Reading Popular Culture

ENG 384, Fall 2009
Reading Popular Culture
TR 12:30-1:45, MO 207

Course Description
This course will examine the theories and practices involved in critiquing popular culture as an aesthetic and economic phenomenon. Paying attention to the popular in culture and the culture of the popular, we will be exploring a wide range of texts and media--short stories and short films, music, advertisements, and television--in an attempt to understand cultural texts as an integral part of our modern intellectual landscape. Please note that we will spend no small amount of time and effort working with the critical and cultural theory that must accompany any focused, scholarly discussion of culture.

Required Texts
• Course reserves available from the library and on the course site.
• John Storey. Inventing Popular Culture: From Folklore to Globalization. Blackwell, 2003.
• Art Spiegelman. The Complete Maus.
• Octavia Butler, Kindred.
These books are available from the university bookstore as well as the Seahawk bookstore, but feel free to buy them used from amazon.com or bookfinder.com if you would prefer. Just make sure you have all your books by the time we discuss them.

Supplies
• Notebook, backup drive.
• Save all writing you do this semester in at least two locations (i.e on disk and in hard copy). Keep all work that I hand back to you in your journal.
NB: Always save repeatedly and backup regularly as important documents have a tendency to disappear--crashes/losses are not an acceptable excuse for late/missing assignments.

Class Requirements and Assignments
• You will be required to take a midterm, write a shorter essay, a final essay, response papers, participate in class discussions, and attend class regularly (see attendance policy below).
• Each response should be 500-700 words and sent to laudadion@uncw.edu as text files (see below). Your essays should be typed in a standard 10 or 12 point serifed font (Times or Times New Roman) in MLA style (refer to the website for more info).
• I do not guarantee acceptance of late assignments without notification before the due date. When accepted, all late assignments will be reduced by one-third of a grade per class day. (Absence from class on the date due (as well as computer problems) does not excuse the lateness of your assignment.)
• Regarding the above requirements: no exceptions without my verbal/written consent.

Response Papers
This semester you will be required to submit 500-750 word responses to the prompts listed on the syllabus and will be due by 11 pm the night before class (all assignments are due they day they are listed on the syllabus—so, the response listed on April 2 will actually be due to me at 11pm on April 1. No fool). You don’t need to print these out, just type them and post them to the course discussion board (more information on this in class). I expect the tone of these to be professional and curious—avoid boring taste/value judgments (“I didn’t like it,” “This stunk ”)--try to center your discussion on tangible and specific aspects of the film/scene/article you are discussing, not on just your emotional ("gut") responses.

Breakdown of Grades
Final essay (25%), midterm (25%), shorter essay (20%), six response papers (20%).
Participation: includes group work, class participation, attendance, and general attitude (10%).

Attendance
You are allowed to miss two classes before you are penalized. Use these wisely (i.e. save them for when you are really sick). After three missed classes, your participation grade drops a level. After four missed classes, your final grade drops by a third. After five missed classes, you will receive a failing grade. The class depends upon your presence.
• If you miss more than one class, you must contact me in person; otherwise, I will assume you have dropped the class. You will also want to get notes from another student.
• Do not schedule meetings with your advisor, doctor’s appointments or anything else during this class time. (Having a doctor’s note does not gain you a “free” absence.)
• Don’t leave class early.

Lateness
If you are late to class three times (that is, if you come in after I have taken attendance), you will receive one absence. If you are late, please make sure that I have marked you present. If you find that parking is a problem on the first day (and it almost always is) come earlier.

Incompletes
The incomplete grade may be given only to students who have 1) fulfilled the attendance requirement for the course and 2) completed all but one of the written assignments.

Academic Dishonesty
Almost every semester I am forced to fail a student for turning in a plagiarized paper. Do not be this person, as it is a terrible experience for everyone involved.

As a reminder: plagiarism is using another person’s words (even just a few words and even if they are from some old website) and/or ideas as if they were your own. To avoid plagiarism, simply put the material you have taken in quotation marks and cite the person’s name and publication information in your paper. Please note that turning in an assignment that you wrote for another class also falls under the heading of academic dishonesty and is prohibited. If you turn in any such assignments, you will receive an “F” for the course and I will notify the Dean.

More information on the UNCW Honor Code can be found at:
http://www.uncw.edu/stuaff/odos/honorcode/documents/HonorCode09.10.pdf

Writer’s Block
Feel free to stop in during office hours for any reason; as paper time draws near, you’ll probably want to schedule an appointment if you’re desperate for additional feedback. Please do not wait until the last minute to do so; I cannot (as you can probably imagine) schedule time for very many students two days before the deadline. If you need additional assistance on your paper draft beyond this meeting, please seek out the Writing Place; the staff are there to provide feedback on papers. (Please keep in mind, however, that merely having someone on the staff read your paper does not ensure you a higher grade. http://www.uncw.edu/stuaff/writingplace/ 962-7155 (appointments are recommended) Hours: M-Th 10-9; Friday 10-3; Sun 6 p.m.-9 p.m.

Disabilities
If you have a disability and need reasonable accommodation, you should inform me of this fact in writing within the first week of class. If you have not already done so, you must register with the Office of Disability Services in Westside Hall (extension 3746) and obtain a copy of your Accommodation Letter. You should then schedule an appointment with me to make mutually agreeable arrangements based on the recommendations in your letter.