ENGL 204 B: Popular Fiction and Media

English 204B:  Winter 2026   Viral Reads:  Popular Fiction and Its Publics

Instructor: Megan Butler, PhD, mbb67@uw.edu

Class Meets:  TTh 11:30-1:20pm, Loew Hall 102

Drop-in office hours: Wednesdays 2-4 in person (Padelford A-302) or with much flexibility on Zoom.  Send an email and we’ll find a time.

COURSE CALENDAR :  Because things change, our course calendar is in this google doc.  Please make a habit of checking it after every class so you know what you need to read to be prepared for our next class (and to see how far we’ve come!). A list of our class readings in MLA format is at the end of the calendar.

DISCUSSION GROUP sign-up sheet:  Another important link for the class.  You will lead class discussion as part of a group during one class this quarter.  Use the link to sign up and to see ideas and directions.  

What makes a book "popular"? What makes it "good"? Who gets to decide? This course investigates the slippery boundary between popular fiction and public opinion by examining how novels achieve cultural legitimacy—or notoriety—in an age of social media, adaptation economies, and algorithm-driven reading (If you liked XX, you'll LOVE XXx!). We'll read four contemporary novels that generated significant media buzz and analyze not just what the texts say, but how they circulate: through BookTok and Goodreads, film franchises and fan communities, publishing controversies and censorship battles. Each text serves as a case study in how popular fiction does the cultural work of reflecting our anxieties about class, gender, race, and authenticity while also shaping public discourse in return. Through close reading, media analysis, and theoretical frameworks from literary and cultural studies, we'll develop tools for understanding literature and the complex media ecosystems in which it now lives. By the end of the quarter, you'll be able to analyze not just novels, but the cultural conversations they spark and the communities they create.

The American philosopher Martha Nussbaum writes that “the literary imagination is an essential part of both the theory and the practice of citizenship,” and Berthold Brecht, the German playwright, urges that “art should not be a release valve, but a combustion engine.” Yes!  In the spirit of both thinkers, we’ll also use our four novels as evidence of cultural trends that will encourage you to engage in respectful, rigorous, intellectual debate, discuss complex questions, and learn from one another. 

CLASS TEXTS (in the order that we’ll read them)

1. Maus: A Survivor's Tale by Art Spiegelman (ISBN 978-0-394-74723-1, just the first book--My Father Bleeds History--not the second)
2. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (ISBN 978-0-439-02352-8)
3. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn (ISBN 978-0-307-58837-1)
4. Gone Girl movie, directed by David Fincher, DVD available at Suzzalo, or $3.99 to rent on multiple streaming services including YouTube, Apple TV, and Amazon Prime Video
5. American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins (ISBN 978-1-250-20978-8) 

Please buy/borrow these paperback books (new or used) at the beginning of the quarter. You will need physical copies of the books for class since we will be tech free in the classroom.  If buying online search by the ISBN number. All four books are available at the UW Bookstore but used versions can be found at significantly lower prices from many retailers, both online and in stores.  Just make sure you purchase the right edition so we are on the same page during discussion.

ADDITIONAL MATERIALS

• • A notebook for in-class writing and out-of-class reading notes
  • A folder to keep class materials together
  • All supplemental class materials and links will be posted on our course website or available as printed handouts
  • Internet access, UW Net ID and password, UW email account that you check every day.

COURSEWORK

As a “W” course, this quarter you will be writing two formal essays, each with a first (rough) draft and a final draft. You will also be asked to engage in a series of informal conversational discussion posts and replies both in-class and on Canvas, which will provide you with low-stakes opportunities to practice developing your analyses of the texts we will be spending so much time with this quarter. Our emphasis on composition and analytical skills will serve you throughout your academic and professional career. 

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

• Develop skills to be flexible and adaptable writers by composing effectively across differing contexts and purposes using an array of strategies.
• Learn strategies to pay close attention to texts, both on the micro level (syntax, structure, wordplay, connotation), and the macro level (patterns, structure, historical context).
• Connect this course to your life outside UW.
• Have an appreciation for and knowledge of literature’s relationship to related areas or disciplines.

REQUIREMENTS: 

Class Participation (10 points): Participation is about being a good citizen in our intellectual community.  That includes coming to class with an open mind, doing the assigned readings, being on time & courteous, contributing actively to large- and small-group discussion, and completing our in-class writing assignments.  Simply being present is not the same as active participation; I expect to hear your voice, your ideas, and your questions.

Semi-weekly Response Posts (15 points):  Throughout the quarter (except for essay submission weeks) you will submit a 200-300 word post to Canvas in which you reflect upon an idea you’ve encountered in our discussions or readings. Your responses should incorporate material from the text we’re reading, reflections from in-class discussions, and your own critical thinking.  I’m looking for written evidence of your thought process as you articulate a problem or develop the seed of a potential essay topic.  Your posts will be graded on completion.

Discussion Questions and Facilitation (15 points): For one class meeting you will be a part of group that leads the class discussion for 45 minutes. This allows you more agency in shaping discussion topics and encourages deeper, more careful class preparation. For more info and ideas, please have a look at the sign up sheet. 

Each group will submit a discussion agenda to me one day in advance.  If there is a paper component to your discussion, or something you want to distribute to the class, if you get it to me by 10AM and I can make copies for everyone (we’ll need 41).

Please e-mail me your discussion agenda for approval by 2pm on Monday if you’re leading a Tuesday discussion or 5pm on Wednesday if you’re leading a Thursday. I will either approve your guide or ask you to make some revisions within 3 hours. If you are unsure of what to do, please visit me during drop-in hours or make an appointment.

Discussion agendas should include some variation of the following components, which will ideally incorporate and reflect on the discussions—both in class and online—that have come prior:

• • Informative heading (name, date, title, etc.)
  • Relevant texts
  • Agenda
  • Learning goals/outcomes
  • Planned activity(ies), with rough time increments 
  • Discussion questions (which may be used in planned activities or for unstructured discussion)
  • Related external research, which can include some combination of:
    • Relevant info about the text, author, critical reception of the text, or setting
    • Info about themes discussed across the course 

Midterm essay (4-5 pages: thesis and rationale 5 points, first draft 5 points, final submission 20 points): Analytical close reading essay (with thesis) on a topic related to class material and discussions. We will peer review this essay in class and then revise for final submission. You will receive feedback from a peer on your first draft; I will give you written feedback on your final draft. Your first draft will be given a completion grade, while your final draft will receive a grade from me. Due to the requirements of “W” courses, I will not be able to accept final drafts that do not meet the page count requirement. Assignment prompt to follow.

Creative project OR final essay (length may vary: thesis and rationale 5 points, first draft 5 points, final submission 20 points):  Analysis of a topic related to class material/discussions in the form of an essay or a non-essay project that uses library research and creates critical perspective on the material. As with the midterm essay, we will peer review in class and then revise for final submission. You will receive feedback from a peer on your first draft; I will give you written feedback on your final draft. Your first draft will be given a completion grade, while your final draft will receive a formal grade from me (on the GPA scale). Due to the requirements of “W” courses, I will not be able to accept final drafts that do not meet the page count requirement. Assignment prompt to follow.

Total points: 100

POLICIES

ATTENDANCE

This is a discussion-based class, not a lecture so attending class and participating in discussions are critical. That said, do not come to class if you are sick. Lack of attendance will have a significant impact on your participation grade.

Food for thought:  “Class attendance appears to be a better predictor of college grades than any other known predictor of college grades—including SAT scores, high school GPA, studying skills, and the amount of time spent studying. Indeed, the relationship is so strong as to suggest that dramatic improvements in average grades (and failure rates) could be achieved by efforts to increase class attendance rate among college students.”
--Credé et al. “Class attendance in College:  A Meta-Analytic Review of the Relationship of Class Attendance with Grades and Student Characteristics.” Review of Education Research, June 2010, p. 290.

MISSING CLASS

It is expected that you will attend all classes. However, I understand that things come up or you get sick. Please send me an email at mbb67@uw.edu before class if you will miss. It goes without saying but I will, do not schedule appointments during class time.  If you do miss class, it's your responsibility to find out what was covered.  Please make sure you have a contact in class you can ask.

CLASSROOM EXPECTATIONS

You will be working together throughout the quarter. Disagreement can be productive, and people in many fields depend on disagreement to strengthen their arguments, discover errors, and challenge their own thinking. However, in order for disagreement to be productive, it must be respectful and courteous. Be generous with others and try to assume good intentions. Personal attacks, disrespectful language, and disrespectful behavior have no place in the classroom. Hate speech will not be tolerated. You are expected to use language and actions that show respect for your fellow classmates at all times.

TECHNOLOGY

1. 1. No laptops or phones may be used in class. Please put your phone away before you walk into the classroom. I will remind everyone at the start of each class session to put devices on ‘do not disturb’ and then put them away, out of sight. Certain technologies are more useful in certain situations: pen, paper, and physical books allow for better focus and less disruption in a discussion course.
   2. Research in a number of fields shows that deep reading is best facilitated by reading print texts and manually taking notes. Life gives us plenty of opportunity to read shallowly; here we will embrace the cognitive challenge of deep, slow, focused reading and discussion.
   3. You may use a tablet or e-reader for note taking so long as it sits flat on your desk and is not connected to the internet during class. Paper notebooks are strongly encouraged and preferred.
   4. If there are accessibility reasons you need to use a device in class, or if you are concerned about this policy, please come talk to me.

LATE WORK

All assignments will be submitted on Canvas (unless otherwise specified), and are due on the time and date specified in the syllabus and on Canvas. An assignment arriving late will be graded will be deducted 1 point (out of 25) per day.  Keep in mind that if you submit your essay late, peer review will be affected. You may not be assigned an essay to peer review (in which case you will lose those participation points), and you may not receive peer feedback on your essay. This is true whether or not we work out an alternate deadline for the assignment.  Any assignments more than 5 days late will not receive feedback.

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

We will be using Canvas to submit all work. All assignments (unless otherwise noted) should be formatted according to MLA (Modern Language Association) guidelines. This includes (but is not limited to):

• • 12 pt. Times New Roman font
  • Standard Margins (1-inch)
  • Double-spacing
  • Page numbers in upper right corner with surname/family name (e.g., Smith 4)
  • Parenthetical citations for quoted material

If you feel unsure about what any of this means, or if you have concerns, please come talk to me.  For assistance with grammar, punctuation, and formatting, I also recommend the Purdue OWL website (http://owl.english.purdue.edu/).

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY

Plagiarism, or academic dishonesty, is presenting someone else’s ideas or writing as your own. In your writing for this class, you are encouraged to refer to other people’s thoughts and writing – as long as you cite them. As a matter of policy, any student found to have plagiarized any piece of writing in this class will be immediately reported to the College of Arts and Sciences for review.

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

Do not use generative artificial intelligence to write for you. This course is an opportunity to develop your writing skills. The assignments in this class have been designed to challenge you to develop creativity, critical-thinking, and problem-solving skills. Using AI technology will limit your capacity to develop these skills and to meet the learning goals of this course.

Outsourcing your writing to generative AI services slows your development as a university-level writer and violates academic integrity policies. This besides the fact that a conversation with ChatGPT can consume 16 ounces of fresh water, the size of the water bottle you brought to class.

You may use generative artificial intelligence for research, such as to identify a source, summarize an article, or format a citation. But be aware that even this brings risks: models can “hallucinate” incorrect information, sources that are not cited can put you at risk of plagiarism, and groups that are not represented in that model’s training data will be excluded, which can bias your research.

Here's what you can do to cover yourself against plagiarism or collusion:

• At every stage of your writing, keep your drafts, notes, papers, and research materials. If a question of plagiarism or AI use arises, you'll have a paper trail (paper trails protect you in a variety of academic, public, and work-related contexts)
• Don't use editing services. Don't ask anyone, even family or friends, to edit your paper or help you write it. You need to do that work yourself.
• If you need additional help with your writing, visit one of UW’s Writing Centers (in Odegaard or Mary Gates Hall), where trained professionals are there to help you.
• Last but not least, ask me if you have any questions about honesty.

RELIGIOUS ACCOMMODATIONS CLAUSE

Washington state law requires that UW develop a policy for accommodation of student absences or significant hardship due to reasons of faith or conscience, or for organized religious activities. The UW’s policy, including more information about how to request an accommodation, is available at Faculty Syllabus Guidelines and Resources. Accommodations must be requested within the first two weeks of this course using the Religious Accommodations Request form available at https://registrar.washington.edu/students/religious-accommodations-request/.