Course Syllabus

Spring 2024 | ENG-2370-VO01 - Detective Fiction

Online Class

Online courses take place 100% online via Canvas, without required in-person or Zoom meetings.

Faculty

Janice Mitchell-Love
View Faculty Credentials
View Faculty Statement
Hiring Coordinator for this course: Cindy Swanson

General Education Requirements

VSCS Arts & Aesthetics

Note

Many degree programs have specific general education recommendations. In order to avoid taking unnecessary classes, please consult with additional resources like your program evaluation, your academic program catalog year page, and your academic advisor.

Courses may only be used to meet one General Education Requirement.

Course Description

This course introduces detective fiction, a unique mystery subgenre, that will be studied with an emphasis on defining and appreciating its evocative style and influence on a variety of cultures.

Essential Objectives

1. Identify specific characteristics associated with detective fiction.
2. Define basic literary elements such as theme, character, plot, imagery, point of view and narrative technique, and explain how these elements are used to express ideas, emotions and values in specific works.
3. Compare and contrast important authors and their works.
4. Describe the social, cultural and historical factors that impact specific writers and their works.
5. Evaluate significant contributions of detective fiction writers to literature, cinema and culture.

Required Technology

More information on general computer and internet recommendations is available on the CCV IT Support page. https://support.ccv.edu/general/computer-recommendations/

Please see CCV's Digital Equity Statement (pg. 45) to learn more about CCV's commitment to supporting all students access the technology they need to successfully finish their courses.

Required Textbooks and Resources

ENG-2370-VO01 Link to Textbooks/Resources Information for this course in eCampus.

The last day to use a Financial Aid Advance to purchase textbooks/books is the 3rd Tuesday of the semester. See your financial aid counselor at your academic center if you have any questions.

Methods

The methods and materials for Detective Fiction will primarily consist of weekly reading assignments and then discussions about the readings with classmates on the discussion board. There will also be a writing component: at Week 10, a 3 to 5 page definition essay, and at Week 14, a semester project where the student has a choice of two activities.

Overview:

Students' work this semester is to read widely and reflect on outstandingly crafted selections in the mystery genre. (See the semester's reading list on the faculty statement.) They will also get the opportunity to synthesize and communicate their thoughts via weekly postings on the discussion forums. This is largely a self-directed course: the hope is that students will learn but also will thoroughly enjoy the class.

It is critical for success in Detective Fiction to complete the reading assignments so that students can thoughtfully discuss what they've read with classmates.

Course Structure:

For purposes of this course, the week begins each Tuesday morning, when the Discussion Board for the week opens on Canvas. Generally the due dates for homework tasks (consisting of readings, discussions on the discussion forums, and the occasional task for the definition essay or the semester project) will be Monday nights at 11:59 p.m. Students are expected to participate fully in the weekly discussion forums; it is understood that they will post on several days rather than all on one day so that their classmates have time to respond and engage in a conversation with them. Each week ends at 11:59 p.m. on Monday nights.

Late Work:

All work is due on the assigned due dates. If students have an emergency situation that arises, talk to the instructor (they can e-mail or message on Canvas) to see if something can be worked out.

Absences

If a student misses more than three (3) classes of ENG 2370 for any reason, it will be difficult to succeed in this course. Class attendance is based on discussion board attendance; if students miss a class they not only are marked absent for the week, but they also receive a zero on the weekly Discussion Forum grade. Since the fifteen weekly Discussion Forums count as 70% of the semester grade, more than three zeroes would really hurt.

However, just attending does not ensure a good discussion forum grade. If students contribute at all during the week, yes, they will get credit for attendance. However, attendance and the discussion board grade are two different entities: the grade for Discussion Board is dependent on the quality of the student's participation, for example, the quality of the student's written posts.

Evaluation Criteria

The Semester Grade:

The final grade will be derived from the following components: participation in discussion forums, one short essay (definition), and one semester project.

Here is the weighting of those components:

Participation in discussion forums: 70%

Short Essay (Definition): 5%

Semester Project: 25%

Grading for Discussion Board

A = Outstanding Quality: Postings demonstrate a solid understanding of the concepts, topics and ideas as evidenced by thoughtful responses and questions that show a clear connection with and/or are integrated with the course material at hand. Postings show depth and include many supporting details. A posting of outstanding quality might demonstrate, for example, a critical analysis of an existing posted idea or introduce a different interpretation to an existing concept or idea. When discussing literature, quotes from the reading, when appropriate, are included. Outstanding postings demonstrate the following characteristics: they are thoroughly developed; they are completely free of major grammatical or mechanical errors; they demonstrate a reasonable attempt to be free of minor grammatical or mechanical errors; they are well argued with many supportive examples and illustrations from readings and discussion; and they show strong evidence of original thinking. In outstanding postings, the tone is clear and respectful Postings are submitted on-time and are distributed throughout the week. All directions, such as required number of sentences per post, are followed. (Note: underlining is simply to emphasize points often overlooked by past students.)

B = Good quality: Postings demonstrate an adequate understanding of the concepts, topics, and ideas as evidenced by posting more general statements in the forum. A good quality posting might, for example, indicate agreement or disagreement with an existing discussion including a limited explanation or justification but would not offer depth of critical analysis or a different interpretation to an existing concept or idea as an outstanding post might. When discussing literature, quotes from the reading, when appropriate, are included. Postings are thoroughly developed, largely free of major and minor grammatical or mechanical errors, are reasonably argued with some supportive example and illustrations from readings and discussions, and show evidence of original thinking. In good postings, the tone is clear and respectful. Postings are submitted on-time and are distributed throughout the week. Directions, such as required number of sentences per post, are generally followed. (Note: underlining is simply to emphasize points often overlooked by past students.)

C = Fair quality: Postings demonstrate a restricted understanding of the concepts, topics, and ideas as evidenced by posting information that could be derived from prior posts and/or including highly general comments. When discussing literature, quotes from the reading, when appropriate, are not included. Postings show average development, contain consistent major and minor grammatical or mechanical errors, incorporate few supportive examples and illustrations from readings and discussion, and/or show marginal evidence of original thinking. In fair postings, the tone is clear and respectful. Postings are submitted on-time but are not distributed throughout the week. Directions, such as required number of sentences per post, are not followed. (Note: underlining is simply to emphasize points often overlooked by past students.)

D = Poor quality: Postings do not contribute materially to discussion. There is insignificant interaction with peers and little development of thought or technique. Demonstration of acceptable grammar and mechanics usage is poor. In poor postings, the tone is respectful. Postings may not be submitted on-time and may not be distributed throughout the week.

F= Unsatisfactory quality: Postings are not submitted on-time or postings are not submitted at all. Student work could be plagiarized. Student work is so insubstantial that credit cannot be awarded. Posting could be so unintelligible that a determination of tone cannot be rendered.

0 = Zero: no postings submitted for the week.

Grading Criteria

CCV Letter Grades as outlined in the Evaluation System Policy are assigned according to the following chart:

	High	Low
A+	100	98
A	Less than 98	93
A-	Less than 93	90
B+	Less than 90	88
B	Less than 88	83
B-	Less than 83	80
C+	Less than 80	78
C	Less than 78	73
C-	Less than 73	70
D+	Less than 70	68
D	Less than 68	63
D-	Less than 63	60
F	Less than 60
P	100	60
NP	Less than 60	0

Weekly Schedule

Attendance Policy

Regular attendance and participation in classes are essential for success in and are completion requirements for courses at CCV. A student's failure to meet attendance requirements as specified in course descriptions will normally result in a non-satisfactory grade.

• In general, missing more than 20% of a course due to absences, lateness or early departures may jeopardize a student's ability to earn a satisfactory final grade.
• Attending an on-ground or synchronous course means a student appeared in the live classroom for at least a meaningful portion of a given class meeting. Attending an online course means a student posted a discussion forum response, completed a quiz or attempted some other academically required activity. Simply viewing a course item or module does not count as attendance.
• Meeting the minimum attendance requirement for a course does not mean a student has satisfied the academic requirements for participation, which require students to go above and beyond simply attending a portion of the class. Faculty members will individually determine what constitutes participation in each course they teach and explain in their course descriptions how participation factors into a student's final grade.

Accessibility Services for Students with Disabilities:

1. Provide disability documentation to the Accessibility Coordinator at your academic center. https://ccv.edu/discover-resources/students-with-disabilities/
2. Request an appointment to meet with accessibility coordinator to discuss your request and create an accommodation plan.
3. Once created, students will share the accommodation plan with faculty. Please note, faculty cannot make disability accommodations outside of this process.

Academic Integrity