Don’t forget that the final exam, covering all material from the class of October 13 through the end of the course, will be held on December 15. Exam will be accessible on Blackboard from 7:45 pm to 9:45 on that date. Same format as the mid-term. The multiple-choice exam will be open-book; you may consult your notes, the on-line textbook, etc. However, once you begin the exam, you will have 40 minutes to complete the exam, so you should prepare well. You can look up any answers you don’t know, but you won’t have time to look up all answers.

Instructor:

Prof. M. Keith Booker

e-mail: m.keith.booker@gmail.com

Textbooks Required:

On-line textbook supplied free of charge. This syllabus provides links to the relevant sections.

Description:

This course will examine the role played by various kinds of monsters in (mostly) American film, from the Universal movie monsters of the early 1930s to the films of today. In so doing, we will look at what it means to be a monster and what sorts of meanings have been taken on by monsters in film. We will also be concerned with examining what the figuration of monsters in films can tell us about various aspects of the world in which those films were produced.

Course Resources for Remote Delivery

Online video lectures: Available on YouTube, linked to the schedule below.

Online textbook: Linked to the schedule below.

Facebook Group for Class Discussions: Click here.

Individual films: Available for inexpensive rental on Amazon Prime Video, as well as other platforms.

Essays, exams, and other major requirements:

Students will write one critical essay (4-5 pages, double-spaced) and have an in-class mid-term exam and an in-class final exam, both delivered via Blackboard. Prompts for the critical essay are included at the end of this syllabus.

There will also be a class Facebook page where students may participate in discussions, ask questions, post relevant information, and so on. For each class for which you post or comment, on this page, you will be awarded 1-3 points, depending on the quality and substance of the post, up to a possible total of 15 points for the semester. Any crucial information posted by the instructor on the Facebook page will also be made available via this syllabus.

All students should check this syllabus daily for announcements and updates and to make sure you understand the schedule. All students will be responsible for being aware of any information or announcements presented in this syllabus.

Note on participation in discussions on Facebook: To avoid spoilers, you should not discuss the material for a given class before the date of that class.

Grades and Grading

            Facebook Discussions: 15%

            Mid-term exam: 25%

            Final exam: 25%

            Critical essay: 35%

Course Schedule:

I. FRANKENSTEIN AND HIS MONSTER: MONSTERS AND MAD SCIENTISTS

Tuesday, August 25

Frankenstein (James Whale, 1931)

Introduction to the Course.

1. Read the on-line assignment “Introduction to the Monster as Metaphor.”
2. View the brief introductory lecture.
3. View the film.

Tuesday, September 1

The Bride of Frankenstein (James Whale, 1935)

1. View the film.
2. Read the on-line assignment.

Tuesday, September 8

Ex Machina (Alex Garland, 2014)

1. View the brief introductory lecture: “Ex Machina.“
2. Film viewing: Ex Machina.
3. Read the on-line assignment: “Ex Machina.“

II. THE VAMPIRE AS MONSTER

Tuesday, September 15

Dracula (Tod Browning, 1931)

1. Read the on-line assignment: “The Vampire Film: An Introduction.”
2. View the brief introductory lecture.
3. Film Viewing: Dracula.
4. Read the on-line assignment: “Dracula.”

Tuesday, September 22

Let the Right One In (Tomas Alfredson, 2008)

1. View the brief introductory lecture.
2. Film viewing: Let the Right One In.
3. Read the on-line assignment: “Let the Right one In.”

Tuesday, September 29

Only Lovers Left Alive (Jim Jarmusch, 2013)

1. View the brief introductory lecture.
2. Film viewing: Only Lovers Left Alive.
3. Read the on-line assignment: “Only Lovers Left Alive.”

III. THE ZOMBIE AS MONSTER

Tuesday, October 6

Night of the Living Dead (George A. Romero, 1968)

1. Read the on-line assignment: “Zombie Films: An Introduction.”
2. View the brief introductory lecture.
3. Film viewing: Night of the Living Dead.
4. Read the on-line assignment: “Night of the Living Dead.“

Tuesday, October 13

28 Days Later (Danny Boyle, 2002)

Mid-term exam for undergraduate students only, covering all material through the class of October 6. Exam will be accessible on Blackboard from 5:00 pm to 8:00 on this date, October 13. The multiple-choice exam will be open-book; you may consult your notes, the on-line textbook, etc. However, once you begin the exam, you will have 40 minutes to complete the exam, so you should prepare well. You can look up any answers you don’t know, but you won’t have time to look up all answers.

1. View the brief introductory lecture.
2. Film Viewing: 28 Days Later.
3. Read the on-line assignment: 28 Days Later.

Tuesday, October 20

Shaun of the Dead (Edgar Wright, 2004)

1. View the brief introductory lecture.
2. Film viewing: Shaun of the Dead.
3. Read the on-line assignment.

IV. GIANT MONSTERS

Tuesday, October 27

King Kong (Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack, 1933)

1. View the brief introductory lecture.
2. View the film.
3. Read the on-line assignment.

Tuesday, November 3

Godzilla (Ishirō Honda, 1954)

1. View the brief introductory lecture.
2. View the film.
3. Read the on-line assignment.

Tuesday, November 10

Jaws (Steven Spielberg, 1975)

1. View the brief introductory lecture.
2. View the film.
3. Read the on-line assignment.

V. HUMAN MONSTERS

Tuesday, November 17

Halloween (John Carpenter, 1978)

1. View the brief introductory lecture.
2. View the film.
3. Read the on-line assignment.

Tuesday, November 24—Fall break. No class.

Tuesday, December 1

The Silence of the Lambs (Jonathan Demme, 1991)

1. View the brief introductory lecture.
2. View the film.
3. Read the on-line assignment.

Tuesday, December 8

Joker (Todd Phillips, 2019)

Critical essays due for all students by midnight on this date. Essays should be submitted to the instructor at m.keith.booker@gmail.com by e-mail as a Word-compatible attachment.

1. View the brief introductory lecture.
2. View the film.
3. Read the on-line assignment.

Tuesday, December 15

Final exam, covering all material from the class of October 13 through the end of the course. Exam will be accessible on Blackboard from 7:45 pm to 9:45 on this date, December 15. Same format as the mid-term. The multiple-choice exam will be open-book; you may consult your notes, the on-line textbook, etc. However, once you begin the exam, you will have 40 minutes to complete the exam, so you should prepare well. You can look up any answers you don’t know, but you won’t have time to look up all answers.

Miscellaneous Relevant University Policies:

Disabilities: The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a federal antidiscrimination statute that provides comprehensive civil rights protection for persons with disabilities. Among other things, this legislation requires that all students with disabilities be guaranteed a learning environment that provides for reasonable accommodation of their disabilities.  Moreover, the University of Arkansas Academic Policy Series 1520.10 requires that students with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodations to ensure their equal access to course content. If you have a documented disability and require accommodations, please contact me privately at the beginning of the semester to make arrangements for necessary classroom adjustments. Please note, you must first verify your eligibility for these through the Center for Educational Access (contact 479–575–3104 or visit http://cea.uark.edu for more information on registration procedures).

Discrimination and Sexual Harassment: Anyone experiencing discrimination and/or sexual harassment while at the university may report it to a complaint officer appointed by the Chancellor.  The complaint officer will discuss any situation or event that the complainant considers discriminatory or constitutive of sexual harassment. Reports may be made by the person experiencing the harassment or by a third party, such as a witness to the harassment or someone who is told of the harassment.  For more information and to report allegations of discrimination and/or sexual harassment, contact the Office of Equal Opportunity and Compliance, 346 N. West Avenue (West Avenue Annex), 479-575-4019 (voice) or 479-575-3646 (tdd).

Academic Integrity: “As a core part of its mission, the University of Arkansas provides students with the opportunity to further their educational goals through programs of study and research in an environment that promotes freedom of inquiry and academic responsibility. Accomplishing this mission is possible only when intellectual honesty and individual integrity prevail.  Each University of Arkansas student is required to be familiar with, and abide by, the University’s ‘Academic Integrity Policy,’ which may be found at http://provost.uark.edu/academicintegrity/245.php

Students with questions about how these policies apply to a particular course or assignment should immediately contact their instructor.”

Attendance:  “Student absences resulting from illness, family crisis, University-sponsored activities involving scholarship or leadership/participation responsibilities, jury duty or subpoena for court appearance, military duty, and religious observances are excusable according to university rules. The instructor has the right to require that the student provide appropriate documentation for any absence for which the student wishes to be excused. Moreover, during the first week of the semester, students must give to the instructor a list of the religious observances that will affect their attendance.”

Emergency Procedures – Many types of emergencies can occur on campus; instructions for specific emergencies such as severe weather, active shooter, or fire can be found at emergency.uark.edu.  

Severe Weather (Tornado Warning):

Follow the directions of the instructor or emergency personnel

Seek shelter in the basement or interior room or hallway on the lowest floor, putting as many walls as possible between you and the outside

If you are in a multi-story building, and you cannot get to the lowest floor, pick a hallway in the center of the building

Stay in the center of the room, away from exterior walls, windows, and doors

Violence / Active Shooter (CADD):

• CALL-  9-1-1
• AVOID- If possible, self-evacuate to a safe area outside the building.  Follow directions of police officers.
• DENY- Barricade the door with desk, chairs, bookcases or any items.  Move to a place inside the room where you are not visible.  Turn off the lights and remain quiet.  Remain there until told by police it’s safe.
• DEFEND- Use chairs, desks, cell phones or whatever is immediately available to distract and/or defend yourself and others from attack.

ESSAY PROMPTS

Below are some suggested topics for your critical essays. You are not, however, limited to these topics. You may write on any topic that is relevant to the course. These topics should, however, give you an idea of the kinds of topics that I feel have a good chance of making a successful essay.

1. Choose any two films from our syllabus. Discuss the ways in which these films comment on the society in which they were produced. (You might want to choose two films that are similar in this respect, or you might want to choose two films that are different in this respect.) Issues to consider might include such things as capitalism, routinization, alienation, individualism, class, race, and so on.
2. Choose any film from our syllabus and explain why you believe it was particularly important in the evolution of monsters in the American imagination.
3. Compare and contrast the representation of women in any two films from our syllabus.
4. Choose any two films from our syllabus and discuss the ways in which those films make use of past films as a resource for their own construction.
5. Choose two monsters from two different films on the syllabus that you see as being radically different from one another. Discuss these differences.
6. Choose any film on our syllabus. Then watch at least two other films in the same monster category (Frankenstein, vampires, zombies, giant monsters, humans). Describe, using illustrations from these three films, what you see as the most important characteristics of the films in this monster category.