LITR 237: Fantasy (CRN 264)
MWF 12:00-12:50, PHED 215

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Assignments

For this class you be assessed in 5 ways: Angel postings, an essay, a group presentation and paper, participation, and a final exam. All written assignments must be typed, and all need to be in MLA format.

Angel Posting and Miscellaneous (20%): You will be required to post 10 responses to the readings (and to a presentation) to the Angel discussion boards. You must write about the first novel we read (The Wood beyond the World) and about one of the presentations at the end of the semester. The other 8 posts can be about any of the remaining 10 topics (you may write twice about The Fellowship of the Ring).The posts will be due by noon the day after the class’s first discussion of the text—generally a Tuesday (you may post earlier; see the syllabus for specific deadlines). You have several options for your posts: you may respond to something that was discussed in class; you may respond to a question/comment posted in the instructions for the discussion board; you may respond to a classmate’s comments; you may come up with your own topic of discussion. Some things to consider discussing about all of the books include character analyses, thematic elements, imagery/symbolism, and other aspects of literary analysis that you have learned in other classes. You are welcome to compare the book to others we’ve read (or to others with which you are familiar). Do not give plot summaries. For the Presentation response, you should discuss a concrete element of the presentation—the criteria given, the books analyzed, etc.—and you may compare it to another presentation, including your own.

I’m looking for a solid paragraph or two of concrete, specific analysis, and I recommend you reference specific passages in the texts in your analyses. Choose only a single aspect of the text to discuss or your post will be too broad. Use standard academic English (i.e. no emoticons or internet/chat abbreviations) in your posts. Posts will be graded on a scale of 0 to 10: 0 = no post; 1-5 = E; 6 = D; 7 = C; 8 = B; 9-10 = A. Flaming posts will earn you an automatic 0 for the post, and a second occurrence of flaming will earn you a 0 for the remainder of this portion of your grade. Note that you may post more than the required 10 times (and I encourage you to do so), and I will take the highest 10 grades for your average. Grades for the posts will be available on Angel. The grammar and mechanics policy will not be applied to the posts; however, excessive errors will have an adverse effect on your post’s grade (i.e. if I mention the need to proofread your post, you will have lost 1 point for it).

In addition to the Angel posting, I may assign additional in-class writings and give reading quizzes (these will not always be announced). These additional works will count as part of this component of your final grade.

Essay (20%): During the first part of the semester, you will be required to write an essay in which you develop an argument about a one of the first three books we read: The Wood beyond the World, King of Elfland’s Daughter, and The Fellowship of the Ring. Here are the parameters of the assignment:

• You may choose one of the following topics:
• Choose a character from one of the novels and argue the significance of his/her role in the story. Does the character represent someone or something? What does he/she represent? What specifically in the text demonstrates what the character represents? For example, if I were writing about Frankenstein, I could argue that the Creature (Frankenstein’s monster) represents the Id in Freudian psychology or the fear of technology of the Victorian era. Similarly, I could argue that Victor Frankenstein represents the bad mother/father. If you don’t think the character represents something, you could argue instead about the specific role that the character plays and why it is significant in the novel. For example, I could argue that Neville Longbottom in the Harry Potter series seems to play the bumbling incompetent character but that in fact his role is equally as important in the series as Harry Potter’s role.
• Choose an image or symbol that has some significance in the text and argue what that significance is or what the symbol represents using specific examples from the text. For example, if I were writing about The Hunger Games, I could argue that the bow and arrow represents freedom for Katniss or that it represents independence.
• Your job is to construct an argument about the novel, which means you will need a thesis statement and supporting evidence from the novel. Give concrete examples and quote passages from the text.
• Do NOT use secondary sources or any research for this assignment. I want to see how you interpret the text, not how others do it.
• The paper should be 3-5 pages long and is due Friday, 28 Feb by 5. You may submit your paper by e-mail attachment, but do so as either a Word document (.doc or .docx) or Rich Text Format (.rtf).

Group Presentation (25%): For this assignment, you will explore a specific sub-genre of fantasy with a group of 3 or 4 others and create a 10-15-minute presentation in which you explain the sub-genre to the class. On Friday, 24 January, you will decide on a group to work with and choose a sub-genre to explore. Each group must choose a different sub-genre, so have a couple of options in mind in case your first choice is taken by another group. I have included a list of sub-genres below, but if you know of another that you’d like to explore, you may propose it.

Your group’s job is to define the sub-genre and explain how it is distinct from other subgenres. In order to define your sub-genre, the group will choose one text that everyone in the group must read (it can be a text assigned for class). In addition, each group member must read at least one other text (groups choosing poetry or short fiction must read collections, not single poems or short stories). You may not read more than one book by the same author, and you may only use one book assigned in class as a main text, though you may list additional class texts on your list of additional books (see below). Once you have read the texts, you need to sit down and discuss what types of elements exist in the books that give them commonality. You also need to decide which of these elements (or combination of elements) makes your sub-genre unique. Note that you are not required to do secondary research, though you are welcome to do so. If you do additional research, you must include citations on the written portion of the assignment. (Research includes using the internet to find lists of books for your sub-genre.)

When you give your presentation, each member of the group must speak. You must define your sub-genre for the class by giving a list of specific criteria that the texts must have and examples of the criteria from the books you have read. Some of the criteria will always be required of the sub-genre while some may be common but still optional. You need to differentiate these criteria for the class.

Each group will, in addition to presenting its definition to the class, be required to submit a paper to me containing the following items:

• A written definition of the sub-genre with examples from each of the books you’ve read in it. This definition should be at least 2 to 3 pages long (if double-spaced).
• An annotated bibliography containing for each book read by the group (5 books for groups of 4, 6 books for groups of 5) an MLA Works Cited citation and a summary annotation of the text.
• A list of 10 additional books that fit the subgenre.
• A list of any secondary sources you use, if applicable. These sources include any websites you use to find books that fit your subgenre.

Here are some sub-genres that you may choose from:

For some of the sub-genres on the list, you may need to narrow your focus because they are very broad. You should also note that overlap between genres can be expected. For example, Dracula can fit both under Classic and Vampire (and probably several others). If you’re not sure what would fit under a certain sub-genre, you can ask for examples.

Presentations will begin on Monday, 28 April and conclude on Wednesday, 7 May.

Participation (15%): Discussions will form a heavy part of this course, and I expect everyone to be an active and engaged participant. You will be graded, starting on 27 Jan, on how often and well you participate in class discussions, both full class and small group. The grading will be broken down as follows:

• A Range: You are on time for all classes and offer meaningful and insightful comments about the readings. It is clear you are well prepared for class, and you are courteous in your comments and responses to others’ ideas (whether or not you agree with them).
• B Range: You are on time for the majority of classes and speak in the majority of them as well. You are clearly engaged in the discussion and offer good points most of the time.
• C Range: You are on time for most classes and speak sometimes. It may be hard to tell if you’re engaged in the class or if you have done the reading. Some of your comments are made just so that you have spoken for the day and not because you have something to offer to the discussion.
• D Range: You are often late for classes and speak infrequently. Mostly you sit in the back of the class and glower at the world around you.
• E Range: You don’t show up for classes and you don’t speak on the rare occasions when you are in class.

I will periodically update you on your participation grade, and you may ask me about it if you are concerned.

Final Exam (20%): For your final exam, scheduled for Friday, 9 May from 11:00-1:30, you will be required to synthesize what you have learned throughout the semester in an essay. The specific topic for the essay will be given at the exam itself, but you should be prepared to discuss a minimum of 7 of the books you have read for class in the essay. The exam will be open note, open book, and you should bring your books with you so that you may reference specific passages in your essay.

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