Literature Discussion Requirements for
Gothic and Horror Fiction Discussions

As you look over the course requirements, you’ll see that weekly discussions on our movies and books form the backbone of the course.  This lecture talks about the discussions in general first, and then provides you with the specific requirements.

 

Discussions on the course texts (here “text” can mean written work or movie) will begin with questions that I will post in the discussion board named for the work. A good discussion brings together an interested group of learners who have done some preparation, including having read and thought about a text. Therefore, my questions will ask you to look at the assigned text structurally, stylistically, and contentwise. As you read or watch the assigned texts, I encourage you to make informal notes that will help you in addressing the following questions. This solitary preparation should include:

1.    marking the text for significant passages or making notes about details in the movie,

2.    organizing your thoughts on paper, and

3.    producing other significant questions that you wish to explore.

Though I post a few questions, you can post a question as well to the class.  (This question would count as one of your two additional posts that respond to other students.  Your other post needs to be a substantive response.) In the actual discussion, the group is responsible for exploring the text and probing the ideas that classmates have brought from their individual reading and analysis of the text. This reading discussion is a time "to mine" the text, to work it over as a class, to think aloud about it, to test some ideas against the whole group. For example, the following might be read in a discussion comment:

The seminar discussion is a special place for a unique kind of intellectual activity. The exchange of ideas must be focused on the text. A good way to keep focused on the text at hand is to respond to the following four questions:

·         What is the overall perspective/point of view/subject/theme of this text?

·         What symbols, settings, narrators, characters and plots does the writer use to convey this point of view/theme and create audience responses?

·         What advantages does the author gain by using the narrative approach, narrative point of view and other devices that he/she has chosen?

·         What are the similarities and differences between this text and others we’ve discussed, in terms of themes and literary devices?

·         How does the author/director’s style contribute to the story being told?

·         What typical traits, strategies, devices and themes of the genre are represented with this text?

·         How does this text develop an audience response?  What response do you think the text is trying to achieve, and how?

Make sure to keep these questions distinct because each forces the group to discuss the text in different ways. Sometimes the discussion will be focused but still free flowing, searching, questioning, going deeper to understand the analysis of others. Sometimes the group may come to conclusions, sometimes it may seem like a series of disconnected activities.

In the words of Richard Jones in Experiment at Evergreen: "In seminar [discussion] one learns how to do the more important things that need to be done to information by an educated adult; choosing and finding it, weighing it, criticizing it, analyzing it, comparing it, reflecting on it, editing it, and then expressing what has been made of it by way of the . . .written language."

The instructor’s role in seminar is at best to be a model of an experienced learner and not the focus of attention or authority that will tell you what you should learn. Everyone has to take responsibility for co-leading and sharing ideas.

Requirements for Literature Discussion Participation

1)   Amount of Required Posts

To get a discussion started, each student needs to respond to each of the questions I post. In this class, I will post 3 questions. In addition, each student must respond to at least two (2) responses or questions by other students. In total, the required amount of work is 5 posts per discussion. After these requirements are met, a student may also post an additional question or more comments that he/she thinks are important to discuss about the reading. However, all questions should be posted early in the discussion period. Since a named discussion board has been set up for each of our readings, students are responsible for posting all answers, comments, or questions in the appropriate board. I cannot be held responsible to find and evaluate responses that are posted in the wrong place.

2) Substantive Posts
When posting responses to my questions or the questions and responses of classmates, each student is required to provide substantive comments. "Substantive comments" discuss ideas with some thought, depth and supporting evidence. They are not "cheerleading," such as "I like it." or "I totally agree. I love the way you said that."   Substantive comments will at the very minimum be a 7-10 sentence paragraph of complex, detailed thinking, providing quotes or details from the text as evidence, as well as context for that evidence and analysis.  Usually they will be longer.    Comments that I evaluate to be less than substantive will not receive full credit.

I will do my best to grade the early discussions within two or three working days of the closing date, so that you will have an idea about how you are doing.  A rubric is available with each discussion, and is summarized in these 3 major pieces of criteria:

·         Addresses question or student post in substantive way, synthesizing more than one source;

·         Uses quotations and paraphrase effectively, providing context and analysis;

·         Post is written in standard English, avoiding basic errors and text messaging abbreviations.118393_8645

 

3)   Timely Posts

As I say elsewhere in this document, you’ll be fully participating in this discussion if you begin posting early. I strongly recommend checking in on the discussion several times during the 7 days it is open.  Post one or two responses early, check back in and read other responses to gain more understanding, and post more. 

Students who post everything last minute are simply not truly participating in the discussion. Therefore, any discussion where the poster posts ALL responses within the 4 hour period before the discussion closes (which would be 8PM-midnight on Sunday night) will only receive 75% credit.  Of course a few last minute posts are fine, but last minute participation is simply not true participation, and is treated as such.

4)   No Make-ups on Discussions

Each student is required to participate in discussions during the period the discussion board is open. You cannot make-up discussions for any reason, since the point is to be discussing the topic with other students.  There is absolutely no exception for this.  If you don’t participate within the 7 days of each open discussion, you don’t earn the points for that discussion.  Period.   Please plan your time accordingly for the weeks of this course. 

 

5)   Points Available:

For each literature discussion, there is a total of 15 points per discussion. (5 posts total are required--see above.) The Course Syllabus contains information for overall point totals for the quarter. Extra credit points may be earned in each discussion by posting up to four (4) additional substantive comments to the discussion. You will earn .25 (1/4) point for each additional entry to the discussion for a total of 1 point per discussion. Total extra credit discussion points available for the quarter is 10 points.

 

6)   In-Text Citations and Works Cited

whenever you quote and/or paraphrase from one of our texts, please provide the page number in parentheses following quote or paraphrase. That way if someone in the discussion wants to go back to that quote, it’s easy to find.

 

I do realize that some of you will be using versions other than the ones ordered for the class. If you do, please include a Works Cited following your post.   A Works Cited provides this information:

 

Author of text, last name first.  Title of Text.  Editor’s name, first name first.  City: Publisher, date of publication. 

You don’t need to be absolutely perfect in the formatting of this information, but it needs to be included if you’re not using the texts ordered for the class, so that we don’t all go searching for a page number that doesn’t exist in our class texts.

If you are using the texts ordered for the class (ISBN numbers and editor’s names are identified in the syllabus in our BC bookstore), you do NOT need to provide this Works Cited.    Note that in discussing movies, you don’t need an in-text citation.  Just make sure that it’s clear which movie your quote or scene description is from.

 

7)   Identifying responses to questions

When responding to any question or comment, be sure you have read it carefully. Click on REPLY to post your response, and also TITLE your post “RESPONSE TO QUESTION #...”.   Clicking on “reply” will provide a thread to that particular post, but the threads are particularly difficult to see in Canvas, so titling your post is also very helpful.   Please follow these guidelines, so that our conversation can be threaded properly and coherently. The only time to compose your own message will be when you are posing your own question.

Finally, if the discussion is not going well, it’s our responsibility, individually and collectively, to make it right. Stay involved, check into the discussion area daily and participate freely. It will pay off in the end. You will come to realize that a great text is not something you read over once and feel satisfied that you have learned all you can from it, but rather it is one that stimulates a continuing intellectual curiosity which demands from you a re-reading and continuing discussion.