English 25:      Our Monsters,             Ourselves

Click here for: Texts Description Policies Grading Schedule

Eric Sonstroem Office: WPC 137 Phone: 946-2619   Office Hours: 2-3 MW Section 2, MWF 12:30-1:50 WPC 142 Fall, 2009 E-mail: Please include "ENGL25" in subject heading.

Mary Shelley. Frankenstein. Norton. ISBN:0393964582.	Bram Stoker. Dracula. In Three Vampire Tales.  Houghton Mifflin/Riverside.  ISBN:0618084908.	Philip K. Dick. Bladerunner. DelRay. ISBN:0345350472.	Max Brooks. World War Z. Three Rivers Press. ISBN:0307346617.

t was a dark and stormy night�  As long as we�ve told stories, we�ve tried to frighten ourselves.   How come?  What makes monsters so terrifying, but monster stories so appealing?  Why do all human cultures need to tell themselves stories about monsters?  Why do we call some people monsters, and what does it say about us?  What good is a monster for a culture? 

e will be studying the role of monsters in our culture.  We will find stories about monsters in novels, in movies, on TV, on websites, � wherever there are stories.  Monsters are often situated at the very edges of culture.  As such they can provide insights that would be hard to come by otherwise.  By banishing monsters, we reaffirm who we are.  By talking about monsters, we can challenge accepted views of who we are.  So be afraid.  Be very afraid.

You will notice that there is a web page for the class, which you are reading now.  The address is http://www.sonstroem.com/monster25/index.htm.   This more or less takes the place of both a syllabus and a coursepack.  You will be required to access this webpage throughout the semester, for readings, assignments and other material.  Computer access is therefore vital to the class.

Reading assignments from the web need to be printed out and brought to class.  In other words, you cannot bring your computer to class and access them from there.  This is cheaper than if I'd assembled a coursepack for you to buy.

Written work will be submitted to me electronically.  Any hard-copy assignments should be printed on white paper, in a standard 12-point font, with one inch margins. Your four papers should be double spaced, and should contain my name, your name, the course number, the date, and a title.  Instigations can be single-spaced, and should be a paragraph or two.

Late papers will be marked down 1/3 of a letter grade for each calendar day they are late.  I will consider giving short extensions on assignments if you contact me ahead of the due date and you have a good reason for wanting the extension.  All assigned work must be completed to pass the course.

Attendance is required.  You may miss three "personal days" for any reason (and I don't want to know the reason).  After that, your final grade will drop 1/3 of a letter grade for each additional day missed.  If you have a valid, pre-existing, documented reason for needing to miss more classes (e.g., a valid medical reason) talk to me about that early in the course. Chronic or extreme lateness will also not be tolerated, and may count as absences as well.  The same applies to failure to participate in classroom discussion or activities.  Cell phones, or other texting devices, as well as computers, must be turned off for class.

Please refer to your Student Handbook (Tiger Lore) for a complete statement of the University Honor Code, an essential element in the academic integrity of our campus community.  If I believe you to be in violation of the University Honor Code I will refer the matter to the Office of Student Life.  Penalties for violating the Honor Code can include suspension from the University.  In other words, if you plagiarize in this class, I will probably catch you, and you will probably end up in serious trouble.

Plagiarism is the attempt to pass off someone else's text or ideas as your own. If you copy or paraphrase from any outside source, even another student, and fail to formally acknowledge this in your text, you are guilty of plagiarism. If someone else writes a paper for you, or even part of a paper for you, you are guilty of plagiarism. If you are found guilty of plagiarism, you will receive an F for the assignment, an F for the course, and a letter will be sent to your dean. There are no exceptions.

I think this course will be a lot of fun, but you should not take this class if you:

1)      Don�t like disturbing (monster) stories/movies. (Containing violence, sexual issues, etc)

2)      Are unwilling to do the reading & participate in the class.

The bulk of your grade will be determined by three five-page papers, two exams, and one presentation.   There will also be a number of unannounced reading quizzes, which will be no problem if you have kept up with the reading. 

Since discussion will be an important part of class, it will also be an important part of your grade.  Students who contribute thoughtfully to discussion, and who listen respectfully to their classmates, will be rewarded.  Students who don't contribute, or who attempt to dominate discussions at the expense of their classmates, will not be rewarded.  Here's how to prepare for discussion:

• Read the assigned material before each class.  Reading assignments are designed to be reasonable, usually around six hours of reading per week.  This should give you time to read thoughtfully, and re-read passages that seem important. Keep on top of  the reading!  If you fall behind, your grade can suffer in a variety of ways.
• Print out reading assignments from the web!  It's required, it's often easer to read them this way, and having the printed text in front of you in class will make it much easier to talk about.  Also, it lets you make notes and underline passages as you read, which brings us to . . .
• Take brief notes as you read.  The margin of the book works well for this.  Jot down questions or observations that occur to you as you read.  These will help you contribute to class discussion.
•  If you are particularly shy or tongue-tied, you may consider writing out a couple of discussion questions before class.

To help get the discussions started, students will be divided into five groups of "discussion instigators" at the beginning of the semester.  On a rotating basis, members of these groups will prepare a short (one or two paragraph) response to that day's reading, which raises some kind of question or discussion issue about the reading.  You will be responsible for five instigations throughout the course of the semester.  Be prepared to turn these in on your instigation day.

Please notice the word "tentative" above.  I reserve the right to change some things around to better suit the needs of this class.  I won't dramatically change the workload.

Instigation numbers (1-5) are in red.

Week 10 Begins October 26
M		Movie: Finish Night of the Living Dead (with a bit of Dawn of the Dead) Discussion
W		Movie:  Shaun of the Dead
	2	Leah A. Murray, "When They Aren't Eating Us, they Bring Us Together: Zombies and the American Social Contract"

Final Exam will be held in the classroom during our scheduled final exam period:  Friday, December 18, at noon.

This web-based syllabus is copyright 2009 by Eric Sonstroem.