17-Jekyll and Hyde transformations

Before class on Tues April 8th, study the image of the transformation scene from the Mansfield and Sullivan dramatization we looked at last week. During class, you will post to the blog a response to the image and comparison to the 1st transformation scene in Stevenson (p. 80) and the 1932 film.  Remember to check your name (under People) and Jekyll and Hyde (under assignments) in the category boxes to the right of the posting area.

16-Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

On Thurs April 3rd there will be a Cinema and Supper showing of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1932) at the Eisenhower Multi Media Room, 7:30pm.  Attendance is required unless you have another class scheduled for that time.  In that case, we will work out an alternative assignment.  There will be free pizza and soda.  Within two days of seeing the film, you are required to post a short response to the film.  In your post, compare the novella and the film.  Discuss in detail at least two differences and indicate which version you liked best and why. Remember to check your name (under People) and Jekyll and Hyde (under assignments) in the category boxes to the right of the posting area.  

Extra Credit film report on Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1941) due Fri April 11th.  Talk about what you thought about the film and discuss several specific differences you noted between the three versions of the story (the 1932 and 1941 films and the novella).  Indicate which you liked best and why.  Remember to check your name (under People) and Jekyll and Hyde (under assignments) in the category boxes to the right of the posting area.  

15-Chicago World’s Fair

Before class on Thurs March 27th, read The Devil in the White City, pp. 233-337.  We will watch selections from a documentary on the World’s Columbian Exposition over the next few classes to help you identify items (introduced in The Devil in the White City) that you would like to research further.  The documentary is titled  Expo:  The Magic of the White City and is available in the JC Library (call number T500.B1 E96 2005).  By Friday April 4th at midnight, post an account of those items covered in the documentary you found interesting and potentially worth writing about in your paper.  Remember to check your name (under People) and World’s Fair (under assignments) in the category boxes to the right of the posting area.  

15-Chicago World’s Fair (interesting items)

Before class on Thurs March 27th, read The Devil in the White City, pp. 233-337.  We will watch selections from a documentary on the World’s Columbian Exposition to help you identify items (introduced in The Devil in the White City) that you would like to research further.  The documentary is titled  Expo:  The Magic of the White City and is available in the JC Library (call number T500.B1 E96 2005).  Either at the end of class on Thurs (or by Friday March 28th at midnight) post an account of those items covered in the documentary you found interesting and potentially worth writing about in your paper.   Use the New Post link in the blue area at the top of the page. Also remember to check your name (under People) and World’s Fair (under assignments) in the category boxes to the right of the posting area.  

Master and Commander Post

There will be a Cinema and Supper showing of  Master and Commander: Far Side of the World in the Eisenhower Lounge on Tues March 18th at 7:30pm.  Attendance is required unless you have another class scheduled for that time.  In that case, we will work out an alternative assignment.  There will be free pizza and soda at 7:30.  Within two days of seeing the film, you are required to post a short response to the film.  Remember to check your name (under people) and Master Commander (under assignments) when you post.   

Blog paper on Hound of the Baskervilles

Over the last several hundred years, scientific and supernatural explanations have often been seen as opposed. The Hound of the Baskervilles dramatizes the question as Watson and Holmes confront an apparently supernatural phenomenon. The story first sets up the issue with Holmes initial discussions with Mortimer. Several characters, including Mortimer (who Holmes calls a trained man of science), seem to believe that the only explanation for Baskervilles death is the presence of a supernatural hound. Holmes does not, but as the story continues and the suspense builds, the possibility of a supernatural phenomenon is left open. Consequently, as we read the story we are asked to consider–as some of the characters ask themselves–whether facts and natural laws will account for what has happened or are other, supernatural explanations needed. Just as the characters do, we are invited to consider whether there are forces at work outside the laws of nature and human psychology. That is why the portrait Holmes sees in Baskerville Hall is so important–once the great detective identifies the culprit, we can understand the events in terms of human interests and human motives as well as physical causes.

We will go over several passages in class on Feb 26th that explore this opposition between science and the supernatural (and the related opposition between science and the archaic or atavistic). The Hound of the Baskervilles, through leaving open the question of what kind of explanation will fit the case for so long, plays out the conflict for Doyle’s readers.  Post your paper before class on Feb 28th after you have finished reading The Hound of the Baskervilles. It should be the equivalent of a 3 page paper (750 words) with polished writing and in-text citations to all sources. I suggest you begin by discussing the way science and the supernatural are opposed in the story. Quote/paraphrase scenes where the issue is introduced and then analyze how Watson and Holmes talk about their investigation as they look into what has happened. Here, you may also want to say something about the significance of the setting (the bronze age ruins) and criminals like Selden. Then describe in detail Holmes’ and Watson’s methods and their attitude to amateur scientists like Dr. Mortimer and Stapleton who seem to take supernatural explanations seriously.

Include MLA in-text citations for all quotations, paraphrases and borrowings. Also include a works cited page if you draw on any sources other than the Modern Library Edition of The Hound of the Baskervilles. You are invited to read each others posts but not to borrow ideas and phrases from each other without citing your fellow students work and developing the point on your own. For proper documentation formats, see Diana Hacker’s Research and Documentation Online. For the rules on citing other students’ online postings to our web forum at WordPress see http://dianahacker.com/resdoc/p04_c08_s2.html#35 

NOTE ON PLAGIARISM:  The English Department defines plagiarism as “using the exact words, opinions, or factual information from another source without giving that source credit. Writers give credit through the use of accepted documentation styles, such as parenthetical citation, footnotes, or end notes; a simple listing of books, articles, and websites is not sufficient. Plagiarism is the equivalent of intellectual robbery and cannot be tolerated in an academic setting” (Department of English Plagiarism Statement).  I will not tolerate plagiarism in my classes and will report incidents to the appropriate authorities. 

12-Hound of Baskervilles Posts

For Thurs, Feb 21st post an account of your initial reactions to the story after having read pp. 3-52 in Modern Library edition. 

For Tues Feb 26th, read The Hound of the Baskervilles, pp. 53-109 in Modern Library edition.  Post to the blog a brief summary of the interaction between Watson and Holmes and on Holmes methods.  The story, by Sir Conan Doyle, tests the adequacy of Holmes method in the face of supernatural phenomenon and is set in Dartmoor among the relics of civil war and ancient mysteries.    

For Thurs Feb 28th, finish reading The Hound of the Baskervilles (to p. 169 in Modern Library edition).  Before class, post to the blog the equivalent of a 3 page paper (750 words) on Holmes approach to apparently supernatural phenomenon in The Hound of the Baskervilles.  Discuss the opposition between science and the supernatural in the story and the methods Holmes uses to solve the case.  Include an account of methods and the presence in the story of amateur naturalists and collectors like Dr. Mortimer and Stapleton.  For proper documentation formats, see Diana Hacker’s Research and Documentation Online.   

Rice and Salt blog and wiki

We will set up groups for research on the historical references in Years of Rice and Salt. There will be groups to cover each book assigned and the idea/practice of alternative history.
 
You will initially post individual entries on the blog–covering your reactions to each chapter and notes on at least four historical references you find interesting and/or confusing. You will then meet in groups to discuss each chapter and combine these references into a report on the class wiki (one book for each group). 
 
Jeff Sears will meet with representatives from each group during his office hours in one of the group study rooms in Eisenhower to go over Wetpaint Wiki procedures and your report. Each group is responsible for making an appointment to consult Jeff. You can contact him at jsears2 AT gmu.edu. There will also be a quiz at the beginning of class on Feb 12h, 14th, March 4th and 18th covering the reading for that day in Robinson.

11-Years of Rice & Salt

We will set up groups for research on the historical references in Years of Rice and Salt. There will be groups to cover each book assigned and the idea/practice of alternative history.  You will initially post individual entries on the blog–covering your reactions to each chapter and notes on at least four historical references you find interesting and/or confusing.  You will then meet in groups to discuss each chapter and combine these references into a report on the class wiki (one book for each group). 

Jeff Sears will meet with representatives from each group during his office hours in one of the group study rooms in Eisenhower to go over Wetpaint Wiki procedures and your report. Each group is responsible for making an appointment to consult Jeff. You can contact him at jsears2 AT gmu.edu. There will also be a quiz at the beginning of class on Feb 12h, 14th, March 4th and 18th covering the reading for that day in Robinson. 

Do not use the Leave a Reply box below but the New Post link in the blue area at the top of the page. Also remember to check your name (under People) and Years  Rice & Salt (under assignments) in the category boxes to the right of the posting area.  

Day the World Took Off Post

Before class on Feb 5th, watch Part III (250 years) of The Day the World Took Off.  The video is  also available at YouTube as well as Cambridge University’s DSpace.  You will post your summary and response to the points in the video before class.  During class we will finish the Granada TV adaptation of The Sign of Four and you will work on blog post 5b.   

The seminar at Cambridge selectively included in the documentary is optional but you will receive extra credit if you add a 2nd post on the seminar as well as the finished documentary.