WRIT 1122 | Writing: Horror | jesse.stommel@du.edu
Course Description
The horror genre is distinctly rhetorical, working carefully to produce visceral effects in its audience. It’s a popular genre, but also a marginalized one, creating space for writers and artists to ask difficult questions, political questions, personal questions, questions about gender, race, disability, queer bodies, identity formation, history, etc. Horror reveals something about who we are as humans, reminding us we have both outsides and insides, skin and guts, eyes and gray matter, ideas and appetites. The critics of horror are usually too distracted by blood and guts to notice the more radical potentials of the genre.
A class is a process, an independent organism with its own goals and dynamics. It is always something more than even the most imaginative lesson plan can predict. ~ Thomas P. Kasulis
And so we’ll start with a syllabus and schedule, but it will evolve throughout the term driven by our discussions and discoveries. In this class, we’ll approach writing in novel ways, examining and experimenting with rhetorical texts, including film, multimodal composition, games, and other interactive narratives.
Note: The subjects of this course will lead us through difficult terrain (monsters, slashers, dead things, the walking dead, etc.). Our work will be thoughtful and cathartic, but we'll have to sludge through some gore along the way. (I recommend checking out doesthedogdie.com, which tracks 80+ categories, offering "crowdsourced emotional spoilers for movies, tv, books and more.")
What We'll Do and How We'll Do It
This course is primarily face-to-face, but we'll also be sharing our work together asynchronously online and out on the open Web. Not all of us are encountering this moment in the same ways, so each of us will have to make decisions about how we can engage. I want to be clear about several things:
- Much of the work of the course will be shared online.
- Each week, we'll have scheduled face-to-face sessions.
- While our face-to-face sessions will be key to the collaborative work we'll be doing, I trust you to make decisions about what feels safe and how you can best approach the work for the course.
- I encourage you to connect with me and your classmates in whatever ways make most sense for you. Ultimately, this is a community, and there are lots of different ways we can each contribute.
- This course will live on the Web in three places: this site, our Discord server, and wherever you choose to put your work for the course. Our face-to-face sessions will inform our other work.
- I look forward to getting to know you as a student, a writer, and a person.
Office Hours
I will be available for virtual or in-person office hours as necessary. Just reach out to schedule a video meeting, or feel free to engage via DM in Discord, which is the fastest way to get feedback or questions answered.
Disability Accommodations
I've worked to make this course adaptive and flexible, so that you can find your own way into the work, whatever your context. DU's Disability Services Program guides, counsels, and assists students with disabilities. If you have already met with them, feel free to chat with me about any changes we can make to help your learning. I will certainly offer accommodations. I'd rather we work together to make sure the course meets your needs. You do not need to divulge any personal information in order to have these conversations or to receive accommodations. I trust you. Learning is something we do together. And, of course, I will hold information you do share with me in confidence unless you give me permission to do otherwise. If you do not require accommodations due to a disability, understand that some of your fellow students might, and it is important to me that you do not make assumptions about where, when, or how they learn.
Basic Needs Security
What's most important to me is that you feel able to show up fully to our work together. I'm human first. Students are humans first. If you face challenges securing your food or housing and believe this may affect your learning in this course, visit DU's basic needs resource site for support. Please also let me know personally if you are comfortable doing so, because there may be ways I can help.
You can seek confidential mental health services in the Health & Counseling Center (HCC) and My Student Support System (My SSP). Another helpful campus office is Student Outreach & Support (SOS), where staff can connect you to other campus resources.
I'm decidedly putting these accessibility and basic needs statements at the top of this syllabus, rather than buried with the fine print at the bottom. At this moment, at any moment, our basic humanity is something we need to be leading with.
Course Objectives
Nothing in this syllabus will be set in stone or taken for granted. The outline and objectives here are a beginning, something we’ll treat roughly as the course proceeds. This is not a map, but rather a direction we’ll point ourselves with the goal of vigorously rewriting the syllabus as we go, discovering what we’ll learn together as we learn it, questioning what we’ll do even as we begin to do it.
You can find the DU University Writing Program's standard outcomes for Writing 1122 here. We'll look at those outcomes and talk about how our work intersects with them.
To the programmatic outcomes, I'll add that we will:
- Interrogate writing as a practice. We'll write for other audiences, but much of the writing will be for ourselves, helping hone our own approach and processes.
- Wonder at genre, audience, and intention, working to invent for ourselves the shape(s) and form(s) of academic writing.
- Consider the intersections between text, images, moving images, games, etc.
- Experiment with multimodal composition. This is a course about critical thinking and also critical making.
- Change our mind about stuff.
- Have epiphanies.
The Work of the Course
This course will be as much about breaking stuff as it is about building stuff, focusing on critical thinking and process more than finished product.
Required Films and Texts
There is not a traditional textbook for this course. We will do some reading and watch some films, but the course will center around what we make and our discussions about what we uncover.
You will need to rent a handful of films throughout the term. There may be a small rental charge for these. Some are also available on streaming services like Netflix or Amazon Prime. You should plan to spend about $30 - $40 for the term. If that presents a challenge, for whatever reason, let me know.
The rest of our readings and films will be available openly online.
Weekly Activities
Each week, the course schedule will guide you through the various activities of the week. Watch our schedule and Discord for updates as we proceed.
Participation
This is a collaborative course, focusing on discussion and work in groups. The class will be a cooperative learning experience, a true intellectual community. And so, you and your work are, in a very real sense, the primary texts for this course. In order for us to work together as a community, we all have to come prepared to participate. If you can’t finish work for any reason, chat with me (and your collaborators) in advance.
Collaboration
You may collaborate with your peers on any of our projects. I've created a channel in Discord called #looking-for-group, which you can use to find collaborators. If you have questions about the various ways collaboration can work, chat with me at any point.
Self-reflection Letters
You'll do lots of writing for this course, some of it short, some long, some rough, some polished, some for an audience, and some of it just for yourself. There will be lots of room for you to decide how much time and energy you want to invest in each of the activities or assignments we'll do. The most important work you'll do is to reflect on your own writing and writing process. Ultimately, this course is not about proving to me that you can write, but about helping you find new ways into your work as a writer.
Public Work
Much of your work for this course will live publicly on the Web within open platforms. If you would like to remain anonymous, I encourage you to use a pseudonym. Think carefully about these choices. We will discuss issues related to privacy and the open Web during the class.
Grades and Assessment
"Extrinsic motivation, which includes a desire to get better grades, is not only different from, but often undermines, intrinsic motivation, a desire to learn for its own sake." ~ Alfie Kohn, "The Case Against Grades"
Everyone who participates in our course community and completes their self-reflections will get an "A." Instead of your grade, here's what I want you to focus on:
- Actively engage in the work of the course. Writing is ultimately what this course is about, but there will be lots of different ways for each of us to engage.
- Determine what participation in our community looks like for you – online, in-person, synchronously, asynchronously, on Discord, in our physical classroom, wherever you can best contribute and learn. Listening and reflecting can be just as important as speaking and questioning. Writing is not an independent exercise, so I encourage you to focus a good amount of your energy on helping your peers, reading their work, championing their accomplishments, and offering feedback that pushes them in their own writing process.
- Reflect on your own work. This course is about process, not product, and so writing about our own writing is the most important work we'll do.
I will not be grading individual assignments, but rather asking questions and making comments that engage your work rather than simply evaluate it. The intention is to help you focus on working in a more organic way, as opposed to working as you think you’re expected to. If this process causes more anxiety than it alleviates, see me at any point to confer about your work in the course to date.
You should consider this course a “busy-work-free zone.” If an assignment does not feel productive, we can find ways to modify, remix, or repurpose the instructions.
Plagiarism
Authorship is a hotly contested topic in the academy. At what point do we own the words we say and write or the images we create? In literature and digital media, creative influence, collaboration, and borrowing are usually acceptable (even encouraged). So, what sort of statement or warning about plagiarism would be appropriate in this class? Let me go out on a limb and say: in this class, I encourage you to borrow ideas (from me, from the authors we read, from the films we watch, from your classmates). But, even more, I encourage you to truly make them your own — by playing with, manipulating, applying, and otherwise turning them on their head. In the end, it’s just downright boring to rest on the laurels of others. It’s altogether more daring (and, frankly, more fun) to invent something new yourself — a new idea, a new way of thinking, a new claim, a new image. This doesn’t give you license to copy something in its entirety and slap your name on it. That’s just stealing. Instead, think very consciously about how you’re influenced by your sources — by the way knowledge and creativity depend on a sort of inheritance. And think also about the real responsibility you have to those sources.
Turnitin
It is my commitment to you that I will not submit any of your papers to Turnitin. Plagiarism-detection software like Turnitin monetizes student intellectual property and contributes to a culture of suspicion in education. I trust you. I trust that your work is your own. If you have questions about how to properly cite sources, let me know. If you want to know more about Turnitin and how you can protect your own intellectual property, here is an essay with info.
Inclusive Community
While some of the work for this course will be done independently or with a small group, think of all your peers as an audience for your work, as well as a source for feedback and encouragement. Draw on their expertise. This class will be as much (or more) about you teaching yourselves and each other as it is about me teaching you. Because of this, it's incredibly important to me that we create an inclusive community that is respectful of our differences and offers space for the boundary-setting necessary for positive relationships to form. Our diversity is reflected by differences in race, gender, sexuality, ability, class, religion, nationality, and other cultural identities and material circumstances.
Discrimination, Harassment & Gender-Based Violence (TITLE IX)
Discrimination, harassment, and gender-based violence can happen to anyone regardless of race, class, age, appearance, gender identity, or sexual orientation. The University of Denver is committed to providing an environment free of discrimination on the basis of sex (gender) and other protected classes, such as race, color, national origin, age, and disability. The Office of Equal Opportunity & Title IX (EOIX) is responsible for responding to and investigating reports and complaints of discrimination, harassment, and gender-based violence. In addition, all non-confidential University employees are considered “responsible employees” and required to report such incidents to EOIX. For more information, please visit the Office of Equal Opportunity & Title IX website.
DU Writing Center
The Writing Center provides writing support for undergraduate and graduate students at all levels, on all kinds of projects, and at any stage of the process: from generating ideas to learning new editing strategies. Consultants take a collaborative approach, working with you to help you develop your writing in light of your specific goals and assignments. To make an appointment for a free, 45-minute consultation, call 303-871-7456 or go to MyWeb > Student > Writing Center. Visit the Website (www.du.edu/writing/writingcenter/ ) for hours and additional information.
Teaching Philosophy
Critical thinking is like eating, something lively and voracious, something that drips and reels. It isn’t (and can’t be) virtual. And yet, somewhat paradoxically, we must increasingly find ways for this work to happen online. We must bring our subjects to life for both ourselves and our digital counterparts. Learning must fire every neuron — must touch us at the highest levels of consciousness and at the cellular level. No matter where it happens, this is what learning must do. It must evolve — and revolt.
Here’s what we’ll spend our time doing this quarter. The schedule will evolve as we proceed. Watch regularly for more details, added activities, and stuff might change or move around as our conversation does. You can use justwatch.com to find where any of the films we'll be watching are streaming or available for rent.
Schedule
Week 1: Jan. 6 - 12
Tuesday, January 7: Introductions
Thursday, January 9: Online asynchronous (which means use class time or work at your own pace on the stuff below)
First, read and watch:
Leigh Whannell, The Invisible Man (2020) (Amazon Prime for rent)
Film Riot, "5 Shot Types Every Filmmaker Should Know"
Then, do some stuff:
1) Sign up for our Discord server, which I'll add to Canvas and e-mail to you before our first day. Here's a quick getting started guide for Discord, if you haven't used it. Discord will be an extension of our classroom and where you'll be sharing your work for the course and engaging with the work of your peers.
2) Make a short (less than a minute) video introducing yourself to us. This can be super simple (shot on your phone, no editing, etc.). Share your video in the #who-are-we channel in Discord.
- Don’t tell us your major, unless you have a story about it
- Don’t tell us what you did over the holiday break, unless it involves giant snakes, parachuting, a unicorn, or it will be documented in a viral video
- Don’t tell us where you grew up, unless you’re going to show pictures
- Do tell us what moves you, what you care most about
- Do tell us what you hope to get from taking this course, but only if you can do so in a limerick
- Do tell us where you are
- Do give us random facts we can come to know you by
- Do click here and answer the first would you rather question that catches your eye
To share a video in Discord, upload to YouTube (or any other site where videos live) and share with a link. Or click the little + to the left of the message box in Discord, select a video file you created, and add a title or hello in the message.
3) Watch some of the videos of your peers, respond, add reaction emojis, etc. There are three sections of this class, all of which will work together in this Discord server.
4) You'll need a space online to share your work for this course. A couple options: (a) Use your own personal site or blog, if you have one; (b) Sign up for a free account on Medium; (c) Prepare to publish anywhere else (Google Drive, WordPress, Tumblr, etc.), as long as you can post regularly and share your work with the class via hyperlinks. Feel free to leave your full name off of your site (or use a psuedonym).
5) Look ahead to the work for next week and get started.
Week 2: Jan. 13 - 19
Tuesday, January 14: Watch Get Out (2017) (together in class)
Thursday, January 16: Discuss Get Out and Invisible Man
First, read:
"Excerpt from Get Out: The Complete Annotated Screenplay" (spoiler alert)
Then, do some stuff:
1) Anytime during the week, write a short essay (of 500–1500 words) analyzing a single frame from The Invisible Man or Get Out. I recommend pausing on the frame and writing with it on screen. Include a still of the frame in your post. (As an alternative, you could consider a single cut, the juxtaposition of two frames next to one another in the film.)
Consider framing, lighting, camera angle or technique, props, performance, setting, sound, dialogue, symbolism, etc. Start with basic elements of the frame: what's on the right, what's on the left, what's large in the frame, what's small? Is this a closed frame or an open frame (is the image self-contained, or does it point to a world beyond its edges)? What meaning can you draw from the shot or scene? Why is it so important to the film? How do specific elements of the shot/frame support or complicate your answers to these questions?
There is no right way to do this work. The key is to keep looking and keep writing about what you notice. This isn't a formal essay, so you don't need a thesis, but you might end up with one. At this point, you're dumping the LEGO pieces out, sifting through them, and seeing how they fit together, but not necessarily building anything yet.
2) Publish your post wherever you will be doing the work for this course (a blog, Medium, Google Drive, somewhere else). Tag your post with #writinghorror. Share a link to your work in the #our-work channel on discord. Make sure your work is viewable by anyone with the link.
3) Find posts by a few of your peers and add comments. Respond to comments.
Week 3: Jan. 20 - 26
Tuesday, January 21: Watch Barbarian (2022) (together in class)
Thursday, January 23: Why Horror? Discuss Barbarian
Read:
Scott McCloud, Understanding Comics: "Chapter 3"
Haiyang Yang and Kuangjie Zhang, "The Psychology Behind Why We Love (or Hate) Horror"
(Optional): Jesse Stommel, "Why Horror?"
Then, do some stuff:
1. Write a brief response to either the piece by Yang and Zhang or the one by me wherever you're doing your work for this course. Consider the question "why horror?": Why, as a culture, do we watch horror films? Why is the genre so intensely popular? Why do otherwise seemingly normal people make these films in the first place? Why do you watch horror films? Why did you sign up for a class about horror? What about our current historical moment is impacting the kind of horror being released and becoming popular? What does talking about the horror genre have to do with writing? Share a link to your response and highlights in the #our-work channel on discord.
2. Respond to your peers there.
3. We'll be working on creative non-fiction pieces over the next few weeks. Skip to next week for more details on the creative non-fiction essay. Start by trying to write a first sentence.
Week 4: Jan. 27 - Feb. 2
Tuesday, January 24: Watch Halloween (1978) (on your own)
Thursday, January 26: See "Do Some Stuff" below
First, read:
Carol Clover, "Her Body, Himself," Men, Women, and Chainsaws
Jeffrey Jerome Cohen, "Monster Culture (Seven Theses)"
Then, do some stuff:
1. Write a 6-word horror story. Here's the gist. Share your story in the #six-word-stories channel on Discord.
2. Read the the pieces by Clover and Cohen above. Next week will talk about them in connection to both Halloween and Night of the Living Dead.
(Optional): "Pity Poor Flesh: Terrible Bodies in the Films of Carpenter, Cronenberg, and Romero." This piece has some of my own thoughts on Halloween, but also about the horror genre more broadly. Feel free to read if you're curious.
3. Work on your creative non-fiction essay. You'll be working on this for the next couple weeks. The finished essay should be around 750 - 1500 words. (I leave the word count range really broad on purpose, because I want you to find your own way into this work. This is a guide only – I certainly don't want you to add words just to meet a word count.)
According to creativenonfiction.org, the creative non-fiction genre is "true stories, well told." There's lots more to read there. One of the things that distinguishes creative non-fiction from other sorts of narrative writing is that you're not only telling a story but also reflecting upon it in some significant way. Your story can be about you, or about someone else. It can be about factual truths, emotional truths, historical truths, personal truths, etc. How you get at those "truths" is up to you. You can use just prose, a mixture of prose and images, a branching choose your own adventure style narrative, or whatever else feels right. At the point that you begin playing with form, word count may become irrelevant.
And, one more thing: since this is a horror class, whatever you do, make it scary.
4. If you have questions, write them in the #general channel on Discord or send me a DM there.
Week 5: Feb. 3 - 9
Tuesday, February 4: Watch Night of the Living Dead (1968) (together in class)
Thursday, February 6: Discuss Night of the Living Dead. Bring the first sentence of your creative non-fiction essay to class to discuss.
First, review in advance of our discussion on Thursday:
Jeffrey Jerome Cohen, "Monster Culture (Seven Theses)"
Then, do some stuff:
1. Write a first sentence for your creative non-fiction essay. You can write more than one sentence, if you end up on a roll. But bring at least a single sentence, one you imagine as a possible first sentence, with you to class on February 6.
2. The finished creative non-fiction essay is due by Sunday, February 16. You'll share it in the #our-work channel on Discord. That's always where you'll share finished drafts of all assignments for the course.
Week 6: Feb. 10 - 16
Tuesday, February 11: Bring a rough draft of your creative non-fiction essay to class
Thursday, February 13: Discuss clips from American Nightmare and Scream Queens! in class.
Sunday, February 16: Submit your finished draft of the creative non-fiction essay to the #our-work channel on Discord by the end of the day.
Do some stuff: Take time to think about and work on your midterm self-reflection. There are no new films next week, but there is some recommended reading that might help as you think about how to evaluate your work for the course.
Week 7: Feb. 17 - 23
Tuesday, February 18: Schedule an optional conference, as needed
Thursday, February 20: Online asynchronous (work at your own pace on the stuff below)
First, read: Language Magazine “Metacognition”, Alfie Kohn's “The Case Against Grades”, and/or Audrey Watters's “The Web We Need to Give Students”.
Next, go to the #our-work channel. and respond to the work of at least several of your peers. Do this as early in the week as possible.
Then, write your self-reflection
Write your midterm self-reflection (click here).
Finally, celebrate by watching a horror film. These are some that I particularly recommend:
Candyman (2021), What Keeps you Alive (2018), The Invitation (2015), The Thing (1982), Donnie Darko (2001), Let the Right One In (2008), A Quiet Place (2018), The Birds (1963), Monsters (2010), The Beach House (2019), Hereditary (2018), Us (2019), Annihilation (2018), 10 Cloverfield Lane (2016), Shaun of the Dead (2004), Scream (1996), King Kong (1933), Psycho (1960), Smile (2022)
Looking forward:
Here are some details about the final project for this course, which you'll be working on for the next several weeks. At this point, just start thinking about what ideas and questions you have.
Illustrated Argumentative Essay. This project will be the culmination of everything you've done in class thus far. The goal of this project is to investigate one of the important subjects of this course. You will start by choosing a specific issues or topic that has arisen for you during the semester. You are welcome to incorporate literary analysis and personal anecdotes into this piece, but you are invited to move beyond that by incorporating research about your subject as well. Both your written and visual elements will clearly support and contribute to an argument, whatever that might be.
The visual component can take any of a number of forms, including but not limited to graphic art, video, photography, interactive narrative, a web page, etc. The other component of the final project will be an argumentative paper. The length of this paper depends, to some degree, on the nature of your visual work. You are encouraged to think outside the box in how you approach this paper, and feel free to weave your written and visual components together
You can develop your final project from one of the other papers or responses you complete during the term, broadening its scope or reinventing it in some way. You may also collaborate on this project.
Week 8: Feb. 24 - Mar. 2
Tuesday, February 25: Play LIMBO (in class)
Thursday, February 27: Discuss ideas for illustrated argumentative essay and review rhetorical strategies
First, play and read:
Play LIMBO (we'll play together in class, but you may want to continue playing)
Kevin Wong, “The Most Depressing Theories On What Limbo Means” (lots of spoilers, so you may want to play the whole game first)
Four entries from Writing Commons: "Rhetorical Situation," "Ethos,""Pathos," "Logos"
Joseph Williams, Style: Lessons in Clarity and Grace: "Understanding Style" and "Correctness"
Then, do some stuff:
1. Choose one of the three readings below and write a brief response, analyzing how the piece uses ethos, pathos, and logos to make its argument. Also, find a single sentence (or two) where the piece breaks and/or invents grammatical rules to rhetorical effect.
Audre Lorde, "The Transformation of Silence into Language and Action"
Henry David Thoreau, "Where I Lived and What I Lived For"
Virginia Woolf, A Room of One’s Own: “Shakespeare’s Sister”
Pierre Bayard, "How to Talk About Books You Haven't Read"
2. Write down some ideas for your illustrated argumentative essay, which you'll complete by the end of week 10. Bring those to class or share them in the #our-work channel in Discord.
Week 9: Mar. 3 - 9
Tuesday, March 4: Watch film we choose together in class
Thursday, March 6: Workshop drafts of illustrated argumentative essay
First, Read:
TBA
Then, Do Some Stuff:
Start by sharing a bit from your illustrated argumentative essay. (By this point, you should be as close to finished as possible, but drafts might look like text, images, video, a sketch, or some other work-in-progress.) Remember to look back to week 7 for a full description of the final project. Share one of these things in the #illustrated-essay-workshop channel on Discord and offer feedback to several of your peers:
- The first sentence. When giving your peers feedback, tell them whether the first sentence grabs their attention, what it suggests about the rest of the work that follows, how they might improve it to better set you up for the rest of their essay.
- A plan or outline with specific questions for how you build upon that sketch, plan, or outline. When giving your peers feedback, tell them what you see working especially well and suggest how they might expand or refine their plan
- A sketch, draft, or beginning of the visual component of your illustrated argumentative essay. When giving your peers feedback, give them your impressions, tell them what you see, how it makes you feel, what it makes you think about.
Make sure to give your peers feedback by Sunday, so they can begin incorporating that feedback. And reach out to me with a DM on Discord if you have questions.
Week 10: Mar. 10 - 16
Tuesday, March 11: Play Ten Candles in class
Thursday, March 13: Workshop near final drafts of illustrated argumentative essay
Play and read:
Ten Candles from Cavalry Games (we'll play this one together in class, but you can also download a copy for yourself)
Finish and share your illustrated argumentative essay by the end of the week in the #our-work channel.
Week 11: Mar. 17 - 21
Two things to do by Friday this week:
1. The Writing Program asks all students in WRIT 1122 to complete a brief portfolio. Click here for the full instructions. The gist: Cut and paste into a single file (DOCX, RTF, or PDF) two samples from the work you did for WRIT 1122. (No need to revise further.) These can be major or minor assignments, whatever you think represents you best as a writer. Then, write a short introduction that describes your work and how it uses rhetorical strategies to meet your goals. You can use links in the document at will to multimedia components. The instructions ask you to e-mail me your single file, but I'd prefer you send it to me via a DM in Discord.