PART 1 of 2-This Syllabus Is Subject to Change

PART 1 of 2-This syllabus is subject to change

Sarah Allison [email protected] Office: Bobet 320 Office Hours: MWF 1:30-2:20 PM, Bobet Hall, 320

Jane Austen and Fan Culture ENGL-H295-034 Spring 2020 Class Meetings: MWF 12:30-01:20 PM, Bobet Hall, 221 and T January 28, 12:30-1:20

Course Overview

This course places two of Jane Austen’s most-loved novels, Pride and Prejudice (1813) and Emma (1816), in the cultural context of key film adaptations and Austen fandom on social media. Austen fans often mix love for the work often with love for the author herself, so we will also read Austen's letters and early accounts of her life. We will build a critical framework for understanding fan culture throughout the course, and the final research paper asks students to apply these critical concepts to the fan community of their choice.

With the support from the Office of the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, the course of critical readings on gender and fan culture was developed by Emma Gilheany ’20 and the resources for adaptations of Pride and Prejudice were developed by Madison Tuck ’20.

Texts to Purchase:

NOTE: It is mandatory that you have the correct editions of these texts, in a format you can annotate, and it is recommended that you have a copy of your very own. These editions will provide you with crucial readings in literary and historical context.

The movie is scheduled to premier Feb. 14, 2020; we will discuss it in class Mar. 2. Please let me know in advance if you anticipate a problem with attending it in time for our discussion.

Texts to be read online: Please read and take notes on these texts; bring your notes to class. It is not necessary to print them.

Busse, Kristina. “Geek Hierarchies, Boundary Policing, and the Gendering of the Good Fan.” Framing Fan Fiction: Literary and Social Practices in Fan Fiction Communities, University of Iowa Press, 2017, pp. 177–196. Coppa, Francesca. “Fuck Yeah, Fandom Is Beautiful.” The Journal of Fandom Studies, vol. 2, no. 1, 2014, pp. 73–82.

1 Gonsalez, Marcos. “Enduring Whiteness of Austen,” Literary Hub, 12/11/19, https://lithub.com/recognizing-the-enduring-whiteness-of-jane-austen/ Guerrero-Pico, Mar. “#Fringe, Audiences, and Fan Labor: Twitter Activism to Save a TV Show from Cancellation.” International Journal of Communication, vol. 11, 2017. Peters, Nicole. “Austen's Malleability: Fans, Adaptations, and Value Production.” Reception: Texts, Readers, Audiences, History, vol. 10, no. 1, 2018, pp. 74–95. Special Issue: Crossing the Boundaries of Reception. https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5325/ reception.10.1.0074 Stanfill, Mel. “Fandom’s Normativity: Assuming and Recruiting the Socially Dominant Fan Subject.” Exploiting Fandom: How the Media Industry Seeks to Manipulate Fans, by Mel Stanfill, University of Iowa Press, 2019, pp. 21–47.

Online Resources On the date indicated on the syllabus, you will choose texts from these online archives. Please print them and bring the texts to class in a form that can be annotated (preferably hard copy or on a tablet).

Archive of Our Own. Organization for Transformative Works. 2008. https://archiveofourown.org/ Collective Biographies of Women. Alison Booth. University of Virginia, 2010. https://womensbios.lib.virginia.edu/

The three overarching Learning Outcomes in Honors are

1) Critical thinking Students will be able to: a. draw conclusions from analyses of data / primary sources / research materials b. synthesize / evaluate secondary materials c. evaluate assumptions and contexts in creating an argument

2) Effective oral and written communication Students will be able to: a. Present arguments and conclusions derived from their critical thinking skills in a logical, coherent manner b. Provide substantive, appropriate evidence to support their arguments c. Communicate clearly and grammatically in language that conforms to the norms of the intended audience

3) Ignatian values Students will be able to a. Identify and Explain root causes of injustice; b. Discuss effective methods for preventing and responding to injustice; c. Evaluate the implications of different ethical perspectives d. Evaluate their own attitudes and beliefs based on experiences with diversity e. Contribute to a social justice effort as part of their UHP experience

Course Goals and Course Objectives (This course is designed to…) Teach students to understand how creative work might exceed its initial bounds, moving across media and serving to bring people together. Students will investigate the concept of

2 community by looking critically at fan communities organized around a shared set of creative texts. The course emphasizes critical thinking, communication, and evaluation.

Expected Student Learning Outcomes (By the end of the course, students should be able to…) Read and discuss difficult historical and theoretical material with confidence, openness, and clarity Write creative, persuasive analysis of complex texts by synthesizing and applying disparate perspectives on the text Use academic perspectives to analyze fan culture and to reflect on their own participation in online communities

Grading Scale A = 94-100 A- = 91-93 B+ = 88-90 B = 84-87 B- = 81-83 C+ = 78-80 C = 74-77 C- = 71-73 D+ = 68-70 D = 64-67 F = 0-63

Late Assignments & Missed Work

• Late papers will be penalized five points per class period they are late.

• To receive credit for a small writing assignment or in-class reading response/quiz, it must be handed in, in hard copy, at the time the instructor collects it. I will drop the TWO lowest grades in this category (eg, if 15 assignments were possible at midterm, I would calculate the total out of 14 points). Taken together, these papers comprise a major part of the written work for this course and cannot be made up unless the absence was incurred on official University business (such as a concert or an away game) or with a letter from Student Affairs.

**These policies are designed to keep students on track to develop skills as the course proceeds, and also to be as fair as possible to all students. If you miss coursework due to serious circumstances that would merit an exception for any student in the course, you may arrange a meeting with the instructor and your academic advisor to create a plan for making up missed work.**

Work Commitments:

SMALL WRITING ASSIGNMENTS, QUIZZES (≈250 words): 40% Small writing assignments will be due (typed) at the beginning of class; reading quizzes are written in class. Continuously engaging with reading through writing develops higher-level critical thinking and reading skills; you’ll also be able to try out ideas for your papers and class discussion. These assignments are a proxy for participation and attendance: they are assigned in class and must be turned in at the beginning of class on the day they are due in order to receive credit.

AUSTEN AND ADAPTATION PAPER: 30%, due 2/3 Use two intermedial adaptations of Pride and Prejudice to make an original, specific argument about the novel.

FAN CULTURE PAPER (6 pages): 30 % (15% proposal and draft [due 4/8] and 15% final [due 5/6])

3 Identify a community organized around creative work and describe where the community “lives”— e.g., reddit, Twitter, Tumblr, AO3. Define a key concept from the course (mediation, community, racebending) and use it to analyze a subset of texts created by one or more fans. The final weeks of the course will focus on material from these projects.

Note on Writing Assignments: Papers are due on Blackboard and in hard copy by the day on which they are due. Make sure to include a rubric on the hard copy you hand in. Check with me if you have any questions about documentation.

Instructor response is built into the final course paper, and you may also choose to revise the AUSTEN AND ADAPTATION PAPER. Revisions are due one week after you get your paper back; ten percentage points will be given for revision, in addition to the new grade the essay earns. (So an 80% essay revised into an 83% will earn a 93%). To receive credit for revision, you should hand in: 1. The original, graded copy of the paper. 2. A paragraph describing how the changes you made reflect the grading criteria as laid out in the assignment/rubric. 3. A thoroughly revised paper with any changes highlighted in the document (eg, with a highlighter or using track changes). To receive a different grade, 30% of the essay must be new.

Participation Expectations This class is discussion and participation-based; students will have opportunities to define their own learning goals and to set the agenda for our class conversations.

Our time together is precious--precious, like valuable, means expensive--and participation is at least as much about listening as about talking. For this reason, there are no phones in class, and no laptops without a documented reason for having one. The use of a screen in class may result in a loss of Small Writing Assignment & Quiz grade for that day.

Attendance Policy You can miss two classes over the course of the semester with no penalty and no excuses necessary. If you are unable to attend class, please do not email the instructor to ask what you have missed. It is your responsibility to keep up with the reading on the syllabus and to check in with a classmate about what was covered in class. You should exchange contact information with at least two of your classmates so that you can contact them should you miss a class.

Name/E-mail Address:

In the case of an emergency or an unusual situation requiring you to miss more than 3 classes (a full week of work), please be in touch as soon as you are able to set up an in-person meeting to make a plan for staying on track.

Academic Integrity To uphold the academic integrity of this class and the Loyola community, it is incumbent on all of us to avoid academically dishonest behaviors such as cheating and plagiarism. There are many, many

4 online resources to help students work with Austen, which promise to do the foundational work of this course for you. The credit you earn for this class is keyed to the work you have completed for it, and I expect that all resources, online or offline, will be clearly cited. You will be held responsible for knowing, understanding, and complying with the college’s Honor Code (http://2019bulletin.loyno.edu/academic-regulations/academic-honesty-and-plagiarism).

Students are responsible for understanding and avoiding academically dishonest behavior. In accordance with Loyola University policy, students found cheating, plagiarizing, or misrepresenting someone else’s ideas as their own will be reported to their dean and will likely receive a failing grade in the course (not just on the assignment). Students who are concerned that they might inadvertently commit plagiarism should meet with the instructor, a writing tutor, or one of the reference librarians in Monroe Library.

Communication I am always glad to make an appointment to meet in person or by phone. Ideally, my office hours will fit with your schedule; if not, please make an appointment to come talk with me. The best way to make an appointment is to send me an email that proposes two possible meeting times. Emails should begin “Dear Dr. Allison,” use complete sentences, and include a reasonably formal sign-off (“Best,” or “Thank you,” for example). I do not respond to drafts of any kind, including sample theses, by email. I have found that in-person conversations lead to better papers, while email exchanges about tentative ideas tend to create misunderstanding and confusion.

Schedule of Readings

Jan. 6 Syllabus Jan. 8 Coppa, “Fuck Yeah, Fandom Is Beautiful” (on Blackboard) and P&P, pp. 3-7 Jan. 10 P&P, pp. 7-50 (Vol. I, Chap. XIV)

Jan. 13 P&P, pp. 50-94 (end of Vol. I) Jan. 15 P&P, pp. 94-135 (Vol II, Chap. XI) Jan. 17 P&P, pp.135-181 (Vol. III, Chap. II)

Jan. 20 NO SCHOOL Jan. 22 P&P, pp. 181-224 (Vol. III, Chap. VIII) Jan. 24 P&P, pp. 224-266 (end)

Jan. 27 Miller, “No One is Alone,” in P&P, pp. 314-21, write summary and pair with passage from novel 1/28 Austen Now: Emma Gilheany ’20 and Madison Tuck ’20. Senior thesis presentations; location to be confirmed. Jan. 29 Michie, P&P, pp. 370-81 & write summary and pair with passage from novel Jan. 31 Choose two scenes from film adaptations of P&P and pair with passage from the novel (see film write-ups on Blackboard)

Feb. 3 Austen and Adaptation paper due Feb. 5 Online class: Readings on biography, in P&P, pp. 269-284

5 Feb. 7 Austen’s Letters, in P&P, pp. 285-299

Feb. 10 Read a biography of Austen from Collective Biographies of Women Feb. 12 Fan fiction, Austen, from Archive of Our Own Feb. 14 Fan fiction, people’s choice, from Archive of Our Own

Feb. 17 Stanfill, “Fandom’s Normativity: Assuming and Recruiting the Socially Dominant Fan Subject” (on Blackboard) Feb. 19 Bring in subset of fan-generated texts for final paper; Busse, “Geek Hierarchies, Boundary Policing, and the Gendering of the Good Fan.” (on Blackboard) Feb. 21 Online class: Peters, “Austen's Malleability: Fans, Adaptations, and Value Production.” (on Blackboard)

Feb. 24 No class, Mardi Gras Holidays Feb. 26 No class, Mardi Gras Holidays Feb. 28 No class, Mardi Gras Holidays

Mar. 2 de Wilde, Emma Mar. 4 de Wilde, Emma, reviews Mar. 6 Heckerling, Emma (screening TBD)

Mar. 9 Emma, pp. 5-45 (Vol. I, Chap. VII) and Appendix A, “Rank and Social Status” Mar. 11 Emma, pp. 45-93 (Vol. I, Chap. XIII) Mar. 13 Emma, pp. 93-133 (Vol. II, Chap. II)

Mar. 16 Emma, pp. 133-181 (Vol. II, Chap. VIII) Mar. 18 Emma, pp. 181-219 (Vol. II, Chap. XIV) Mar. 20 Emma, pp. 219-264 (Vol. III, Chap. XIII)

Mar. 23 Emma, pp. 264-308 (Vol. III, Chap. IX) Mar. 25 Emma, pp. 308-354 (Vol. III, Chap. XV) Mar. 27 Emma, pp. 354-381 (end) and Pinch, “Introduction,” pp. vii-xxix

Mar. 30 Bring a “think piece” (more than 500 words) relevant to your paper Apr. 1 Bring an academic article from the last 5 years relevant to your paper & sign up for discussion-leading groups Apr. 3 Guerrero-Pico, “#Fringe, Audiences, and Fan Labor” (on Blackboard)

Apr. 6 Concept development & plan final classes Apr. 8 No class (extra class 1/28): Proposal due online Apr. 10 Easter Holidays

Apr. 13 Easter Holidays Apr. 15 Student-led discussion: Community Apr. 17 Student-led discussion: Creativity

Apr. 20 Student-led discussion: Belonging

6 Apr. 22 Student-led discussion: Normativity Apr. 24 Student-led discussion: Identity

Apr. 27 Student-led discussion: Mediation Apr. 29 Wrap-up

May 6 (time of final): FAN CULTURE PAPER due by 5/6, 1:30 pm