Course Syllabus

Spring 2023 | ENG-1712-VO01 - Special Topics: The Works of Stephen King

Online Class

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

Faculty

Collin Lee
View Faculty Credentials
View Faculty Statement
Hiring Coordinator for this course: Cindy Swanson

Course Description

This course offers a critical inquiry into the works of this popular and contemporary author. Students will explore their personal relationship to horror fiction, while entertaining a central, pivotal question: "What does horror’s manifestation in popular culture reveal about the American psyche?" This course seeks to unravel our cultural fascination with themes of horror fiction, while exploring King's works as both a continuation of the literary Gothic canon and a driving force in the cinematic tradition of American horror films.

Essential Objectives

1. Identify key themes in Stephen King's works of fiction and relate them to current social issues.
2. Explain Gothic literature and its key elements.
3. Identify key Gothic authors and the specific literary works that influenced Stephen King's works of fiction.
4. Explain how Stephen King's fiction is a continuation of the literary Gothic canon.
5. Describe what constitutes popular culture and understand Stephen King's place in it.
6. Compare and contrast King's novels with films made of his works and explain how film transforms or enhances the themes of his work.

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

This course uses one or more textbooks/books/simulations, along with free Open Educational Resources (OER) and/or library materials.

Spring 2023 textbook/book details will be available on 2022-11-14. On that date a link will be available below that will take you to eCampus, CCV's bookstore. The information provided there will be specific to this class. Please see this page for more information regarding the purchase of textbooks/books.

For Open Educational Resources (OER) and/or library materials details, see the Canvas Site for this class.

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

This course aims to educate students about the contemporary importance and significance of Stephen King’s works in modern literature, pop culture, and televisions and film, as well as to illustrate how Stephen King stands as a modern-day scion of the long-standing gothic tradition. Though Stephen King is often dismissed by some literary circles as being a mass-market pop culture phenomenon, in this class we will examine why King’s work has been and should be counted as literarily significant and important beyond his popular appeal and unprecedented financial success. Each week of this class, opportunities to read, reflect, and discuss will be provided. Students will have opportunities to choose the works of Stephen King that most appeal to them to read, research and present to the class. They will also be given the opportunity to exercise their creativity as they are given the opportunity to either write a short story, report, essay, or other research-based project inspired by the works of Stephen King as their Final Synthesis Project.

Evaluation Criteria

I. Discussion Forums (40% of the final grade): The meat and potatoes of any online class is the weekly discussion forums, and this class is no exception. These discussion forums take the place of the in-class discussion and interactions between students, their peers, and the instructor in a traditional classroom setting. This is where you will get to demonstrate to the instructor and the class at large what you have taken away from each week’s reading and assignments, as well as to engage in meaningful discussions of the material with your classmates. Each week, you will be required to: a) post a response to one of the instructor’s questions; b) post a thoughtful question about the week’s reading assignment; and c) respond to at least one of your fellow student’s questions and/or comment on their response to the instructor’s questions.

In your original response, I will expect to see:

1. a demonstration of critical thinking.
2. specific references to the reading.
3. reference to how this week’s material connects to previous weeks’ material and the topic as a whole.
4. original thoughts and ideas.
5. references to at least one independently acquired outside source, when pertinent or directed.
6. proper English written in complete and coherent sentences.

Each student’s initial discussion posts and questions will be due by Thursday night each week but are encouraged to be posted as early as possible so that the other students will have the time to read and respond to them. These responses must be posted no later than Saturday night so that they can be read and perhaps responded to by the end of Monday (our last day of each week’s class).

Points will automatically be deducted for late work unless the student has contacted me ahead of time and arranged to turn in their work late. If this process becomes problematic and late posts are becoming the standard instead of the exception, I will announce a zero-tolerance policy for late work and all late work will receive zeros from then on. This is not my preference; I prefer to be accommodating whenever possible, and I know we all have lives.

II. Connection Journals (20% of the final grade): In addition to weekly discussions, you will have the opportunity of journaling throughout much of the course. These journals will be focused on the essential skill of “making connections.” You will be writing about how different aspects of the course relate to one another (readings, class discussions, videos, instructor feedback, outside research, etc.); about the pop culture and literary influences that inspired Stephen King and how is works continues to influence others, carrying the torch of the Gothic tradition and the B-movie into the 21^st century; about why his stories continue to fascinate us culturally and how the central ideas of the themes he writes about and we are discussing connect to your own life; about how what you are learning in this course may be connecting to what you are learning in other courses or in previous courses; and about the connections that you make that relate to the real world circumstances of your past, present, or future personal or professional lives. The key ingredients I will be looking for are density of connections and good writing. Your job is to tell me what you are learning that I may not have set out to teach and to make yourself and me think. These Connection Journals are due by Monday Night each week at the very latest. I will provide suggested journaling topics for each week that are pertinent to the themes or questions we will be discussing during that particular week, but you are always welcome and encouraged to come up with your own journal topics.

III. Independent Research Reports (20% of the final grade): Stephen King has written far too many books, stories, articles, films, TV shows, and other forms of media for us to be able to tackle anywhere close to all of them in a single semester. Therefore, rather than trying to create a reading list we will all adhere to throughout the semester, I will give each of you the opportunity to pick a book from the early days of Stephen Kings career as well as a book from the last twenty years ago to read about and report on. So while we will all read as a group On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft, which is both his autobiography and his thoughts on writing, reading, and literature, each student will have the opportunity to choose one book from King’s early career, one book from the last twenty years or so, and one film or TV show, to read, research, and report on to the class.

A rubric will be provided to ensure that you cover all the essential material and elements in your summary and discussion of your chosen work. Your adherence to the rubrics provided for each topic will determine your final score for that particular week.

IV. Student Creative/Synthesis Project (20% of the final grade): In addition to the more formal and analytical writing you will be exercising in your weekly posts and responses, your Connection Journals, and your independent research reports, you will also have the opportunity to exercise your creativity or academic curiosity by either writing a creative short story inspired by the works of Stephen King or by writing a significant essay, research report, podcast, documentary, website, etc. that is devoted to researching and analyzing the work of Stephen King.

The actual format that you chose is up to you. If you are a creative type or aspiring writer, you could write a short story that is related to or inspired to the works of Stephen King. If you are a more academic or “fact” based student, you could choose to create a research paper, documentary, website, or other research-based project to research and write about over the course of the semester.

Important Note About Evaluation Criteria: The most important thing to keep in mind is that I will make every effort to help you not only succeed at this class, but also to excel. Wherever possible I have tried to include multiple options in assignments so that you always feel like you are doing something relevant and interesting to demonstrate your learning. If something doesn’t make sense, if you are ever feeling overwhelmed by this class or events in your life, or if you are unable to log in and meet your deadlines for a particular week, tell me. I will make every effort to clarify the cloudy, help you with strategies to shoulder your workload, and figure out ways to make sure that you are able to get everything you need out of this class. Never hesitate to email or phone if you need help. I will make every reasonable effort to help each and everyone one of you excel, dependent only on the time and effort you are willing to put in.

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.

Participation Expectations

Each student’s initial discussion posts and questions will be due by Thursday night at midnight each week but are encouraged to be posted as early as possible so that the other students will have the time to read and respond to them. These initial posts should be a minimum of 2-3 substantial paragraphs long- aim for about the equivalent of a full page in a word document.

In addition, each student is required to meaningfully respond to the work of at least two of their classmates by no later than Saturday night at midnight and to try to keep up the thread of any discussions that result from their initial posts or their responses. Keep in mind that two responses are considered the minimum, and the more often and meaningfully you post, the better your discussion grade will be.

The hope is that these forums will mimic the in-class discussions in a traditional classroom setting, in which students and the professor engage in natural conversations about the material being presented, and as such continue until those conversations are concluded. Imagine being in a classroom, engaged in a heated conversation about the symbolism or theme of a particular story, when suddenly everyone stops talking because they have expended their minimum number of required responses for the week. The more you engage with the material we are discussing, the better your grade for participation in the discussion forums will be.

These responses must be posted no later than Saturday night at midnight so that they can be read and perhaps responded to by the end of Monday (our last day of each week’s class). When choosing posts to respond to, posts that haven't received any comments or questions yet should be given preference so that everyone's work gets the time and attention they deserve.

Finally, each week by no later than Monday night at midnight you should also complete your weekly Connection Journal entry. Like the initial discussion posts, these weekly responses should also be at least 2-3 substantial paragraphs and about a page of text in a word document, but are far less formal than the discussion forums, usually relating to feelings, emotions, and ideas rather than direct facts from the texts and are meant to show that you are really thinking about our reading and discussions and making a connection between the stories material we are exploring and other aspects of your life. They really are open "journal entries", like a traditional diary, and are expected to be informal, thoughtful, and personal- the only people who will see them will be you and me, and I don't judge. Each week I will give a handful of suggestions about what you might talk about based on the material we are discussing or where we are as a class, but in the end, the topic is really up to you, so long as it relates to the topic of Stephen King or his stories, your interests and ideas, or the assignments for the course. As with the other assignments, I will provide full details in the Weekly Connection Journal Assignment itself, as well as a rubric.

Missing & Late Work Policy

Each student’s initial discussion posts and questions will be due by Thursday night at midnight each week but are encouraged to be posted as early as possible so that the other students will have the time to read and respond to them. These responses must be posted no later than Saturday night at midnight so that they can be read and perhaps responded to by the end of Monday (our last day of each week’s class). Connection Journal assignments are due by midnight on Monday each week, as are the Final Research Project assignments in the weeks that they are due.

Points will automatically be deducted for late work unless the student has contacted me ahead of time and arranged to turn in their work late. I will not accept any work that is more than two weeks late unless a prior arrangement has been made or if the student is facing exceptional circumstances.

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