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DARK DAYS of PANDEMIC

“E at your heart out, ction fan Truly the truth's the stranger document” - El-P [Context] For the past four years, D ark Days of Future Past has operated as an exploration of dystopian ction, Gothic literature, the foundational texts of each, and countless works inspired (in some way) by these genres. Moreover, the course has promoted discussion about textual hierarchies, as that which is initially dismissed as m ere “genre ction” often later comes to be accepted as having “literary” merit. However, perhaps the most palpable aspect of D ark Days has been its use of dystopian and Gothic texts as a springboard for drawing parallels between the ctional worlds of the authors’ imaginations and the real worlds of the readers’ experiences.

At the risk of being reductive, this means that D ark Days has encouraged students to use the texts at hand to ask questions about their own lives. In the Gothic realm, this has meant inquiring, “Is it possible that I could experience the same psychological distress as these characters?” On the dystopian front, the emerging questions have been, “How likely is it that this dark vision of the future might come to pass? Is this future possible?”

While the original goals and the questions they inspire are still worthwhile, it would be disingenuous to suggest that members of the D ark Days 2020-2021 squadron are in the same position as their predecessors -- we are, after all, in a year that continues to be plagued by environmental disaster, political unrest, and a global pandemic.

As such, D ark Days of Future Past must be reconsidered, revised, and reframed so as to explicitly address the fact that many of us feel as though we are actually living under the psychological duress and dystopian conditions presented by the course materials. [UNIT 1: WELCOME TO THE GOTHIC DYSTOPIA]

[Overview] The opening unit of the 2020 school year will introduce students to the most salient characteristics of Gothic & dystopian ction, respectively. This will be accomplished via lectures, readings, and discussions. Students will be asked to consider how we might draw parallels between texts and our own lives, and how we might contemplate course materials if we operate under the presumption that we are currently living in a dystopian moment.

[Guiding Question] If we presume that we are currently living in a dystopian moment of history, what might the elements from this story represent in our own world?

[Introductory Texts] - “Why Science Fiction?” (Bradbury) - “The Spider Women” (Atwood)

- “A Dark And Stormy Night: Why We Love The Gothic” (Valentine) - “The Real Reason Dystopian Fiction Is Roaring Back” (Locke) - “Will the Coronavirus Create a More Progressive Society or a More Dystopian One?” (Cassidy)

[Primary Texts] - “There Will Come Soft Rains” (Teasdale) - “The Masque of the Red Death” (Poe) - “The Lottery” (Jackson) - “‘The Lottery’ Letters” (Franklin)

[UNIT 2: SEEKING A MARTIAN OASIS]

[Overview] Students will dive into a reading of T he Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury. Now having a working understanding of how Gothic and dystopian narratives might be used to assess our own lives, students will explore how a single text can employ characteristics found in both genres.

During this unit, students will examine how Th e Martian Chronicles u ses genre elements to explore social issues that existed at the time it was written, and how readers might use the novel as a lens for exploring social issues of their time. Moreover, students will also be encouraged to consider the novel’s ultimate argument for maintaining a sense of hope in the face of annihilation, for n ot adopting a defeatist mentality, for persevering even in light of overwhelming obstacles.

[Guiding Question] How might the Gothic and dystopian elements of T he Martian Chronicles help us explore the issues we face today?

[Primary Texts] - The Martian Chronicles (Bradbury)

- “The Cask of Amontillado” (Poe) - “Dream Within a Dream” (Poe) - “Alone” (Poe)

[Supplemental Texts] - Lies My Teacher Told Me - “Columbus Excerpt” (Loewen) - “Reality as a Grotesque Deception” (Nevins)

[SUBSEQUENT UNITS] [DESTINATIONS DURING PANDEMIC]

[Overview] Quite frankly, the thought of mapping out the rest of D ark Days for this particular school year seems a bit foolish at this moment; doing so would be like trying to return a punt for a touchdown while blindfolded and shrouded in fog. Instead, cues will be taken at the beginning of the year so as to gure out how to best proceed; sticking with the football metaphor, this is like taking o the blindfold, taking the knee for a fair catch, and then making the most of the rst-and-ten moment.

While it is not currently possible to know how the D ark Days students of 2020-2021 will best be served, there is wisdom in outlining the units that may be explored in the course. Again, the texts covered (and the sequence in which they are covered) will be determined by the classroom dynamics, which will be especially unique in this era of Covid-19. Anticipated considerations include adjustments to the hybrid model, the interpersonal relationships within each cohort, and even student reactions to the ever-changing (and dicult to predict) sociopolitical climate of the nation.

[1984] [Primary Text] - 1984 (Orwell)

[Supplemental Texts] - “Huxley to Orwell” (Letter) - “Doublethink is Stronger than Orwell Imagined” (Packer) - “Wikileaks Dumps Shows CIA Could…” (Biddle) - “Why Orwell’s ‘1984’ matters so much now” (Charles) - “Why China banned a ton of words” (Zipp)

- “E verybody Wants to Rule the World” (Tears For Fears) - “Run Away” (Real McCoy) - “1984” () - “Accidents Don’t Happen” (El-P) - “2+2=5” (Radiohead) [BRAVE NEW WORLD] [Primary Texts] - Brave New World (Huxley) - GATTACA ( Niccol) - “Number 12 Looks Just Like You” (T he Twilight Zone)

[Supplemental Texts] - “Foreword” to A musing Ourselves to Death (Postman) - Brave New World Revisited ( Huxley) - “List of quotes from Shakespeare in…” (Wikipedia)

- “The dierence between...conditioning” (Ted-Ed) - “Aldous Huxley on Technodictators” (Blank on Blank) - “The New Gene Editing Technique [CRISPR]...” (Yong) - “This Man Claims… Genetically Edited Babies” (VICE)

[DRACULA] [Primary Texts] - Dracula (Stoker) - What We Do in the Shadows (Clement & Waititi)

[Supplemental Texts] - “Why Vampires Never Die” (Del Toro & Hogan) - “Pellagra and the origin of a myth…” (Hampl & Hampl) - “Ideals of the Victorian Woman as Depicted in ‘Dracula’” (Humphrey) - “Anti-Semitism in Bram Stoker’s Dracula” (Hansen)

- “Nosferatu” - Blue Oyster Cult - “Forsaken” - - “Vampires Will Never Hurt You” () - “Dracula” - - “Dracula’s Wedding” (Andre 3000) - “Vampire Blues” () [FAHRENHEIT 451] [Primary Text] - Fahrenheit 451 (Bradbury)

[Supplemental Texts] - “The Hearth and the Salamander” - Intro - Annotations (Genius.com) - “Burning Bright” - Conclusion - Annotations (Genius.com)

- “...Bradbury talks about love, 1968” (CBC) - “Ray Bradbury on Madmen” (Blank on Blank)

- “The Arsonist” () - “The Arsonist” - Lyrics

- “The Obsolete Man” (T he Twilight Zone) - “To the Chicago Abyss” (R ay Bradbury Theatre) - “” (B lack Mirror)

- Drinkwater Reads Bradbury - Playlist

[FEED] [Primary Texts] - Feed (Anderson) - “” (B lack Mirror)

[Supplemental Texts] - “I Used to Be a Human Being” (Sullivan) - “The Binge Breaker” (Bosker) - “Fear and Loathing on ” (Watercutter) - : A Retrospective in Two Videos

- “B lack Mirror’ s ‘Nosedive’ Skewers Social Media” (Gilbert)

[FRANKENSTEIN & BLADE RUNNER] [Primary Texts] - Frankenstein (Shelley) - Blade Runner ( Scott)

[Supplemental Texts] - “How Frankenstein’s Monster Became Human” (Prose) - “The Strange and Twisted Life of ‘Frankenstein’” (Lepore)

- “The Mystery of Blade Runner” (Kermode) - Blade Runner 2049 - Trailer

[MINORITY REPORT] [Primary Texts] - “The Minority Report” (PKD) - Minority Report (Spielberg)

[Supplemental Texts] - “We May Already Be Living in… ‘Minority Report’” (Blichert) - “How Cops Are Using Algorithms to Predict Crimes” (W ired) - “...Minority Report’s Future Isn’t Sci-Fi Anymore” (N BC News)

- “Philip K. Dick - A Day in the Afterlife” (B BC) - “Blows Against the Empire” (Gopnik)

[PSYCHO] [Primary Text] - Psycho (Hitchcock)

[Supplemental Texts] - “Alfred Hitchcock’s Tour of the P sycho S et” (B ehind the Screams)

- “How Alfred Hitchcock Manipulates an Audience” (D iscarded Image) - “Bird Symbolism in P sycho: Women as Prey” (T he Take) - “Understanding P sycho: The Uncanny” (I s This Just Fantasy?)

- “FILM REVIEW: PSYCHO…” (1998) / (Maslin) - “Steven Soderbergh mashes two versions…” (T he Verge) - Psychos (Soderbergh, Hitchcock & Van Sant)

- Bates Motel Trailer - Psycho II Trailer - Psycho III Trailer - Psycho IV: The Beginning Trailer

[SLAUGHTERHOUSE-FIVE] [Primary Text] - Slaughterhouse-Five (Vonnegut)

[Supplemental Texts] - “NOW: A Tribute to Kurt Vonnegut” (PBS) - “Kurt Vonnegut on Man-Eating Lampreys” (Blank on Blank) - “Kurt Vonnegut on the Shapes of Stories” - “Kurt Vonnegut: ‘A Man Without a Country’” (Vonnegut/NPR) - “Kurt Vonnegut Remembered” (F resh Air) - “What Kurt Vonnegut’s S laughterhouse-Five Tells Us Now” (Rushdie)

- Freewill Playlist [SOUTHERN GOTHIC] [Primary Text] - “A Rose for Emily” (Faulkner)

[Supplemental Texts] - “A Rose for Emily” - Annotations (Genius.com) - “What to Do About William Faulkner” (Faust)

- “‘A Rose for Emily’ -- and why it’s perfect for S -Town” () - “Chapter 1” of S -Town (S erial & T his )

[STAR TREK] [Primary Texts] - “Balance of Terror” (S tar Trek) - “The City on the Edge of Forever” (S tar Trek)

- “Who Watches the Watchers” (S tar Trek: The Next Generation)

[Supplemental Texts] - “A Bold Vision: How S tar Trek First Made It…” (T ime) - “...Explained S tar Trek in 1966” (Roddenberry)

- “USS Callister” (B lack Mirror)

[XAVIER INSTITUTE FOR HIGHER LEARNING] [Primary Texts] - “Days of Future Past” - T he Uncanny X-Men # 141 & #142 - X-Men: Days of Future Past (Singer)

- X-Men (Singer)

[Supplemental Texts] - “Stan Lee on the Idea for X-Men” (. ..Secret History of Comics) - “X-Men and the Civil Rights” (Kriese) - “...Stan Lee’s ‘X-Men’ made it ok -- heroic, even -- to be dierent”

- Drinkwater’s Comic Book Crash Course (2019 Edition) - “Jack Kirby: Story Teller” (Documentary)

[ADDITIONAL MATERIALS] [TEXTS TO CONSIDER]

[Overview] The materials outlined in the previous pages have been used (in some form) during previous incarnations of D ark Days. Furthermore, as presented, these materials are intended to serve as fully eshed-out units of curricular exploration.

With that being said, there are also plenty of o ther texts that can help Dark Days usher students towards the goals of the course. As such, what follows is a listing of additional materials that may be used in this year’s D ark Days course -- some which have been employed in previous years (such as during mid-year exam periods or as mini-units) and some of which would be making their rst appearances.

To be completely candid, this is a sort of a catch-all for texts that may either be integrated into established units or included in newly-created units.

[Concept Mini-Unit - 2016-2017] - “2112” (Rush) - List of Concept (Wikipedia) - “Carly Rae Jepsen - Emotion: Side B EP REVIEW” (theneedledrop)

- Act II (The Protomen) - The Archandroid (Janelle Monae) - (Between the Buried and Me) - Deltron 3030 (Deltron 3030) - The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust… (David Bowie) - The Second Stage Turbine Blade () - Ziltoid the Omniscient () - - Dark Saga (Iced Earth) - The Dark Side of the Moon () - Scenes from a Memory (Dream Theater) - Them ()

[Films] - Alien (Scott) - Close Encounters of the Third Kind (Spielberg) - Escape from New York (Carpenter) - The Matrix (The Wachowskis) - The Thing (Carpenter) - The Vast of Night (Patterson)

[Gothic Short Stories] - American Gothic Tales (Oates) - “Shattered Like a Glass Goblin” (Ellison)

- “Strange Wine” (Ellison)

[Mid-Year Exam Text - 2016] - Stranger Things - Season One (The Duer Brothers)

[Mid-Year Exam Texts - 2017-2019] - “The Veldt” (Bradbury) - “” (B lack Mirror)

[B lack Mirror] - “Hated in the Nation” - “”

- “Every B lack Mirror Episode, Ranked” (V ulture)

[T he Twilight Zone] - “I Am the Night -- Color Me Black” - “The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street”

- “The 50 Best Episodes of T he Twilight Zone” (V ulture)