Wintersession 2018: ENGL0511C Fantastic Places, Unhuman Humans

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1 Professor Instructional Designer Jim Egan Naomi Pariseault 357 Benefit St Brown University John Nicholas Brown Center School of Professional Studies for the study of Public Humanities & Cultural Heritage Graphic Artist Matt Rockman Wintersession 2018: ENGL0511C Fantastic Places, Unhuman Humans Learning Objectives: Discuss important conceptual difficulties that arise when trying to define and distinguish between humans and monsters. Discuss important problems that grow out of the effort to apply definitive and universal moral judgments to actions, thoughts, social structures, and/or living beings. Discuss important conceptual problems that grow out of the effort to define what constitutes the categories of nature and natural. Apply the techniques of close reading to a variety of different texts across media and genres. Come to multiple interpretations of literary works by leveraging alternative tools like computergenerated visualizations. Present your insights in an engaging, coherent, organized, and focused form through the use of literary analysis. Produce creative responses to literature which engage and challenge the themes and express new viewpoints into the conversation. Required Texts: H.G. Wells, The Island of Dr. Moreau (Modern Library Classics) Philip K. Dick, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (Del Rey/Ballentine Books) Richard Matheson, I Am Legend (Tor Books) Additional Texts (Provided in the Course) Edgar Allan Poe, The Murders in the Rue Morgue William Gibson, Johnny Mnemonic Samuel R. Delany, Aye, and Gomorrah H. P. Lovecraft, The Colour Out of Space Margaret Atwood, Homelanding in Good Bones and Simple Murders

2 Requirements Cafes 48 points 12% Quests (plus Avatar Creation=2 pts) 142 points 35% First Paper: Draft (10 pts) & Peer Review (5 pts) 15 points 4% First Paper 70 18% Final Paper: Peer Review (5 pts) & Rough Draft (20 pts) 25 points 6% Final Paper: 100 points 25% Total 400 points 100% Online discussions are meant to replicate conversations that occur in the classroom environment. Discussions can include respectful differences of opinion. If including references to points made by others, citations should be included. We expect that you adhere to deadlines as posted, and generally late assignments will not be accepted. Deadlines are posted in Eastern time. We understand that there can be circumstances beyond your control. Should you need to extend a deadline (due to work, family, etc. reasons), please inform us in advance of the assignment due date. Final grade - If you earn above the following thresholds, you can expect to receive at least the corresponding letter grade 90% of available points (360 out of 400) -- A. 80% of available points (320 out of 400) -- B. 70% of available points (280 out of 400) -- C.

3 Your grade may be adjusted upward even if you do not meet the relevant threshold in order better to reflect your unique contributions to the class or other factors that are not captured in the raw score. Accommodations for All Travelers on the Journey Brown University is committed to full inclusion of all students. Please inform me early in the term if you have a disability or other conditions that might require accommodations or modification of any of the course procedures. For more information, please contact Student and Employee Accessibility Services at or SEAS@brown.edu. Students in need of short-term academic advice or support can contact one of the deans in the Dean of the College office. Travelers Time Commitments During Course of Journey The total of in-class hours and out-of-class work for all full credit courses at Brown is approximately 180 hours over the length of a 4-week Wintersession. In this class, students seeking to maximize their learning can expect to spend 64 hours reading (approx. 16 hours/week with reading over 4 weeks); 21 hours in cafés (3 hours/cafe with 7 cafés over 4 weeks); 77 hours on Quests (5.5 hours/quest with 14 Quests); 6 total hours writing five-page critical analysis paper; 15 total hours writing, peer reviewing, and researching Final Paper. Actual times will vary for each student; final grades are not determined by the amount of time a student spends on the course. Schedule Village de Embarke Friday, December 22: Create Your Avatar Café: Introduce Yourself to Your Fellow Travelers Mini Quest: Let's See What We're In For Bio-World December 23-25: Saturday, December 23: Sunday, December 24: Monday, December 25: December 26-28: Tuesday, December 26: Mysteria Realm Reading: E.A. Poe, Murders in the Rue Morgue Café: The Importance of Absence Quest: What Does a Story Look Like? Quest: What's Being Said Without Being Said Travelers Rest & Family Time Moreau Isle Realm Read: H.G. Wells, Island of Dr. Moreau Wednesday, December 27: Café: Um, Is There Another Dr. I Can See Instead? Quest: Scavenger Hunt Thursday, December 28: Quest: Revealing What's Being Said Without Being Said

4 Future World December 29-30: Friday, December 29: Saturday, December 30: December 31-January 4: Sunday, December 31: Monday, January 1: Tuesday, January 2: Wednesday, January 3: Dystopia Realm: Reading: William Gibson, Johnny Mnemonic & Samuel R. Delany, Aye, and Gomorrah Café: They're Only Human... Or Are They? Quest: Memories, May Be Beautiful... And Yet Quest: Visualizing A.I. Robotica Realm Reading: Philip K. Dick, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? Travelers Celebrate the New Year! Reading: Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (continued) Café: Is Nature Unnatural? Quest: Are We Human, or Are We Dancer? Thursday, January 4: Quest: Either: Time to Hunt Scavenges Again OR One of Robotica Level Up Quests Friday, January 5: Scriptorium the First Draft of First Paper Saturday, January 6: Sunday, January 7: January 8-11: Monday, January 8: Tuesday, January 9: Wednesday, January 10: Peer Review First Paper Due Gothic World Forgotten City Realm Reading: Richard Matheson, I Am Legend Reading: Matheson, I Am Legend (continued) Café: Is Memory Sometimes a Kind of Violence? Thursday, January 11: Quest: Ok, But Tell Me What's Really Going On Quest: Visualizing a Legend January 12-13: Friday, January 12: Other World Unearthly Realm Readings: H.P. Lovecraft, The Colour Out of Space & Margaret Atwood, Homelanding Saturday, January 13: Café: Compulsive Category Comparisons Quest: I Don t Think We re In Kansas Anymore

5 January 14-15: Sunday, January 14: Monday, January 15: Fifth Dimension Realm Reading: Twilight Zone-- The Monsters are Due on Maple Street & The Hitch-hiker Café: Questioning Humanity s Humanity Quest: The Most Human Human Final Scriptorium Tuesday, January 16: Wednesday, January 17: Thursday, January 18: Friday, January 19: Final Project Prospectus Final Project Draft Peer Review Final Paper Due