Thrillers, Chillers and Killers  LLCU320-010/80 SPRING 2018
Professor: J. Celli Email: celli@udel.edu
Office: 321 Jastak-Burgess Hall Phone: 302-831-3572
Office Hours:  Monday and Wednesday 1:15-2:15 Friday 11:05-12:05
Description of Course:
Students will take an interdisciplinary approach to the study of 19th Century French Fantastic Literature in translation. After a brief, traditional introduction to literature, students will apply knowledge from their fields of interest or majors to the events and characters in seven short stories. Stories average about 22 pages in length. Guest speakers will provide introductory insight to specialized areas so that students may attain basic knowledge of certain fields of study.
Required Materials:
Kessler, Joan C. Demons of the Night: Tales of the Fantastic, Madness, and the Supernatural from Nineteenth-Century France, Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
(ISBN: 0-226-43208-4)
Mérimée, Prosper. Lokis (posted to Canvas)
Course Goals:
-To provide students with an innovative approach to the study of literature
-To encourage a variety of non-traditional but sound interpretations of literature
-To offer students the opportunity to express their interpretations in writing and/or other creative means
Final Grade Calculation:
Exam 1……………………………………………….……………………..20%
Exam 2………………………………………………………………………20%
Reading quizzes.…………………………………………………….….25%
Attendance…...…………………………………………………………..15%
Project*...………..………………………………………………..………..15%
Presentation of Project*….…………..………………………………5%
*See Canvas for further explanation.
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Course Policies:
-Attendance/Please make every effort to attend class. There is no make up for work (exam, quiz etc.) missed due to an unexcused absence. An excused absence requires written documentation from the dean of your college, a doctor’s office, or other professional documentation with your name and the date of absence.
-Academic Honesty/ Please read the University's Academic Honesty Policy in the Student Guide to University Policies. Cases of suspected violations of the University’s Academic Honesty Policy will be forwarded to the office of Student Conduct. There is no need to cheat. It’s not worth the financial and academic risk. Please see me if you are having trouble with any aspect of the course.
All materials for this class are either copyrighted or considered intellectual property. Please do not post materials to on-line cheat sites.
- Materials/Occasionally, I will post short articles to Canvas or I will distribute a handout in class.
-Schedule/The schedule is a guide. Dates of material presentation, quizzes and exams may change depending on the needs of the class. You will be given sufficient notice of any changes.
-Classroom atmosphere/Please be respectful of others’ view points during class discussions.
Section 80:
Outside readings and meetings with the professor will constitute the requirement for section 80. Exams will reflect the product of these readings and meetings.
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SCHEDULE
February 11: Introduction to the course and to the fantastic genre
Homework: Read Kessler pages xi –xiv (stop at “Charles Nodier”)
February 13: Exoticism and local color; who was Venus? Prosper Mérimée.
Homework: Read The Venus of Ille (Mérimée) pp. 63-90. Notes on Mérimée pp. xxiv-xxvi
February 15: Reading quiz on the Venus of Ille; the supernatural vs natural law in The Venus of Ille; bells and death; becoming a man: marriage; masculine & feminine; dual nature of man; barbarism and civilization
Homework: Review notes; reread The Venus of Ille
February 18-22: the supernatural vs natural law in The Venus of Ille; bells and death; becoming a man: marriage; masculine & feminine; dual nature of man; barbarism and civilization
Homework: Review notes; reread The Venus of Ille; Read “Lokis” (Mérimée).
February 25: Reading quiz on Lokis; lycanthropy; atavistic stigmata and the “born criminal”; impulse control; myths
Homework: Review notes, reread Lokis
February 27-March 6: Lokis and lycanthropy; atavistic stigmata and the “born criminal”; impulse control; myths
Homework: Review notes, reread Lokis
March 8: Naturalism and free will; Guy de Maupassant.
Homework: Read The Horla (Maupassant) pp. 284-308. Notes on Maupassant pp. xlii-xlvii
March 11: Reading quiz on The Horla; sleep paralysis; Succubus; alternative life forms; illness and insanity
Homework: Review notes and reread The Horla
March 13-25: The Horla and sleep paralysis; Succubus; alternative life forms; illness and insanity
Homework: Review notes and reread The Horla; Study for Exam 1
March 27 : EXAM 1
March 29: The French Symbolists; Baudelaire, Villiers de l’Isle-Adam, Schwob
Homework: Read The Sign (Villiers de l’Isle-Adam) pp. 258-273. Notes on Villiers pp. xxxviii-xlii
March 30-Arpil 7 Spring Break
April 8: The French Symbolists; Baudelaire, Villiers de l’Isle-Adam, Schwob
Homework: Read The Sign (Villiers de l’Isle-Adam) pp. 258-273. Notes on Villiers pp. xxxviii-xlii
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April 10: Reading quiz on The Sign; self denial vs indulgence; multiverse theory; the matter-filled world; mysticism
Homework: Review notes and reread The Sign
April 12-15: The Sign; self denial vs indulgence; multiverse theory; the matter-filled world; mysticism
Homework: Review notes and reread The Sign; Read The Veiled Man (Schwob) pp. 322-326. Notes on Schwob pp. xlvii-l
April 17: Reading quiz on The Veiled Man; psychopaths; modernity and machines
Homework: Review notes and reread The Veiled Man
April 19-22: The Veiled Man; psychopaths; modernity and machines; The French Revolution
Homework: Watch short films on the French Revolution (Canvas) Homework: Read The Slap of Charlotte Corday (Dumas, père) pp. 145-171. Notes on Dumas pp. xxix-xxxiii
April 24: Reading quiz on The Slap of Charlotte Corday; neurological impulses; decapitation; ethics of experimentation
April 24-May 3: The French Revolution; The French Romantics; neurological impulses; decapitation.
Homework: Read The Dead in Love (Gautier) pp. 91-117. Notes on Gautier pp. xxvi-xxix
May 6: Reading quiz on The Dead in Love; vampirism
May 6-May 10: The Dead in Love; vampirism
May 13: EXAM 2
May 15-20: Presentations