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Spring 2014 English 4904, Studies in Film Horror Cinema & the Nature of the Monster = =

Phone: 549-0199 Wiki: http://studiesinfilm.wikispaces.com/home
= = “Independent films are where you really get to cut your teeth and have some fun and do the things that mainstream Hollywood doesn't want to do.” (Anthony Anderson)

__**Course Description: **__

**Studies in Film: Horror Cinema & the Nature of the Monster** English 4904, Studies in Film, will explore the horror film in relation to a monstrous nature that evolved either deliberately or by accident and incites fear in humanity as both character and audience. According to film scholar Noel Carrol “In works of horror, humans regard the monsters they meet as abnormal, as disturbances of the natural order” (16). For Carrol, “horror involves essential reference to an entity, a monster, which then serves as a particular object of the emotion of art-horror” (41). By the end of this course, students will become familiar with the nature of such monsters in and of the horror film. (Group 5)

__**Course Objectives: **__
 * Students will: **
 * 1) Evaluate genre films as art form and cultural artifact
 * 2) Analyze and synthesize theories of film form and visual style
 * 3) Identify and analyze both narrative and non-narrative horror cinema
 * 4) Identify, critique and apply film theories and historical contexts to horror cinema
 * 5) Write analytically and effectively about horror cinema and related concepts

__**Course Texts: **__

Bordwell, David and Thompson, Kristin. //Film Art, An Introduction//. New

York: McGraw Hill, 2010. Print.

Grant, Barry Keith, Ed. //Film Genre Reader III//. Austin: University of Texas

Press, 2003. Print.

Murray, Robin L. and Heumann, Joseph K. //Ecology and Popular Film://

// Cinema on the Edge //. Albany: SUNY Press, 2009. Print.

__**Course Policies and Requirements:**__ In order to succeed in this course, you must effectively complete each of the following:

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 150%;">Note: Paper prompts will be provided. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 20px; line-height: 29px;"> 4. Individually you will choose a film (of your week’s sub-genre) introduce it and lead <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 20px; line-height: 29px;"> discussion following its screening. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 150%;"> 5. You will take a midterm exam and final exam, which will allow you to synthesize <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 150%;"> information gained from the text books, films, and their cultural and historical contexts.
 * 1) <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 150%;">Once a week you will complete an entrance card answering a question about the film(s) screened and/or text read for that class. More later.
 * 2) <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 150%;"> You will also be expected to keep a film log,with notes on each film screened in class (you may use on your midterm and final). Make sure you read the material for each class. In-class writing and quizzes will occur sporadically, as well.
 * 3) <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 150%;"> You will also write two papers, one due at midterm and one due by the final class session:
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 150%;">The first paper will give you the opportunity to expand one of your entrance cards and critically analyze one of the films on the course calendar in 4-6 pages.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 150%;">The second paper will allow you to look beyond films screened for class to examine a particular sub-genre in 6-8 pages.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 150%;">You will also provide a Wiki page for your sub-genre and at least two representative films.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 150%;">In addition to the above requirements, students enrolled in the course for graduate credit will extend one of their papers to approximately 15 pages. These students will be asked to submit a prospectus for the paper, as will all other students, but should also include a bibliography with their prospectus.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 150%;">**Note:** No late work will be accepted unless I have approved extensions before the date the work is due.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 150%;">__**Grades:**__ Grades for this course will be determined as follows


 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 150%;">Entrance Cards 15%
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 150%;">Paper 1 10%
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 150%;">Paper 2 15%
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 150%;">Wiki Page 10%
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 150%;">Film Log 10%
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 150%;">Presentation 15%
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 150%;">Midterm 15%
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 150%;">Final Exam 10%

__**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 150%;">Other Policies: **__
 * 1) <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 20px; line-height: 29px;">Plagiarism Statement: “Any teacher who discovers an act of plagiarism--`the inappropriate imitation of the language, ideas, and/or thoughts of another author, and representation of them as one’s original work’—has the right and the responsibility to impose upon the guilty student an appropriate penalty, up to and including immediate assignment of a grade of `F’ for the course.
 * 2) <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 20px; line-height: 29px;">If you have a documented disability and wish to receive academic accommodations, please contact the Coordinator of the Office of Disability Services (581-6583) as soon as possible.
 * 3) <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 20px; line-height: 29px;"> Please also note that this course is Writing Intensive, so a paper completed for the course can be turned in to your electronic writing portfolio—some time during the actual course of the class.
 * 4) <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 20px; line-height: 29px;"> Ambitious students can also seek help from the Writing Center. Call for an appointment (581-5920) or visit ((CH3110) at any point in the writing process, from brainstorming, planning and drafting, to final editing. Bring your assignment sheet and any written work and/or sources with you. The Writing Center is open Monday-Thursday, 9-3 and 6-9, and Friday from 9-1.
 * 5) <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 20px; line-height: 29px;"> You must complete all major assignments to complete this course.
 * 6) <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 20px; line-height: 29px;"> Students seeking Teacher Certification in English Language Arts should provide each of their English department professors with the yellow form, “Application for English department Approval to Student Teach.” These are available on a rack outside the office of Dr. Donna Binns (CH 3851).