LIT 3003 Forms of Narrative: Archeologies of Story
Spring 2008, Section 4177
TUR 2334, MWF period 4 (10:40 - 11:30)
www.zachwhalen.net/s08/
Instructor: Zach Whalen
zwhalen [at] english.ufl.edu
www.nwe.ufl.edu/~zwhalen/
Office: TUR 4357, Tuesdays 2:00 – 4:00
Course Description
This course will be an introduction to narrative theory by way of the thresholds of what may be considered narrative. We will attempt to define narrative by studying texts which possess a controversial status as story-telling artifacts. Many of the texts under consideration will be “new media,” including hypertext fiction, interactive fiction, videogames and alternate reality games, while others will be predominantly visual, including comics, advertisements, graphic design, and typography. Many of these media can be considered examples of popular culture, so one consideration will be how notions of labels like “popular” or generic labels like “horror” come to bear on perceptions of narrative status.
The conceptual model for this inquiry will be archaeology. Students will be expected to dig deeply in order to place even contemporary media artifacts within appropriate historical and technological contexts. The purpose of this approach is twofold: to reveal how forms of narrative are always inflected by their material circumstances and to establish how new material circumstances (such as networked computing) enable new forms of narrative.
By the end of the semester, a successful student will be familiar with narratological terms and concepts and conversant with contemporary scholarship on emerging narrative forms.
Required Texts
Note: All required (print) texts will be available at Goering’s. If you choose to look elsewhere for them, please try to purchase a new copy of Cathy’s Book. Used copies are likely to be incomplete.
- Chatman, Seymour Benjamin. Story and Discourse: Narrative Structure in Fiction and Film. Cornell University Press, 1980. (Available at Goering’s)
- Ryan, Marie-Laure. Avatars of Story. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press, 2006. (Available at Goering’s)
- Stewart, Sean, and Jordan Weisman. Cathy's Book: If Found Call 650-266-8233. Running Press Kids, 2006.
- Course Pack. (Available at Xerographic Copy Center)
Digital
- Mateas, Michael and Andrew Stern. Façade. 2005. (Available as free download from http://www.interactivestory.net/).
- Montfort, Nick. Book and Volume. 2006. (Available as free download from http://www.nickm.com/).
- DOOM. id Software. 1993. (There are many different ways to acquire this game for practically any computing platform. Any platform is fine, as long as it is some version of the original DOOM game).
- Electronic Literature Collection, Volume 1. Electronic Literature Organization, 2006. (Available online, or as a free CD-ROM from http://collection.eliterature.org/).
A Note on “Reading”: Many of the texts in this course will not be traditional narrative texts, and it may not always be clear how to track one’s progress or how to tell if one has “finished” a given assignment. Indeed, that question is something we will discuss a great deal in relation to interactive fiction and video game texts. In some cases, I will provide a walkthrough or identify some benchmarks of “progress” for you to aim for.
Film Screenings
During the semester, there will be at least one screening outside our regular class meeting time. This will be scheduled at a time most convenient to the most people. Attendance is not mandatory, but you will be required to view the film(s) in question on your own time if you are unable to attend the screening.
Assignments
Take-home Midterm
A midterm exam will be given out in the last week of February and will be due on March 3. Students will choose 3 short essay questions to respond to among at least 5 options. These questions will extend from our reading, so a successful response will demonstrate a mastery of the basic subject matter as well as an invested, critical conversation with the texts in question.
Midterms should be typewritten and submitted in hard copy at the beginning of class, March 3. Any work received after the beginning of class is considered late and will automatically have 10% deducted from its score, plus an additional 10% for every 24 hour period following. Once the midterm is late by more than 3 days, I will assign a grade of zero.
This assignment will be counted as 20% of your final grade.
Final Project
For the final project in this class, students may choose one of two options: 1) a 5 – 7 page paper or 2) an Alternate Reality Game design and prototype.
Option 1. Students choosing the paper option should select a specific text (or a group of texts) representing a narrative form not discussed in this course. This need not be a form typically construed as narrativistic, and in fact, the paper’s goal should be to analyze the form using one of the approaches to narrative discussed earlier (e.g. Chatman’s or Ryan’s).
Option 2. Students choosing to design and prototype will do just that. The work should include character sketches, a master narrative, puzzle designs, and sample artifacts.
Other options. Students wishing to do a different project may contact me with a proposal any time before April. Any alternative projects should consist of a clearly outlined set of work which is similar in scope and focus to options 1 or 2.
The final project will be due on the assigned final exam date for this course, April 30. All work (including any webpages and/or code) should be submitted in hard copy, and may also include an informal presentation to the class.
This assignment will be counted as 40% of your final grade.
Blog
Throughout the semester, students will be expected to maintain a weekly blog or journal of responsive writing that reflects an understanding of and critical engagement with the readings. Think of these as extensions of our in-class discussions. These entries have no minimum or maximum word count, but will be graded on a pass/fail basis. A successful entry will be clearly written and interesting and will reflect an understanding of the texts.
Occasionally, writing prompts and topics will be given in class. Students may also wish to read other students' journals and post an entry in response.
There are 13 weeks in the semester, and I will grade 10. This means that you may wish to write only 10, and if you choose to write more, I will drop the lower (fail) grades. If on a given week you have not posted an entry, you will receive a zero for that week. You cannot write "extra" entries later to make up for that zero, but that zero can be dropped and will not adversely affect your grade if you still complete 10.
At the end of the semester, your blog will account for 20% of your final grade.
Quizzes
Throughout the semester, I will reserve the right to give quizzes, announced or unannounced. As a general rule, these will test comprehension of basic concepts and vocabulary from the readings.
If a student is not present when a quiz is given, and that absence is excused (see attendance policy) a make-up quiz may be given in the form of a short, take-home writing assignment. If a student misses a quiz for an absence or tardiness which is not excused, that quiz grade may not be recovered and will be recorded as a zero.
At the end of the semester, all quiz grades will be weighted as 10% of your final grade.
Participation
Students are expected to be in class and ready to discuss the assigned material. This course will rely heavily on active classroom conversations, and your participation demonstrates that you have read and are responding to the material.
Grading
Distribution
Your final grade for the class will be determined as an average of all assignments, with the following weight distribution:
| Participation | 10% |
| Quizzes | 10% |
| Blog | 20% |
| Take-home Midterm | 20% |
| Final Project | 40% |
Scale
Where applicable, the following scale will be used to convert numeric grades to letter grades.
| A | 90 – 100 |
| B + | 85 – 89 |
| B | 80 – 84 |
| C + | 75 – 79 |
| C | 70 – 74 |
| D+ | 65 – 69 |
| D | 60 – 64 |
| E | below 60 |
Attendance
Simply put, you should be in class every day we meet ready to discuss the material on the day’s agenda. This is a discussion-intensive class, so attendance is mandatory. I will be there and I will be prepared, so you owe me and the rest of the class the courtesy of doing the same.
All absences and tardiness will be recorded. When a student exceeds 3 unexcused absences, I reserve the right to lower his or her final grade by 5% for each absence in excess of 3.
Absences may be excused in some cases, but these are generally restricted to reasons outlined in the current catalog:
http://www.registrar.ufl.edu/catalog/policies/regulationattendance.html#...
Still, even if you are planning on being absent for any of those reasons, do not count on it being excused. As a general rule, discuss any anticipated absences with me as far in advance as possible.
Students with Disabilities
The Disability Resource Center in the Dean of Students Office provides students and faculty with information and support regarding accommodations for students with disabilities in the classroom. Staff at the Disability Resource Center will assist any student who registers as having a disability. Official documentation of a disability is required to determine eligibility for appropriate classroom accommodations. The professional employees at the Disability Resource Program server as full-time advocates for students with disabilities ensuring students have physical and programmatic access to all college programs.
For more information about Student Disability Services, see: http://www.ufl.edu/disability/
Harassment
It is the policy of The University of Florida to provide an educational and working environment for its students, faculty and staff that is free from sex discrimination and sexual harassment. In accordance with federal and state law, the University prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex, including sexual harassment. Sex discrimination and sexual harassment will not be tolerated, and individuals who engage in such conduct will be subject to disciplinary action. The University encourages students, faculty, staff and visitors to promptly report sex discrimination and sexual harassment.
For more about the University of Florida polices regarding harassment, see the University of Florida Student Conduct Code:
http://www.dso.ufl.edu/judicial/conductcode.php
and the polices regarding harassment:
http://www.hr.ufl.edu/eeo/sexharassment.htm
Academic Dishonesty
All students are required to abide by the Academic Honesty Guidelines which have been accepted by the University. The academic community of students and faculty at the University of Florida strives to develop, sustain and protect an environment of honesty, trust and respect. Students are expected to pursue knowledge with integrity. Exhibiting honest in academic pursuits and reporting violations of the Academic Honesty Guidelines will encourage others to act with integrity. Violations of the Academic Honesty Guidelines shall result in judicial action and a student being subject to the sanctions in paragraph XIV of the Student Conduct Code. The conduct set forth hereinafter constitutes a violation of the Academic Honesty Guidelines (University of Florida Rule 6C1-4.017).
Unless it is specifically connected to a collaborative assignment, all work should be completed individually. Evidence of collusion (working with someone not connected to the class or assignment), plagiarism (use of someone else’s published or unpublished words or design without acknowledgment) or multiple submissions (submitting the same paper in different courses) will not be acceptable. If I receive any work that I suspect is not 100% original, then you and I will need to discuss consequences. I cannot give you a grade for work that is not your own, and I reserve the right to assign a zero to any work I suspect of collusion, plagiarism, or multiple submission.
Grade Complaints
For each assignment, expectations for performance will be made as clear as possible, and I will provide thorough feedback on your work to make it clear why you received the assigned grade. If a student feels that I have made a mistake or graded his or her work unfairly, he or she may submit a written complaint requesting a changed grade. Please note that I will only consider grade complaints which are submitted in writing.
After an appeal, if a student still feels that her grade is unfair, she may file a grade appeal with the Department of English.
At the beginning of the semester, I will ask for a regular email address which you can access on a daily basis. I need this to create your blog account as well as to send out class updates, reminders, and schedule changes. Accordingly, you should check this email account every day. In most cases, I will make announcements both in class and by email, but you are still responsible for any information sent by email.
Use of Computers in Class
Students are allowed, even encouraged, to bring their laptop computers to class for the purpose of taking notes or referring to reading material. However, all students choosing to do so are expected to participate fully in the class discussion. I am aware of how distracting a computer can be, so I reserve the right to deny in-class computer use to any students who are abusing the privilege.
Schedule
Keywords: syllabus