday, March 25. On the previous Monday (March 23), we will screen Perfect Pie (2002), which stars Crewson, and is based on the stage play of the same name by Judith Thompson. The play is recommended reading for the week, and is available on short term loan (for 3hrs) at Stauffer library.

The class schedule has changed to accommodate this visit – please make sure your calendars are up to date.

Q: I have a couple of questions about the late policy…

A: The late policy is at the bottom of the Assignments page. I’ll clarify two things in that paragraph:

1) 2% per weekday means that if you hand it in by Monday February 9 at 3:45pm, it is 2% off. Tuesday by 3:45pm is 4% off, etc. Emailing an essay to me does not change the date that you submit it – the date you submit it is based on when you physically give it to someone at the drama department (i.e don’t email it to me!). The office is open 9am-3:45pm.

2) “last-minute panic” = a day or two before the essay is due

Apparently there is an outbreak of the mumps at Queen’s. In a purely selfish move, I am encouraging everyone to get vaccinated if you have not already done so. I have been vaccinated, but you never know

This notice is from http://library.queensu.ca/news/archives/465


Get a catch-up vaccination for Mumps Feb 5 & Mar 4
Posted: January 27th, 2009

As per a message from Queen’s University Environment Health & Safety:

Mumps is back!

Four out of five people are not fully protected against mumps. Make sure you are. Queen’s University is working with the KFL&A Health Unit to provide a couple of catch-up vaccination clinics.

Mumps is a very contagious disease that can cause serious complications in young adults. The age group at risk, are those born between 1970 through to 1991, or ages 18 to 39 years. Catch it and you’ll spend 9 days in isolation, among other very serious complications.

Get your mumps catch-up immunization on Queen’s Campus in the John Orr Rm on the 2 nd floor of the JDUC Thursday, February 5, 2009 from 11am to 2pm, or in Victoria Hall, Main Common Area from 4 – 8pm. There will also be a clinic on Wednesday, March 4, 2009 from 11am to 2 pm in the John Orr Rm on the 2nd floor in the JDUC.
Please bring your Health Card to the clinic with you.

For more information on the Mumps Catch-up Campaign call KFL&A Public Health at 613-549-1232 ext. 1119, or visit www.kflapublichealth.ca/Files/Resources/Mumps.pdf

For more information on the clinics at Queen’s University please refer to our posters:

Feb 5 http://www.safety.queensu.ca/mumps/feb52009.pdf or
Mar 4 http://www.safety.queensu.ca/mumps/mar42009.pdf

Q: Will I be penalized if I go over the word limit?

A: We do not apply any numerical penalties, but if you go too much over the limit, the TA will just stop reading, and your essay will be left without part of its argument, evidence, and conclusion! As an instructor, I do have a rationale for applying word limits on essays; the limit is not arbitrary, but is related to my teaching goals in this course. Here are some of the reasons:

1) The limit tells the student about the size of the assignment. I’m sure there is some scholar out there who could write a whole book on Beckett’s Catastrophe, and likewise, a reviewer of the film might only write 500 words in a newspaper column. Stating a word limit is one way of communicating how much we expect from you.

2) The limit is one way of trying to achieve equity between students: if I were to tell one student that she has only 1,000 words to address the topic, and another student that she has 5,000 words, it would clearly not be fair to assess these essays under the same criteria.

3) The limit encourages students to find economical ways to articulate their arguments. If you are working for a newspaper and being paid by the word, then maybe more words = better. But in general, it is useful to find economical ways of making your point. One of the course goals is to help you improve your writing skills; making your point clearly and economically will be a real selling feature in many post-university careers.

To sum up, we are not going to be all stern and ignore that one paragraph that goes over the limit. But if you find yourself going more than a page over the limit, consider the fact that you are adding 20-25% to the expected length of the paper!

PS: And if you are thinking of shrinking your font or enlarging your margins, just consider the fact that the TA is looking at a stack of 60 papers; your doctored layout becomes pretty obvious!

Great news! The Border‘s star Graham Abbey is going to visit DRAM 205 on Monday, March 2. We’ll screen some of his work, and then talk to him in person. Graham starred in lead roles at the Stratford Festival for 10 years before leaving to concentrate on other projects. He is also a Queen’s grad.

I have updated the schedule to reflect Graham’s visit. Please note two things in particular: on the week of March 2, there will only be a Monday class, and not a Wednesday class. Also, several topics have shifted weeks in the schedule reshuffle, so make sure to check in before digging into your weekly readings.

Hi all – the outline for tomorrow’s lecture has been posted on the Outline page – 24hrs in advance!! Yay!  I’ll talk about the assignment in tomorrow’s lecture, and may even post it in advance as well!

The package of Course Readings is now on 3-hr reserve at Stauffer library.

As I noted, copies of these films are already on reserve at the Drama desk in Theological. For this week, the two films are on separate discs: Daydreams is at the end of the ‘Early Film Programme’ disc that contains last week’s films, and The Kid Brother is on its own disc. See the rest of you tonight!