Syllabus Information |
Fall Semester 2023
Apr 04, 2026 |
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| Our Monsters, Ourselves - Writing Intensive - 40470 - INST 1500 - 01 |
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Associated Term: Fall Semester 2023
Levels: Undergraduate Main Campus Lecture Schedule Type Traditional Instructional Method Learning Objectives: Since the time of the earliest cave drawings, monsters—in one form or another—have been central to the human psyche and prevalent throughout cultural history. Wild things, aliens, ogres, and demons have dominated the human imagination, appearing in literature, art, cinema, theme parks, and even on cereal boxes (Count Chocula and Frankenberry). While we dread and fear them, we also seem perversely fascinated by them and their darker tendencies (unchecked aggression, strong sexuality, cannibalism, superhuman strength, total disregard for laws and conventions). While we may want to place them apart from ourselves as alien or non-human, all too often they represent our deepest fears and most conflicted selves, especially our fears of the unknown, the forbidden, and the different. Through literature, film, and critical theory, this course will explore a variety of monsters from several historic periods and cultures, including ancient beasties, colonized “others,” vampires, zombies, werewolves, cyborgs, and other post-modern hybrids. It will also identify how monster narratives are constructed, what monsters have in common, and how they benchmark what it means to be human. Students taking this course will sharpen their fundamental writing skills; practice close reading and critical analysis; cultivate oral presentation skills; develop their research skills and access, evaluate, credit, and cite source texts; and participate in a scholarly community that is “a little bit monster”! Required Materials: Technical Requirements: View Catalog Entry
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