ENG140.H1 Composition: Writing About Horror in Fiction and Film Fall 2010 Orlando Hall Room 115 Monday 6:45 pm – 9:15 pm Dr. Sherry Steward Phone: 407-677-5379 (home phone) Office Hours: By appointment English Department Phone: 407-646-2666 Email: [email protected] “The mythic horror movie, like the sick joke, has a dirty job to do. It deliberately appeals to all that is worst in us. It is morbidity unchained, our most base instincts let free, our nastiest fantasies realized . and it all happens, fittingly enough, in the dark. For those reasons, good liberals often shy away from horror films. For myself, I like to see the most aggressive of them – Dawn of the Dead, for instance – as lifting a trap door in the civilized forebrain and throwing a basket of raw meat to the hungry alligators swimming around in that subterranean river beneath.” —Stephen King “Why We Crave Horror Movies” COURSE DESCRIPTION Why write about horror? As Stephen King notes in Danse Macabre, the horror genre appeals to our sense of morbid curiosity and is filled with text and subtexts, that is, underlying political, social, and economical themes that “link real anxieties to the nightmare fears of horror films” (King, 174). The Horror Writers Association states that, “Horror, by nature, is a personal touch - - an intrusion into our comfort levels. It speaks of the human condition and forcibly reminds us of how little we actually know and understand” (www.horror.org/horror-is.html). Horror in fiction and film affords us infinite opportunities for critical thinking. In this course, we will examine the characteristics of horror, along with its themes, metaphors, symbols, and underlying subtexts, in film, short stories, and critical essays. English 140 is designed to help you become the best writer and thinker you can be—to meet the expectations of writing at Rollins, to do your best in all your courses, to use writing wherever it will serve you well, and to become a confident writer who isn’t fearful of the blank page or the demands of the workplace and the world. We’ll develop our own best composing processes, practice the types of writing assigned at Rollins, and approach writing projects as intellectual challenges, problems to be solved through making good choices. We’ll also learn to work supportively as a group. You have things to say which no one else in this class knows. CATALOG DESCRIPTION: Develops students' ability to write college-level essays by practicing strategies of argumentation and by refining skills of invention, revision, and critical thinking. Leads to writing essays characterized by unity, order, coherence, completeness, clarity, and mechanical correctness. In order to satisfy the College's general education requirement for writing (W), students must receive a grade of C or better in the course. Section topics are designated by individual ENG140.H1/Fall/2010 1 Dr. Sherry Steward 8/20/2010 instructors. This course (or an equivalent) must be taken during the first semester at Rollins (Hamilton Holt Course Descriptions, Spring 2008). COLLEGE REQUIREMENT: In order to fulfill the Rollins College General Education W requirement for E140, you must earn a grade of C or higher! COURSE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES: • Understand your own response to a horror movie • Convince others why you like or dislike the film • Make comparisons and contrasts between horror fiction and the film adaptation • Make connections between a horror movie and other areas of culture to illuminate both the culture and the horror movies it produces • Analyze a writing problem/task well enough to choose the appropriate rhetorical mode, gather needed information, and address issues of audience, purpose, and voice • Draft essays through a composing process: inventing, detailing, structuring, refining, editing • Write unified, well-ordered, structured essays developing complex ideas on academic subjects • Shape complete, clear, and coherent paragraphs and sentences REQUIRED TEXTS: Corrigan, Timothy J. A Short Guide to Writing About Film, 7th edition. New York: Pearson Education, Inc., 2007. King, Stephen. Danse Macabre. New York: Gallery Books, 2010. Hacker, Diana. A Writer’s Reference. New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2006. SUPPLIES REQUIRED: Access to a computer and word processing software Access to a DVD/VCR and television Plenty of notebook paper Blue or black ink pens POLICIES ATTENDANCE: As a rule, there are no “excused absences” in college. Regular attendance is expected. If you miss more than three classes, you need to withdraw. Arriving late, leaving early, or not attending will negatively affect your attendance and participation grade. (Yes, I will take attendance.) Quizzes, in-class writings, presentations, etc. cannot be made up. If a student fails to show up for an examination, she/he fails the test. Also, be advised that we will often cover materials in class that are not included on the syllabus; you are responsible for all material covered during your absence. ENG140.H1/Fall/2010 2 Dr. Sherry Steward 8/20/2010 MAKE-UP WORK/EXTRA CREDIT: As a rule, I do not give make-up assignments or extra credit. Plan to do the necessary work to succeed on your assignments, rather than relying on special assignments to improve your grade. LATE ASSIGNMENTS: I do not accept late papers unless previous arrangements have been made. Papers one week late will be deducted one letter grade. This means the highest letter grade you can earn on a late paper is a B. Papers two weeks late will be deducted two letter grades. I won’t accept papers that are more than two weeks late. It is better to submit a paper on time even if you feel it is poorly written so that you receive a grade. You can then rewrite your paper if you feel it is necessary (see rules for revising/rewriting papers below). REVISING/REWRITING ESSAYS: You do have the option of rewriting your papers; however, any rewritten essays will be substantially revised. To revise substantially, you may have to undertake a variety of writing tasks and academic habits of mind. You may need to complicate an idea, revise a theory, connect your ideas to other texts, incorporate some research, try out different rhetorical devices, or simply develop an idea or strengthen your support. You will probably need to edit your prose as well, but by themselves, such surface changes will not produce a substantial revision. The deadline for turning in revised papers is November 22, 2010. EVALUATION: Quizzes 10% Three essays 30% One Research Paper 30% (with research proposal 5%, formal outline 5%, and annotated bibliography – 10%) Response Papers 10% Attendance & Participation 10% Final Exam 10% Completion of Work: To pass this course, you must have completed all the work in a timely fashion, as well as receiving a passing grade on each of the four papers. (All drafts, with attached conference notes, Writing Center forms, and peer group suggestions must accompany each paper.) Reading/Screening: You have to keep up with the reading and screening to learn from this course. If during any class period it becomes clear to me that you have not done so, I will mark you absent and suggest you leave and return only when you have caught up. If this happens more than once, your overall grade will suffer tremendously. Handouts: You are expected to download the handouts from the course homepage and have them available for reference during class. The course homepage is our official space for information sharing. Instructions for downloading the handouts: ENG140.H1/Fall/2010 3 Dr. Sherry Steward 8/20/2010 1. Login to Foxlink at https://myfoxlink.rollins.edu/cp/home/loginf. 2. Click on the Holt Student tab and then click on My Courses. 3. Scroll until you find the course Writing About Horror. 4. Click on the course name. The course homepage will appear. 5. Under Course Tools, select Files or Links. Course material will be available in each area as required. GRADING SCALE: A 94-100 B- 80-83 D+ 67-69 A- 90-93 C+ 77-79 D 64-66 B+ 87-89 C 74-76 D- 60-63 B 84-86 C- 70-73 F 59 and below GRADING CRITERIA FOR PAPERS: See last page of syllabus. PROJECT INSTRUCTIONS: Reading quizzes are based on the assigned readings and will be given in the first few minutes of class. Reading quizzes cannot be made up. Quizzes will be used as points for class discussion. Your response papers will be composed of reflective responses to assigned readings, reflections on your writing in progress, screening reports, and topics that I will assign. You must also write screening reports for films you view in support of writing assignments. Screening reports should be 300-500 words maximum. Reading responses will be no more than one double- spaced typed page. Your major papers consist of three essays and one research paper. All work—response papers and essays—will follow the paper format guidelines. Work must be typed, set in 12-point Times New Roman or 11-point Arial, double-spaced with one-inch margins on all sides, and formatted according to MLA conventions (see A Writer’s Reference). You will write and submit the following papers: • ESSAY #1, MOVIE REVIEW, 500 words, MLA style, one source required • ESSAY #2, CRITICAL ESSAY, 750 words, MLA style, one source required • ESSAY #3, COMPARATIVE ESSAY, 1000 words, MLA style, two or more sources required • RESEARCH PAPER (INCLUDING RESEARCH PROPOSAL, FORMAL OUTLINE, ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY), 1500 words, MLA style, 3 films discussed, 4 scholarly sources required (you will also present your findings to the class) Your participation grade is heavily influenced by your attendance.