213H Course Calendar

How To Use The Course Calendar
Using all of this information requires a bit of organization, so follow these general instructions. The works themselves, will be provided by individuals in the class, the first provided by me. You may bring in any medium you like, but you must provide materials for everyone in the class the week prior to your presentation. Read the online presentation of the format strategy for the week (Org & Outline, Quoting Your Sources, How To Take A Test, etc.). You are also required to read the thematic presentation for that week in Online Presentations (Character, Theme, Irony, etc.). Finally, read Questions for Reading and Writing. This will allow you to follow the schedule and be topical in the classroom. Read the directions. Assignments and due dates for papers and tests are announced in class. Most of this syllabus is self-explanatory. The following is a plan for the semester.

Tentative Schedule
WEEK I. Introduction to Horror Fiction

Writing strategies/Format

Writing About Literature
Objectivity in Analysis
What I Expect on Out of Class Papers
MLA Formatting

Critical theory overview

Formalist/New Criticism
Roots of Horror: Gothic

Primary Source:

King. "Night Surf"
King. "Why We Crave Horror Movies"
WEEK 2. Roots of Horror: Sex and Violence

Writing strategies/Format

Secondary Sources

Critical perspective

Literary forms

Personification
Apostrophe
Metaphor

Primary Source:

Gilman. "The Yellow Wallpaper"

WEEK 3. Literary Theory and Criticism/Point of View

Conflict
Writing strategies/Format

Research Essay

Critical perspective

Psychoanalytical Criticism

Primary Source:

Boyle's 28 Days Later [In class viewing] (Diep)
WEEK 4. Roots of Horror: Psychological Horror
Primary Source:

Bier's Bird Box (Lee)
WEEK 5. Roots of Horror: The Trap
Primary Source:

Lovecraft. "The Colour Out of Space" (Wells)
WEEK 6. Roots of Horror: Captivity

Feminist Criticism
Primary Source:

King. "Trucks" [In-Class Distribution] (Grace)
Jackson. "The Lottery" (Aguilar)
WEEK 7. The Folktale: Nature Rebels

Critical Perspective
Gender Criticism
Cultural Criticism

Paper 1 Peer Edit

WEEK 8.
Roots of Horror: Fear

Primary Source:
DePalma's Carrie [In class viewing] (Whithorn)

WEEK 9. Roots of Horror: Plague and Pestilence

Irony
Primary Source:
Wan's The Conjuring" [In class viewing] (Sanchez)
WEEK 10. Roots of Horror: Greed

Historical Criticism
Test
WEEK 11. Roots of Horror: The Creature

Setting
WEEK 12. Roots of Horror: Hate and Sloth

Symbolism
Primary Source:
Kubrick's The Shining [In class viewing] (Hengesbach)

WEEK 13. Roots of Horror: The Trap

Primary Source:
Johnstone's Housebound [In class viewing] (Fujita-Haffner)

WEEK 14.How It all Fits Together
The worst Horror of All: The Blank Page

Final Paper peer edit
Presentations
WEEK 15.

Presentations

Term Paper due
WEEK 16. Finals Week
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Questions for Reading and Writing

Something to keep in mind in your essays for this class:
Be able to answer these four questions somewhere in the context of your essay. Please don't merely list the answers... make them part of your general discussion of the work.

What is the message? Clearly state it and support your response from the text itself. There can be more than one answer.
What is the prespective of the message? Be as specific as you can. Authors will create characters or "voices" to tell a story or give a viewpoint. In drama, that is all you get... all characters, no narrator.
Who is the audience of the message? There can be more than one, often linked to the message...or a single message may have different audiences with different expected results. Again, be specific and use text for support.
What methods does author use? Be specific, using terms from ENGL 101 -- irony, symbolism, theme, conflict -- and new terms from this course.

In poetry, the use of meter and rhyme and condensation of ideas into brief images is common.
In drama, the use of character, dialogue and setting are often important.
In literature, all of these aspects may be factors.

Once you've gotten this information into your paper, then we apply the critical approaches to discuss HOW EFFECTIVELY the message was delivered by author.

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