Professor Tina Hall
Office Hours: 10-11 Monday and Wednesday and by appointment
Office: Root 306 x4462
Email: thall@hamilton.edu

"Oh brave monster! Lead the way." --The Tempest

Monsters and the Monstrous:
This course will focus on monsters and the monstrous in literature. We will explore examples of monsters in poetry, drama, short fiction, a novel, nonfiction and film. Throughout the semester we will question what makes something monstrous and what functions monsters serve in literature and culture. To help us with this critical project, we will read works by Mary Douglas, Sigmund Freud, Donna Haraway and others. Students will be responsible for several full-length essays as well as shorter writing assignments, a group project and a final project.

Required Texts:
William Shakespeare The Tempest
Mary Shelley Frankenstein
Edgar Allen Poe Complete Tales and Poems
Angela Carter The Bloody Chamber
Truman Capote In Cold Blood
poetry packet
critical sources packet
The Terminator movies

Course Requirements: Paper #1 (10%)
Paper #2 (15%)
Paper #3 (15%)
Paper #4 (15%)
Final Project (15%)
Group Presentation (10%)
Writing Exercises (15%)
Response to a Local Reading, Lecture or Presentation (5%)

Attendance and Participation: Because much of the work we do in English 150 revolves around class discussion, attendance is mandatory. Upon your fourth absence, for any reason, your final grade will be lowered one letter. Upon your sixth absence you will be dropped from the course. Participation and preparation for class are essential. For this reason, if you do not speak in class, you will be counted as absent. Minimal participation will also affect your grade. Each time you are late counts as half an absence.

Late Work: No late work will be accepted. Absence does not excuse late work; if you must be absent, make alternate arrangements with me in advance.

Papers (55%): Over the course of the semester you will write four full-length essays on the works we are reading. For each of these essays, you will turn in a rough draft and do revision activities (conference with me, trip to Writing Center, peer review) before turning in a final draft. Failure to turn in a rough draft or to participate in the revision activities will result in 20% (for each) being deducted from your final grade. Essays should be typed, double-spaced on white paper using a readable font. Please consult The Style Sheet and proofread before turning anything in. If you choose, you may revise one of your essays at the end of the semester. The revised grade will be averaged with the initial grade for a final score.

Final Project (15%): The final project for the class consists of building your own monster. This monster may take the form of a story, poem, essay, painting, film, website, computer program, science project, quilt, play, dance piece, sculptureBbe creative! You will present your project to the class in the final week of the semester and you will be responsible for a written analysis of the project placing it in the context of the works and issues we discussed over the semester. Your project may be collaborative, but each member must write an analysis. For the project and the analysis, I expect you to draw upon the critical sources for the class and to do independent research and compile an annotated bibliography.

Group Presentation (10%): For each of our major works/authors, one group will be responsible for presenting background and contextual information on the first day of discussion. These presentations should be between 20-30 minutes and include a handout for the class and a writing exercise for the class.

Writing Exercises (15%): A number of in-class writings and short take-home responses will be assigned. To successfully complete these and to participate in the discussions they inspire it is essential for you to keep up with the reading.

Response to a Local Reading, Lecture, or Presentation (5%): We are fortunate to have an extremely rich intellectual life at Hamilton and a wide array of opportunities to see scholars at work. You will go to at least one such event over the semester and write a short (250 word) response/reaction to it. These will be due on or before May 13th.

Special Accommodations: If you have special circumstances which require classroom accommodations, please notify me immediately.

Plagiarism: As in all classes, students are expected to adhere to Hamilton's Honor Code. Students who submit plagiarized work will be reported to the Dean. If you submit a collaborative work, please credit the other participants.