Eng 2: Advanced Composition & Critical Thinking
Sheet music from “The Vampire Waltz” in 1911.
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Vampires have been a part of American popular culture for many years. For example, a 1938 poster announces the play Dracula at the historic Mason Opera House in Los Angeles, while other images of sheet music reflect vampires as a popular theme in early 20th century songs.
Images courtesy of the Library of Congress. |
“When that Vampire Rolled
her Vampy Eyes at Me,” 1917. |
Topics
Unit 1: Dracula (Essay 1 and Paper 1) A. Intro to class, critical thinking, MLA, Turnitin, and library research. B. Before Stoker’s Dracula, there was Carmilla by J. Sheridan LeFanu. C. Carmilla, Dracula, and Victorian values. D. Is Dracula “an explicitly Christian novel” or a sexual one? What do various writers and critics say? Intro to literary criticism of the novel. E. The Count hits Hollywood: A look at film interpretations of the novel. Unit 2: Interview With The Vampire (Essay 2)
A. Vampires’ blood lust and the search for eternal youth. B. Is immortality worth it? C. Anne Rice’s life, beliefs, novel, and screenplay. D. Interview: Life--and death--from the vampire’s point of view. E. Vampires as family and communities. Unit 3: Buffy the Vampire Slayer (Paper 2)
A. Making literal the metaphoric monsters of high school. B. Buffy:Feminism rules in Vampireland, or does it? C. Can soulless demons be sinful? D. Mixing the gothic and the post-modern: "The torch has been passed to a new generation of vampires.” E. Sacrifice in Sunnydale (“sacrifice: the act of giving up something that you want to keep especially . . . to help someone.” Merriam-Webster Dictionary) Homework Readings and Class Handouts
Unit 1: Dracula (Essay 1 and Paper 1)
T 1/16: 1) Class orientation 2) Five steps of critical thinking 3) Premises and conclusions 4) Presentation of an Argument
6) Diagnostic essay written in class HW:
1) Write premises and conclusion for taking Eng 2 Read: 2) Carmilla chapter excerpts by J. Sheridan LeFanu 3) Dracula intro 4) Take Eng 2 Survey: Are You Smarter Than a Vampire? Th 1/18:
Quiz #1 – Carmilla and Dracula intro
2) Discussion of Eng 2 premises and conclusions 3) Presentation: Victorian England Slides (handout) 4) Readings discussed: What vampire myths did you see in Carmilla? What Victorian values did you see in Carmilla and Dracula? 5) Diagnostic essay returned and discussed 6) Tutorial on essay organization, plagiarism, MLA, and Turnitin HW: Read: 1) Dracula Ch 1-3 2) Defanged Ch 1-2 3) Revise diagnostic essay and type this in MLA format 4) Submit typed essay to Turnitin by 12:30 p.m. Tuesday 5) Print copy of revised essay and turn in with initial essay T 1/23: Quiz #2 – Dracula Quiz #3 – Defanged 1) Readings discussed: Do you agree that Dracula is explicitly a Christian novel? 2) Quote key premises and conclusion from Ch. 1 of Defanged. 3) Intro to Stoker, Dracula, and Wolf’s annotations 4) Student profiles 5) Essay #1 Assignment 6) How to cite an annotated book in MLA HW: Read: 1) Dracula Ch 4-6 2) Defanged, Ch 2, and write premises and conclusions 3) "The Monster in the Bedroom" by Christopher Bentley Th 1/25:
Quiz #4 – Dracula Quiz #5 – “The Monster in the Bedroom” 1) Presentation on Realism in Vampire Stories (handout) 2) Readings discussed 3) Key premises and conclusions from “The Monster in the Bedroom” 4) Comparison of Clements’ premises to Bentley’s premises 5) Handout on How to Find Your Thesis and Counter-Argument HW: Read: 1) Dracula Ch 7-13. T 1/30: Quiz #6 – Dracula 1) Presentation on Logical Fallacies 2) How to use the readings of Dracula in your first essay 3) Example of short essay and how it will be graded 4) Discussion: Dracula so far 5) Revised diagnostic essay returned HW: 1) Write draft of Essay #1 w/ corrections on it 2) Make corrections in typed MLA version 3) Bring copies of research w/ passages highlighted Th 2/1:
1) Dracula, Ch 14-19 2) Revise Essay #1 and submit it to Turnitin by 12:30 p.m. Tuesday 3) Meet in BC library lobby at 12:55 p.m. next class T 2/6: BC library Research Orientation in L 217.
1) Turn in Essay #1 envelope in class before orientation 2) Orientation will last about an hour. 3) Quiz #7– Dracula and BC library visit 4) Castle of Horror of non-passing papers 5) Paper 1 HW: Read: 1) Dracula Ch 20-27 2) Grade an essay assignment Th 2/8: Quiz #8– Dracula Essay Grading Assignment Group Work Handouts: 1) Danse Macabre by Stephen King excerpt (pages 70-77), New York: Everett House Publishers, 1981. 2) "Coming Out of the Coffin" by Kaya Genc in The New Inquiry, Aug. 24, 2012. You can access the article at: http://thenewinquiry.com/essays/coming-out-of-the-coffin 3) "Coitus Interruptus: Sex, Bram Stoker, and Dracula" by Elizabeth Miller, Romanticism on the Net 44 2006. You can access the article at: http://www.erudit.org/revue/ron/2006/v/n44/014002ar.htm 4) ”Those Monstrous Women" by Carol A. Senf, Dracula: Between Tradition and Modernism. New York: Twain Publishers, 1998. 5) “It Is Not Good To Note This Down”: Dracula and the Erotic Technologies of Censorship” by Jacqueline LeBlanc (pdf) 6) “Attention, Predation, Counterintuition: Why Dracula Won't Die" by Mathias Clasen HW: 1) Find scholarly sources for Paper #1 and mark passages 2) Type thesis for Paper #1 3) Type counter-argument for Paper #1 T 2/13:
Research, thesis, and counter argument for Paper #1 1) Presentation: Dracula goes to Hollywood (and London) Handouts:
3) Essay #1 returned 4) Paper #1 discussed HW: 1) Write draft of Paper #1 w/ corrections on it 2) Type corrected paper in MLA 3) Bring scholarly research with passages marked Th 2/15: Research, draft, and typed Paper #1 Peer Review of Paper #1 HW: 1) Revise Paper #1 and submit it to Turnitin by 12:30 p.m. Tuesday |
About Eng 2
Class Presentations
Writing Survival TipsResearch Survival Tips
About the MLA changes
Other Guides:
How to format in MLA
True Blood e-book
Critical ThinkingHow to Reach UsIf you can't see us in H35 during our office hours, the best way to reach us is through e-mail or by phone:
Kathy Freeman [email protected] (661) 395-4458 Michael Harvath [email protected] (661) 395-4064 Office Hours in H 35
Kathy Freeman
TTh: 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. (or by appointment) Michael Harvath
M 11:05-11:30 a.m T 3:10-5:55 p.m. Th 11:05-12:55 p.m. |
Unit 3: Buffy The Vampire Slayer (Paper 2)
Th 3/8: Research, drafts, and revised Essay #2 due in envelope 1) Intro to Buffy 2) Writing reviews
HW: 1) Watch Season 1, Ep. 2: “The Harvest” 2) Write draft and revised review of two-part pilot in MLA and submit this to Turnitin by 12:30 p.m. Tuesday T 3/13: Review draft and revised review in MLA due Quiz #13 – Season 1, Ep. 1 and 2 1) Class discussion: Themes in Dracula, Interview, and the Buffy pilot 2) Reviews 3) Watch Season 1, Ep. 7: “Angel” and take notes HW: 1) Watch Season 1, Ep. 12: “Prophecy Girl” 2) Assignment: What is the purpose of the prophecy in Ep. 12? 3) Read: Th 3/15: Prophecy writing assignment due. Quiz #14 – Season 1, Ep. 7 and 12 Quiz #15 – Reading 1) Presentations 10, 11, 12 2) Discussion: Buffy Season 1 3) Handout: “Introduction,” Fighting the Forces 4) Watch Season 2, Ep. 3: “School Hard” and take notes HW: 1) Watch Season 2, Ep. 13: “Surprise” 2) Watch Season 2, Ep. 14: “Innocence” 3) Read: |
T 3/20:
1) Presentations 13, 14, 15 2) Discussion: Episodes and readings- Buffy vs. Dracula 3) Watch Season 2, Ep. 17: “Passion” 4) Essay #2 returned HW: 1) Watch Season 2, Ep. 21: “Becoming (Part 1)” 2) Read:
Th 3/22: Quiz #18 – Season 2, Ep. 17 and 21 Quiz #19 – Readings 1) Watch Season 2, Ep. 22: “Becoming (Part 2)” 2) Discussion: Season 2 Buffy readings 3) Handout: “Sex and the Single Vampire,” Ch. 14 of Fighting the Forces HW: 1) Find scholarly sources for Paper #2 and mark passages 2) Write thesis for Paper #2 3) Write counter-argument for Paper #2 T 3/27 and Th 3/29: SPRING BREAK. BC is closed. HW: Have your thesis, counter-argument, and sources ready for conferences on Monday or Tuesday after the break. T 4/3: Research, thesis, and counter argument for Paper #2 due. Quiz #20 – Season 2, Ep. 22 and prev. class Handout Quiz #21 – End of class quiz on stats and fallacies 1) Presentations 16, 17, 18 2) Statistics for English Majors and McGuffins 3) Motte and bailey, group thinking, and rejection of evidence fallacies 4) Grading a paper example 5) Paper discussed 6) End of class quiz HW: 1) Write draft of Paper #2 w/ corrections 2) Type corrected paper in MLA 3) Bring scholarly research with passages marked Th 4/5: Research, draft, typed Paper #2; Peer Review of Paper #2. HW: 1) Revise Paper #2 and submit it to Turnitin by 12:30 p.m. Tuesday |
Units 4 & 5: Dead Until Dark, True Blood and Twilight
(Essay 3) T 4/10: Research, drafts, and revised Paper #2 due 1) Paper #2 collected 2) Essay #3 assignment 3) Charlaine Harris' Southern vampire series 4) True Blood intro w/ opening credits. 5) Watch True Blood (59 min.): Season 1, Ep. 1: “Strange Love” HW: 1) Read: Dead Until Dark, Ch. 1-6 |
Th 4/12:
Quiz #22 – Reading Quiz #23 – Episode 1) Presentations 19, 20, 21 2) Discussion – comparison of book and the TV series 3) Watch True Blood (59 min.): Season 1, Ep. 6: “Cold Ground” HW: Read: 1) Dead Until Dark, Ch. 7-12 |
T 4/17:
Quiz #24 – Reading Quiz #25 – Episode 1) Presentations 22, 23, 24 2) Discussion of book and the series 3) Intro to Twilight and the Twilight phenomenon HW: Read: 1) Defanged Ch. 5, “Sookie Stackhouse: Sex and the Socialized Vampire” 2) "Vampires Are Us" by Richard S. Primuth, Gay & Lesbian Review, Feb. 11, 2014 |
Twilight
Th 4/19: Quiz #26 – Readings 1) Presentations 25, 26, 27 2) Discussion: True Blood readings 3) Watch 1st third of Twilight 4) Presentation: Mary Sues HW: Read: 1) Defanged, Ch. 6, “Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight Saga: The Vampire as Teenage Heartthrob,” 103-123. 2) "(Un)Safe Sex: Romancing the Vampire" by Karen Backstein, Cineaste, Winter 2009, 38-41. T 4/24: Quiz #27 – Readings 1) Make-up presentations |
T 4/24:
(continued): 2) Watch 2nd third of Twilight 3) Discussion: Readings and movie HW: 1) Read Economics of the Undead, Ch. 1-2 (class handout). Th 4/26: Quiz 28 – Readings; Quiz 29 – End of class quiz on movie. 1) Watch last third of Twilight 2) Discussion: Readings and movie 3) Play "The Vampire Settling Game" 4) Paper #2 returned HW: 1) Write draft of Essay #3 w/ corrections on it 2) Make corrections in typed MLA version 3) Bring copies of research w/ passages |
T 5/1:
Research, draft, and typed Essay #3 due Peer Review of Essay #3 HW: 1) Revise Essay #3 and submit it to Turnitin by 12:30 Thursday 2) Bring your copy of Essential Dracula to class for reading and discussion Th 5/3: Research, drafts, and typed Essay #3 due in envelope Class wrap-up: 1) Discussion of “Appendix 1: Dracula’s Guest,” the deleted first chapter of Dracula, 446-456. Why didn’t Stoker include this chapter? 2) Vampires, Abbot and Costello, and Quentin Tarantino HW: Take the Eng 2 Final Class Survey (see below). Results will be shared in our class. |
Th 5/10: Class Meets At Noon: 1) Survey results discussed. 2) ) Essay #3 returned with final class grades. HW: 1) Have a good life.