ENGL 1102
Detective Literature
Fall 2016
Instructors: Dr. Joshua Hussey
Email: joshua.hussey@lmc.gatech.edu
Office: Skiles 315
Office Hours: MW 8-9am & 12-1pm, or by appointment
Class Meetings
A2 9:05 MWF Skiles 170
J2 10:05 MWF Skiles 170
B 11:05 MWF Skiles 170
Class Description
This course asks students to develop communication strategies through the analysis of fictional texts (novels, short stories) set in the genre of the detective and the hard-boiled. In addition to traditional literary texts, we will analyze film and interact with game environments, where the content directs us toward the detective genre. We will look at the structure of all of these texts to understand the elements by which they are designed. We will look at the construction of gender identity and politics dictated by type.
The purpose of this course is to gain sophisticated abilities in multimodal (WOVEN) communication that build off of ENGL 1101. Assignments will encourage the development of communication skills in academic research and argumentation. While this class covers specific content, the emphasis of the course remains on techniques of composition and rhetorical/argumentative strategies. All of our discussions and assignments will engage with Georgia Tech’s multimodal WOVEN communication (Written, Oral, Visual, Electronic, and Nonverbal), which taken together in synergy, will better enable us to describe the material and digital worlds in which we exist.
Required Materials
Reading:
WOVENText (Bedford/St. Martin’s)
Turn of the Screw, Henry James.
Stumptown, Vol.1, Greg Rucka. Oni Press, 2013.
Other readings available in T-Square Resources
Games:
Her Story. Available on GOG, Steam, App Store.
Sam & Max Hit the Road (retrogame). Available on GOG.com: https://www.gog.com/game/sam_max_hit_the_road
Equipment:
Personal Computer with enough performance to complete graphic design, to run a variety of games, and desktop publishing software
Software:
Blog software (WordPress through blogs.iac.gatech.edu)
Grade Summary
1. Unit 1: 10% [100 points]
2. Unit 2: 15% [150 points]
3. Unit 3: 25% [250 points]
4. Portfolio: 15% [150 points]
5. Blog: 20% [200 points]
6. Participation (Labs; Oral; Reading): 10% [100 points]
7. Quizzes: 4% [40 points]
8. Common Week Assignment: 1% [10 points]
Final Grade Distribution (by points)
A 895-1000
B 795-894
C 695-794
D 595-694
F 0-594
Common Policies for ENGL 1102
Georgia Tech’s Writing and Communication Program has common, program-wide policies. You can access these Common Writing and Communication Program policies here. You are required to acknowledge that you have read, understood, and intend to comply with these policies.
WOVEN Communication
This course is designed to increase your abilities and competencies in a variety of communicative modes. Understanding how to write a proper essay is only one such mode of communication. The WOVEN acronym highlights the written, oral, visual, electronic, and nonverbal forms of communication modalities that, as a student at Georgia Tech, you will explore in order to better understand the material world in which you interact as well as a better understanding of how to describe that material world. In all modalities you use—written, oral, visual, electronic, or nonverbal—consider rhetorical factors such as purpose, context, audience, argument, and effective design. In practice, the WOVEN modes work synergistically, not separately.
Written communication. Writing is important, plain and simple. Think about the style and concentration it takes to author the texts we are reading this semester, and attempt to apply a similar effort to your own work;
Oral communication. Speaking clearly takes a large amount of ability in expressing ideas with specific language. It is a kind of translation, and crucial in representing mental symbols as well as cultivating generative conversations with your colleagues;
Visual communication. Making things look good should be a point of pride for you. You have worked your hardest establishing the representation of your ideas. Again, this is a multi-layered translation, from the images in your mind to those we encounter on the page and screen. Additionally, professionalism matters and it’s always useful to please your audience with compelling imagery;
Electronic communication. Can’t avoid this in our technology worshipping contemporary culture. Think about the possibilities for hypertext and the nodes of information with which you might assemble a complicated project;
Nonverbal communication. All behavior is adjustment to a particular context. Work on your body’s silent participation in communication: conduct yourself with composed thought and a professional demeanor. Make eye contact and other important unspoken gestures during class discussions.
Technology
We will use T-Square for this course. Assignment submission, bookkeeping, announcements, and the link to this syllabus are available on T-Square;
Digital Activities. The projects in this course are digital heavy and require skill working with a variety of media. While the instructors are available for tech support and troubleshooting, students are ultimately responsible for learning how to use the necessary technology. Georgia Tech has a wealth of resources for this purpose. For assistance with technology: Multimedia Studio, Communication Center, Lynda.com (a campus-wide subscription);
In-class use of technology:
—Bring your laptops to every class. You may take notes on your laptop, but no web browsing or emailing is allowed (unless specified by the instructor)
—Silence your mobile phone: no talking, texting, or social media use during class
Late Assignments
Late work is not accepted in this course.
Revisions of Assignments
One major revision is accepted, but must be completed in accordance with the course’s Paper Revision Policy. Make sure to read the policy carefully and note all due dates before completing a revision.
Appointments for Individual and Collaborative Conferences
Please plan to visit our office hours at least once this semester for an individual conference. Drop-ins are welcome, but appointments made through email take priority.
Attendance
This class participates in the WCP’s attendance policies. Attendance is required and taken daily.
Unit Assignments
Unit 1:
Essay 1. This is a traditional essay, which you will submit in paper form. Respond to the readings in this Unit through your blog; next, revise your post (or posts) into a 4-page essay. Use a citation style for the humanities (MLA, APA, Chicago). Format with precision.
Unit 2:
Essay 2. This is a longer essay (5-10 pages) on media covered in this unit. Critically evaluate the content, form, and procedural rhetoric of some of the texts we have discussed here. You must include some form of significant research that ties in with your claims, your purpose, and your thesis. You will include visual and electronic modalities. You will receive a detailed assignment sheet regarding the project. You may use your blog posts as drafts building up to this longer work. Submit as a glorious PDF.
Unit 3:
Archival Mystery.
In groups of four and five, construct a material and digital archive (bridge these distinct ontologies) that includes clues to solve a mystery. This archive should be self-contained: that is, its content should be bound to 1) an electronic network (digital) and 2) the City of Atlanta (material). It is both scavenger hunt and historical archive. The term “Mystery” may be broadly interpreted: perhaps your mystery is simply a procedural “sorting” that leads to an interesting set of historic facts about Atlanta; perhaps it is a more complicated endeavor that yields up a significant solution. In any event, your archive should be about pattern assessment, and all of the clues should be available to the participants in the documents that you provide: that is, specialized knowledge might be obtained in the process, but it should not need to be held a priori, or independent of the experience of the puzzle.
Specifically, you must incorporate into your game narrative a minimum of 3-5 actual artifacts from the GT Archives and 2-3 from the Ivan Allen, Jr Professional Papers — try to create a diverse “species” of artifact type.
Give your quarry 4-8 puzzles that tempt them to continue their vainglorious pursuit of your storyworld, but modify your levels of difficulty to allow satisfying progress that grips them with frustrations and the pleasures of success. Puzzles should have several steps to them. Don’t make them impossible to solve. Overall, the Archival Mystery should have some sort of narrative arc: it should be telling a story, from a perspective or a set of perspectives. In this regard, you should be able to write something like a thesis or statement of purpose that directs the project. Additionally, your group is responsible for writing an Instructional Guide that would help players begin the game.
You will present the project to the class in the closing days of the semester. Presentations should include a visual source (PPT, for example) that explains your Archival Mystery and the process your group underwent to create it. Presentations should be limited to 10 minutes; everyone should speak. Additionally, submit a 500-word write-up that describes your mystery, its purposes, priorities, manifestations, influences, and experiential outcomes (Blog Post 6). Other submission documents include the Instructional Guide and the Puzzles List.
Weblog project:
A semester-long blog project. Consider this to be a drafting place for your ideas and interests. At intervals noted on the Course Calendar, submit posts of 500 words that engage a text we are working on, or have recently considered. Entry purposes are undefined, meaning that you should pursue your own critical inquiry. All posts must have one secondary source in addition to their primary source. You should include images and cite those as well. Make your electronic space a lovely space to browse, and your notions worth ruminating upon.
Create your site through: blogs.iac.gatech.edu
Course Calendar
Fall 2016
Calendar
Unit 1: Short Fictions, with Deadly Possibilities
Week 1 [August 22 – 26]
M [8/22]
Intro
W [8/24]
“Critical Concept Three: Communication Is Multimodal” in WOVENText Chapter 2 (pp. 33-42)
F [8/26]
Set up Blog spaces in class
Batman: Gotham Knights (small groups)
Class work for Common First Week Assignment
Week 2 [August 29 – September 2]
M [8/29]
Common First Week Assignment due (before class)
Syllabus forms due
In class reflection (unique pages on blog for reflections)
Edgar Allan Poe, “Murders in the Rue Morgue”
W [8/31]
Poe, “Murders in the Rue Morgue”
Poe, “The Purloined Letter”
F [9/2]
Media Day
Gameplay: Sam & Max Hit the Road (1993)
Audio: Serial podcast, Episode 1, Season One
Blog Post 1 Due: submit URL to T-Square by 11:55pm
Week 3 [September 5 – 9]
M [9/5]
Labor Day (No Class)
Register to vote (GA)
W [9/7]
WovenText, Chapter 4 “Understanding Genres”
Jorge Luis Borges, “Death and the Compass”
Ilana Shiloh, The double, the labyrinth and the locked room: metaphors of paradox in crime fiction and film, 2011. Critical Theory.
F [9/9]
Henry James, Turn of the Screw, Chapters Prologue & 1-2*
*Text is widely available for free; Project Gutenberg collects a number of digital file types: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/209
WovenText, Chapter 13 “Narrative Genres”
More from Shiloh, on labyrinths, mazes, and the rhizome
Week 4 [September 12 – 16]
M [9/12]
Turn of the Screw, Chapters 3-14
W [9/14]
Turn of the Screw, Chapters 15-24
Blog Post 2 Due
F [9/16]
Research and composition
Week 5 [September 19 – 23]
M [9/19]
Composition day in class: putting the essay together
Peer review
W [9/21]
Essay 1 due (traditional paper submission)
Reflections for portfolios
F [9/23]
Media Day
Gameplay: Sam & Max Hit the Road (1993)
Audio: Serial podcast, Episode 2
Unit 2: The Pleasure of Media’s Company
Week 6 [September 26 – 30]
M [9/26]
Greg Rucka, Stumptown, Volume 1: Issue #1-2 (1-74) [available on Kindle]
Chester Gould, Dick Tracy, “Crewy Lou” (T-Square Resources)
W [9/28]
Greg Rucka, Stumptown, Volume 1: Issue #3-4 (75-145)
Chester Gould, Dick Tracy, “Spots” (T-Square Resources)
Scott McCloud, Understanding Comics, Chapter Two (Here is a link)
F [9/30]
Audio: Serial podcast, Episode 3
Audio (Retro): Nick Carter, Master Detective, “The Echo of Death”
Audio discussion
Audio and Comic Genre Lab
Progress Report Grades due (instructor)
Week 7 [October 3 -7]
M [10/3]
Class visit from Humanities Librarian, Karen Viars (abstracting, literature reviews and secondary sources)
Bring laptops
Class Research Guide can be found through GT Library
W [10/5]
Class held in Library Archives: Main library, Neely Room
Ivan Allen Jr Archive introduction
Begin Archival Mysteries
Audio and Comic Genre Lab Due
F [10/7]
Composition
Blog Post 3 Due
Week 8 [October 10 – 14]
M [10/10]
Fall Break (no class)
W [10/12]
Media Day
Gameplay: Sam & Max Hit the Road (1993)
Gameplay: Her Story (2015)
Film: Wim Wenders, The American Friend, 1977. 125 min.
or Alternate Film from Library Reserves (circulation desk) or “Alternate Readings List” (course website)
F [10/14]
Media Day
Gameplay: Sam & Max Hit the Road (1993)
Gameplay: Her Story (2015)
Film: Wim Wenders, The American Friend
or Alternate Film from Library Reserves (circulation desk) or “Alternate Readings List” (course website)
Week 9 [October 17 – 21]
M [10/17]
Games discussion: Her Story; Sam & Max
Games lab
Critical Readings:
N. Katherine Hayles, “Flickering Connectivities in Shelley Jackson’s Patchwork Girl: The Importance of Media-Specific
Analysis,” 2000.
Adrian Chmielarz, “What Her Story Tells Us About the Current State of Video Games,” August 2015.
Question: What subjectivities do we map onto Her Story to make it coherent?
American Friend viewing sheet or Alternate Film sheet due
W [10/19]
Games discussion continued
Games lab
F [10/21]
Games discussion continued
Film discussion
Week 10 [October 24 – 28]
M [10/24]
Games lab due
Composition (in class)
W [10/26]
Research
See Janet Murray’s Glossary of Terms for Digital Design
F [10/28]
Research
Blog Post 4 Due
Week 11 [October 31 – November 4]
M [10/31]
Peer review
Essay 2 Due (PM)
Unit 3: Let Mystery Wash Over Me
W [11/2]
Archival Mysteries
Twine structures: Twine Software here
Waterfield and Davies, The Money Spider (T-Square Resources)
Assemble groups (intros)
F [11/4]
Archival Mysteries Group Work: Complete Group Form, https://goo.gl/forms/bXQ6Whmiplol86Lc2
Twine structures: Depression Quest
Puzzle construction
Waterfield and Davies, The Money Spider (T-Square Resources)
MIT Mystery Hunt : “Thinking about a Puzzle”, Allen Rabinovich
Puzzle Examples and Design Resources: http://www.archimedes-lab.org/
Week 12 [November 7 – 11]
M [11/7]
Class held in the Library Archives
Ivan Allen, JR Archive (Access PDfs)
Content discovery
W [11/9]
Class held in the Library Archives
Ivan Allen, JR Archive (Access PDfs)
Content discovery
F [11/11]
Archival Mysteries: bridging analog and digital
Group work — No class meeting
Week 13 [November 14 – 18]
M [11/14]
Archival Mysteries
Group work — No class meeting
W [11/16]
Archival Mysteries
Class work and check-in
F [11/18]
Archival Mysteries
Group work — No class meeting
Week 14 [November 21 – 25]
M [11/21]
Project Work Day
Instructor available for individual or group meetings
W [11/23]
Thanksgiving Holiday
F [11/25]
Thanksgiving Holiday
Week 15 [November 28 – December 2]
M [11/28]
Archival Mystery Presentations
Discuss Final Portfolios
W [11/30]
Archival Mystery Presentations
Discuss Final Portfolios
Archival Mystery Projects Due in class
F [12/2]
Discuss Final Portfolios
Blog Post 5 Due: 500-word write project write-up
Final Blog Projects due: submit URL to T-Square
Cleaned up (no Hello World! posts), sources (with citations) & images included (unique header, no clipart)
Week 16 [December 5 – 7]
M [12/5]
Final Instructional Day
Course Review
Optional Revisions Due
W [12/7]
Reading Day – No Class Meeting
F [12/9]
Exams Begin
Portfolios due according to the exam schedule:
A2 9:05 MWF
[Fri 12/9 8:00 – 10:50]
J2 10:05 MWF
[Mon 12/12 11:30 – 2:20]
B 11:05 MWF
[Wed 12/14 8:00 – 10:50]
