Introduction to Fiction (Gothic Horror)
Dr. Gavin Schulz
English 2342, HCC--Southwest
Fall 2008
Introduction to Fiction (Gothic Horror)
PURPOSE OF THE COURSE
The purpose of the “Introduction to Fiction” course is to introduce students to Western World literary forms, philosophical attitudes, and political trends--from a specifically fictional vantage. We will be focusing in depth on the distinction between the Neoclassical and Romantic traditions, psychological concerns of character development, and the argumentative process. On the one hand, the course should demonstrate that to read is to learn; on the other hand, it will hopefully show that even literary texts can be interesting (and that the more popular forms of fiction can be literary).
CONTACT INFORMATION
E-mail address: gavin.schulz@hccs.edu (I cannot print from email at home)
Office Hours: I am available M/W from 9:30-10:30 and T/Th 10:00-10:30
(in Scarcella's Faculty Lounge) and after class to meet with you on
an appointment basis.
REQUIRED TEXTBOOKS
The Dark Descent. Ed. David G. Hartwell.
Jackson, Shirley. The Haunting of Hill House.
The Penguin Book of Vampire Stories. Ed. Alan Ryan.
GRADING SCHEDULE
1] 1 short essay 15%
2] Mid-term In-Class Essay 10%
3] Research Project 30%
4] Daily Quizzes 20%
5] Oral Participation 15%
6] Final In-Class Essay 10%
GRADING SCALE
Grades will be assigned on a +/- scale (point equivalents are 88/85/82 for a B+/B/B-, etc.). Note, however, that final grades are on an A/B/C scale. For the purposes of grade calculation, an average of 90-100 will result in an A for the course; 80-89 will result in a B; 70-79 will receive a C; 60-69 will receive a D; and 59 or below will have earned an F.
“In Progress” grades: an essay that does not meet the minimum grammatical requirements for college level writing will not be graded. These papers will be returned with a grade of IP and must be rewritten in order to bring the material up to college level before they will be given final grades. Essays that fail to meet the minimum passing criteria for grammar after this rewrite will receive the average of two grades: the grade for the essay and an F for grammar.
PAPERS
All papers must be submitted to me, in class, on the day that they are due. Papers that are not in my hands by the time I have left class will be considered late. (Essays turned in to my box after class will be considered late.)
Late papers will be penalized 1/3 grade, with an additional penalty of 1/3 grade each successive day they are late.
Both the Research Project and the Final In-Class Essay must be completed on the dates assigned--no exceptions. Failure to submit the research project to me on the day it is due will result in its being penalized 1 full grade, with a further grade per day it is late; failure to write the in-class final during the final exam period, will result in a 0 for the assignment.
Please keep a copy of your papers for your own file; should a paper be lost (or disappear from my box), it is your responsibility to give me another.
ATTENDANCE AND WITHDRAWAL POLICY
Attendance is required by HCCS at all class meetings. You are, therefore, responsible for any material assigned or collected on those days in which you are absent or tardy. If a paper is due on a day that you are absent, it is your responsibility to find a way to turn it in.
I will not drop students from the class; should you decide to drop the class, do not merely stop coming; it is your responsibility to withdraw from the class; we no longer have the option to assign "W"'s at the end of the semester, so all students still on my roll at the end of the semester will receive grades.
DAILY QUIZZES
There will be a brief reading quiz during the first 15 minutes of each class. They will consist of simple questions designed to merely find out whether or not you have read the material. After fifteen minutes all quizzes will be turned in and no make-ups will be allowed. I will, however, drop your four lowest scores at the end of the semester.
These quizzes will be added together to get a percentage score that will be your Daily Quiz grade. While it is possible to score 100%, it is also possible to score less than an F (55%) in this category.
Assignments listed in the “Course Reading Schedule” are due for class on the day listed.
ELECTRONIC DEVICES
Use of recording devices, including camera phones and tape recorders, is prohibited in classrooms and other locations where instruction, tutoring, or testing occurs. Inappropriate use of a recording device will be reported to the police and may be a felony offense.
SPECIAL CONDITIONS/CIRCUMSTANCES
Any student with a documented disability (e.g. physical, learning, psychiatric, vision, hearing, etc.) who needs to arrange reasonable accommodations must contact the Disability Services Office at the beginning of each semester.
POLICY ON ACADEMIC DISHONESTY
“Scholastic dishonest includes, but it not limited to:
1] ‘Plagiarism’--the appropriation of another’s work and the unacknowledged incorporation of that work in one’s own written work for credit.
2] ‘Collusion’--the unauthorized collaboration with another person in preparing written work offered for credit.”
A student guilty of a first offense will receive a grade of 0 on the assignment involved. For a second offense, the student will receive a grade of F for the course.
** Short stories will be found in
(PBV): Penguin Book of Vampire Stories
(DD): Dark Descent
Week 1
Aug. 26] Course Introduction / Edgar Allan Poe “Tell-Tale Heart” (xerox)
28] The Evolution of the Vampire: Neoclassicism vs. Romanticism
John Polidori “The Vampyre” (PBV--pgs. 7-24)
Week 2
Sep. 2] Bram Stoker “Dracula’s Guest” (PBV--pgs. 163-174)
4] P. Schuyler Miller “Over the River” (PBV--pgs. 322-333)
Week 3
9] Suzy McKee Charnas "Unicorn Tapestry" (PBV--pgs. 505-561)
11] Carl Jacobi "Revelations in Black (PBV--pgs. 282-300)
Week 4
16] IKE
18] IKE
Week 5
23] Chelsea Quinn Yarbro "Cabin 33" (PBV--pgs. )
25] Anne Rice "The Master of Rampling Gate" (xerox)
Week 6
30] C. L. Moore “Shambleau” (PBV--pgs. 255-281)
Week 7
7] Michael Shea "The Autopsy" (DD--pgs.175-202)
Week 8
14] ** Essay #1 due today **
16] Shirley Jackson The Haunting of Hill House (pgs. 34-92)
Week 9
21] Shirley Jackson The Haunting of Hill House (pgs. 93-163)
23] Shirley Jackson The Haunting of Hill House (pgs. 164-end)
Week 10
28] * Mid-term In-Class Essay *
Week 11
Monster, Monsters, Monsters, and Approaches to Literary Criticism
6] Fritz Leiber "Smoke Ghost" (DD--pgs. 629-640)
Charles Dickens “The Signal Man” (DD--pgs. 680-689)
Week 12
11] Sheridan Le Fanu "Shalken the Painter" (DD--pgs. 445-459)
Ramsey Campbell “Mackintosh Willy” (DD--pgs. 591-601)
13] M. R. James "The Ash-Tree" (DD--pgs. 40-49)
Charlotte Perkins Gilman "The Yellow Wallpaper" (DD--pgs. 460-471)
Week 13
18] Edgar Allan Poe “Fall of the House of Usher” (DD--pgs. 368-381)
Nathaniel Hawthorne “Young Goodman Brown” (DD--pgs. 132-141)
20] H. P. Lovecraft “Call of Chthulhu” (DD--pgs. 85-107)
Week 14
25] Steven King “Crouch End” (DD--pgs. 690-711)
27] THANKSGIVING
Week 15
Dec. 2] Clive Barker “Dread” (DD-pgs. 339-367)
Final Exam Day (In-Class Essay): Tuesday, December 16 @ 12:30-1:50 p.m. in our regular classroom.
