English 259A Literature and Social Difference: What is a Monster?
Dr. Sarah Nickel Moore
Class Time and Place: Tuesday, Thursday 12:30-2:30, SAV166
Office: Padelford A507
Office Hours: Tuesday and Thursday 2:45-4:45, and by appointment
Email: srmoore2@uw.edu
Important Course Links:
Download the full course syllabus, with grading policy
Course Description
In the Introduction to Monster Theory Jeffrey Cohen writes that “the monster’s body quite literally incorporates fear, desire, anxiety, and fantasy … The monster’s body is pure culture” (4). In this class on Literature and Social Difference we will be looking at monsters: the differences they represent, why they appear in literature, and what they reflect about ourselves. You can expect to read a variety of texts, from the eleventh-century Beowulf epic poem to the modern-day manga The Summer Hikaru Died.
We will pair these readings with theoretical work from a variety of scholars, analyze language, and learn about the impact of genre. We will inquire what it means to be a monster, who creates monsters, and how they represent “pure culture.”
In our current cultural context, this discussion is more important than ever. As we discuss monsters and their functions in society, we will inevitably make connections to the events happening worldwide today. It is therefore incredibly important to recognize, and respect, the different experiences and vulnerabilities of your classmates.
As we read these texts, we will explore the fact that racism, xenophobia, sexism, ablism, and queerphobia are not ideas new to the 21st century, nor ideas situated solely in the past. Like monsters, they persist and re-manifest over, and over, and over again. It is my hope that as we embody these stories through speech and discussion, we will become better equipped to identify, deconstruct, and re-create meaning for ourselves today.
Structure
This course is designed to promote critical reading and writing skills. Over the ten weeks together, we will read and watch several texts in a variety of genres, as well as some scholarship and commentary on the texts. This is a reading class for writing credit, and as such we will be doing a lot of daily and weekly reading and writing.
On a weekly basis you can expect a Reading Journal assignment that should be completed before each class, as well as regular in-class activities and discussion. We will have a mid-term close-reading writing assignment and at the end of the quarter you will complete a major Adaptation Project.