Alien/Freak/Monster: Race, Sex, and Otherness in Sci-Fi and Horror

Alien/Freak/Monster: Race, Sex, and Otherness in Sci-Fi and Horror is a Humanities, Arts and Cultural Studies class taught by Susana Loza.

Course Description
This course examines questions of race, gender, sexuality, cultural difference, and reproduction in science fiction and horror films. It investigates how and why people in different social positions have been constructed as foreign, freakish, or monstrous. In addition to exploring the relationship between sex/gender norms and hierarchies based on race/species or class/caste, we will also consider the following questions: Does the figure of the alien/freak/monster reconfigure the relationship between bodies, technology, and the division of labor? How do such figures simultaneously buttress and transgress the boundary between human and non-human, normal and abnormal, Self and Other? How does society use the grotesque body of the alien/freak/monster to police the liminal limits of sexuality, gender, and ethnicity? How does The Other come to embody Pure Evil? Finally, what are the consequences of living as an alien/freak/monster for specific groups and individuals? This course is reading-, writing-, and theory-intensive.

= SYLLABUS =

REQUIRED TEXTS:  All readings will be available via the HACU-0185 course website.

REQUIRED ACTIVITIES TO RECEIVE AN EVALUATION/GRADE: 1. Complete assigned readings in advance of each class meeting. Please bring readings to class. 2.   Regular attendance and active participation in class discussions. 3.   Class Presentation. 4.   Regularly review course website for announcements, assignments, and additional readings. 5.   Complete and submit all written work in a timely manner, which include the following:    •    6 Blog Posts (Due on 9/17, 9/29, 10/15, 10/27, 11/10, and 12/03)    •    Paper Proposal (Due 10/6)    •    Annotated Bibliography (Due 10/20)    •    Detailed Outline (Due 11/3)    •    Rough Draft (Due 11/19)    •    10-12 Page Final Research Paper (Due 12/1) 6. Submit a portfolio consisting of all your written work at the end of the semester (Due 12/8). 7.   Submit a Mid-Term Self-Evaluation (Due 10/8) AND a Self-Evaluation to The Hub (Due 12/11). Class Attendance: Because attendance is critical to the success of this seminar, only two (2) absences are allowed (* this includes the add/drop period *). Subsequent absences will result in a "no evaluation" or a failing grade. Please keep in mind that when you skip class, you miss information crucial to understanding the readings, a sense of which themes are important, and the presentations of your classmates. Class Discussions: This course follows a seminar format, and as such, you are required to arrive promptly to class and actively participate in all class discussions. You are expected to fully engage with the assigned readings and offer informed perspectives in class. We all benefit when we all read, question and listen. In the process, students are expected to be respectful of and open to others’ opinions and suggestions and to avoid monopolizing class discussions. The goal is to facilitate rather than close down critical debate of the subject material. For those whom grades will not be assigned, the degree and quality of participation will be noted in your final narrative evaluations. Class Presentation: Students will be required to give an in-class presentation of approximately 20 minutes on one of the assigned readings. Each student is expected to do the following: (1) summarize the main points of the article; (2) define any and all relevant terms/theoretical concepts; (3) locate and utilize media examples relevant to the piece; (4) offer critiques based on textual evidence not personal opinion; (5) prepare discussion questions that are specific and grounded in the reading; and (6) lead class discussion. Blog Posts:  Students will be required to submit SIX posts to the class blog. Posts should be 500 words or more. They should be typed, proofread, spell checked and the word count confirmed before you post. Your posts should reflect sophisticated consideration of the readings and issues we have discussed in class. Posts should not summarize our class discussions but rather move beyond them in a significant way. Posts should engage with theoretical concepts from the readings and apply them to popular culture. Although not required, students are strongly encouraged to comment on the posts of their fellow students via the class blog. Research Paper: A research paper is required for this course. Students will be evaluated based upon the successful completion of the following assignments: paper proposal, annotated bibliography, detailed outline, rough draft, and final draft. Final drafts are due December 1st at 10:30 am and MUST be submitted directly to the Professor, unless other arrangements have been made beforehand. Late papers will be excused only in the case of a documented illness or family emergency. Papers should be 10-12 double-spaced pages in length (one-inch margins and 12 pt. font) and printed double-sided (NO EMAILED PAPERS WILL BE ACCEPTED). The paper title, author’s name and email address, and date should appear at the top of the first page. Do not include a separate cover page. Please staple papers; do not submit papers with clips, binders, or report covers. Please number all pages. Papers must include a bibliography and proper citations, with a minimum of 10 scholarly references cited including at least three academic journal publications. While Wikipedia and similar sources might be used for background information, it is expected that students will find more authoritative sources for information and cite these sources rather than citing Wikipedia. The Chicago reference style should be used for the bibliography and citations (students may use an alternative style only with permission of the Professor). Papers should be well structured with appropriate headings throughout, and include conclusions that are well supported by the rest of the paper. Remember this is a research paper, not an opinion essay. All assertions need to be supported with citations to relevant literature. You should cite ideas, not just direct quotes. Headings should be used to structure the paper. Purchasing a hard copy, CD, or online subscription of the Chicago Manual of Style is highly recommended.  RULES AND REGULATIONS — PLEASE READ VERY CAREFULLY!  Class Decorum: Turn off your cell phone, PDA, text messenger, or other electronic device, before class begins. Please note: In-Class laptop computer usage is permitted but should be limited to course-related activities and not casual web surfing for personal enjoyment. Tardiness Policy: Students are expected to be in class on time. Attendance will be taken promptly at 10:30 am. If you are late, you will be assigned extra work. 1-5 minutes late will add 100 words to your next blog post assignment (i.e., you will be required to write 600 words instead of 500). 5-10 minutes late will add 200 words (700 words instead of 500). If you are more than ten minutes late, you will be marked absent for the day. Please note: Excessive tardiness will be noted in your final narrative evaluation. Late Assignments: No late work! No exceptions! All assignments are due on the date, time, and location specified in the syllabus. It is your responsibility to keep track of when and where assignments are due. Please plan ahead as accidents do occur (computers crash, printers run out of toner, networks go down, illnesses descend, hangovers happen, breakups take their toll, etc.). If you have a physical, psychological, medical, or learning disability that may impact on your ability to carry out assigned course work on time, I urge you to contact the Disabilities Services Coordinator, Joel Dansky. He is responsible for the coordination and provision of services and accommodations for students with disabilities. He may be reached at 413-559-5423 or via email jdansky@hampshire.edu. Plagiarism: Plagiarism is a very serious offense and will not be tolerated. If a student is found guilty of plagiarism he or she will not receive an evaluation for this class, and the case will be handed over to the Dean for disciplinary action. If you use the words or ideas of others you must clearly identify the source in your work (that includes any information found on the web!). Direct quotations must be placed in quotation marks and their sources cited. Paraphrased sources should also be acknowledged. If you are unclear what constitutes plagiarism, consult the Professor before handing your work in. Ignorance of what constitutes plagiarism is not a defense. It is your responsibility to be sure beforehand. READING SCHEDULE AND COURSE ASSIGNMENTS:

September 10th: Introduction  ASSIGNMENT : Students must identify FOUR class readings they would like to present on. We will hold a lottery during class on September 15th to determine the sequence of student presentations. Each student will only have to present on ONE reading. To make sure that student presenters have sufficient time, only TWO presentations will be scheduled per class. September 15th: Why Horror? •   Noel Carroll, "Why Horror?" •   Ken Gelder, "Introduction: The Field of Horror" •    Marc Jancovich, "General Introduction to Horror: The Film Reader" •    Andrew Tudor, "Why Horror? The Peculiar Pleasures of a Popular Genre" •    Istvan Csicsery-Ronay, Jr., "On the Grotesque in Science Fiction"  September 17th: Why S(cience) F(iction)? •    Patricia Melzer, "Introduction: Science Fiction's Alien Constructions" •    Adilufu Nama, "Structured Absence and Token Presence" •    Patrick Parrinder, "Science Fiction: Metaphor, Myth, or Prophecy?" [Not Eligible for Class Presentation] •   Sheree Thomas, "Introduction to Dark Matter: Looking For The Invisible" [Not Eligible for Class Presentation]   ASSIGNMENT : Blog Post Due by 11PM. September 22: The Promise of Monsters •   Joshua David Bellin, "Introduction: Monsters of Our Making" •    Jeffrey Jerome Cohen, "Monster Culture: Seven Theses" •    Marie Helene Hunt, "Introduction to Monstrous Imagination" [Not Eligible for Class Presentation] •    Steven Schneider, "Monsters as (Uncanny) Metaphors: Freud, Lakoff, and the Representation of Monstrosity   in Cinematic Horror"

•   Fatimah Tobing Rony, "King Kong and The Monster in Ethnographic Cinema" [Not Eligible for Class Presentation]  September 24: Alien Encounters: Self and Other in SF and Horror •    Richard Kearney, "Aliens and Others" •    Carl Malmgren, "Self and Other in SF: Alien Encounters" •    Christine Cornea, "Alien Others: Race and the Science Fiction Film" •    Veronica Hollinger, "The Vampire and the Alien: Variations on the Outsider" [Not Eligible for Class Presentation]

September 29: Frankenstein and Other Reproductive Fictions •   Allan Lloyd Smith, "'This Thing of Darkness': Racial Discourse in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein" •    Jenny Sunden, "What If Frankenstein('s Monster) Was A Girl? Reproduction and Subjectivity in the Digital Age" •    Elizabeth Young, "Here Comes The Bride: Wedding Gender and Race in the Bride of Frankenstein" •    Louise Economides, "Recycled Creatures and Rogue Genomes: Biotechnology in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and David Mitchell’s Cloud Atlas" •    Joan Haran, "(Re)Productive Fictions: Reproduction, Embodiment, and Feminist Science in Marge Piercy's Science Fiction"   ASSIGNMENT : Blog Post Due by 11PM. October 1: ADVISING DAY (NO CLASS) October 6: Queering Cloning, Defamiliarizing Gender •    Veronica Hollinger, "(Re)reading Queerly: Science Fiction, Feminism, and the Defamiliarization of Gender" [Not Eligible for Class Presentation] •    Maria Aline Seabra Ferreira, "Cloning and Biopower: Joanna Russ and Fay Weldon" •    Joshua David Bellin, "Dragon Ladies: Fantasy Film and 'Family Values'"   ASSIGNMENT : Submit Research Paper Proposal. Proposals should be 1 page in length and typed (double-spaced, one-inch margins, 12 pt. font). Don't forget to check spelling and grammar! See course website for helpful tips! October 8: Domesticating Space •   Christine Cornea, "Science Fiction Films in the 1950s" •    Susan George, "Pushing Containment: The Tale of the 1950s Science Fiction Vamp" [Not Eligible for Class Presentation] •    Lynn Spigel, "From Domestic Space to Outer Space: The 1960s Fantastic Family Sitcom"   ASSIGNMENT : Mid-Term Evaluations Due  October 13: OCTOBER BREAK (NO CLASS)  October 15: Liberal Humanism and the Persistence of Difference  •    Frank Grady, "Vampire Culture" [Not Eligible for Class Presentation] •    Daniel Bernardi, "Star Trek in the 1960s: Liberal-Humanism and the Production of Race" •    Diane Relke, "Modernism/Postmodernism" [Not Eligible for Class Presentation] •    Lee Heller, "The Persistence of Difference: Postfeminism, Popular Discourse, and Heterosexuality in Star Trek: The Next Generation"   ASSIGNMENT : Blog Post Due by 11PM. October 20: Colonizing the Universe •   Greg Grewell, "Colonizing the Universe: Science Fictions Then, Now, and in the (Imagined) Future" •    Carl Abbott, "Homesteading on the Extraterrestrial Frontier" •    Diane Newell and Victoria Lamont, "Rugged Domesticity: Frontier Mythology in Post-Armageddon Science Fiction by Women" •    Wei Ming Dariotis, "Crossing the Racial Frontier: Star Trek and Mixed Heritage Identities"   ASSIGNMENT : Turn in Annotated Bibliography for Research Paper. Annotated bibliographies must include a minimum of 6 scholarly references and include at least 2 academic journal publications. None of the sources may be from the class reading list. While Wikipedia and similar sources might be used for background information, it is expected that students will find more authoritative sources for information and cite these sources rather than citing Wikipedia. The Chicago reference style should be used for the bibliography and citations. See course website for helpful tips! As always, don’t forget to check spelling and grammar! October 22: Alien Invasion! •   Heather J. Hicks, "Suits vs. Skins: Immigration and Race in Men in Black" •    Adilufu Nama, "White Narratives, Black Allegories" •    Jan Mair, "Rewriting the 'American Dream': Postmodernism and Otherness in Independence Day" [Not Eligible for Class Presentation] •    Basu Subramanian, "The Aliens Have Landed!: Reflections on the Rhetoric of Biological Invasions" [Not Eligible for Class Presentation]  October 27: Postcolonial Apocalypse •    Eric Avila, "Dark City: White Flight and the Urban Science Fiction Film in Postwar America" •    Paul Williams, "Beyond 'Mad Max III:' Race, Empire, and Heroism on Post-Apocalyptic Terrain" [Not Eligible for Class Presentation] •    Patricia Melzer, "Cultural Chameleons: Anticolonial Identities and Resistance in Octavia E. Butler's Survivor and Dawn" •    Christine Wertheim, "Star Trek: First Contact - The Hybrid, The Whore, and The Machine"   ASSIGNMENT : Blog Post Due by 11PM. October 29: Cannibalizing The Undead: Zombies, Capitalism, and The Power of Monstrous Metaphors •   Sarah Juliet Lauro, "A Zombie Manifesto: The Nonhuman Condition in the Era of Advanced Capitalism" •    Shawn McIntosh, "The Evolution of the Zombie: The Monster That Keeps Coming Back" [Not Eligible for Class Presentation] •    Marc Leverette, "The Funk of Forty Thousand Years; or, How, The (Un)Dead Get Their Groove On" •    Natasha Patterson, "Cannibalizing Gender and Genre: A Feminist Re-Vision of George Romero's Zombie Films" [Not Eligible for Class Presentation]  November 3: Imperial Geographies, Orientalist Fantasies •    Myles Balfe, "Incredible Geographies? Orientalism and Genre Fantasy" [Not Eligible for Class Presentation] •    Joshua David Bellin, "Monsters From the Middle East: Ray Harryhausen's Sinbad Trilogy"  •    Jennifer Fay, "Dead Subjectivity: White Zombie, Black Baghdad"   ASSIGNMENT : Detailed outline of research paper due. Outlines should be 2-3 pages long. See course website for helpful tips! As always, don’t forget to check spelling and grammar! REMINDER : Vote! Vote! Vote! November 5: Cultures of Contagion •   Adilufu Nama, "Bad Blood: Fear of Racial Contamination" •    Steven Shaviro, "Contagious Allegories: George Romero" •    Jen Webb and Sam Byrnand, "Some Kind of Virus: The Zombie as Body and as Trope"  [Not Eligible for Class Presentation]  November 10: Sexing the Vampire •    Bram Dijkstra, "Domesticating the Vampire: Hollywood and The Seminal Economy" •    Milly Williamson, "Gender and Dracula: What's At Stake" •    Cyndy Hendershot, "Vampire and Replicant: The One-Sex Body in a Two-Sex World"   ASSIGNMENT : Blog Post Due by 11PM. November 12: Bodies of Fear •   Adilufu Nama, "Black Body: Figures of Distortion" •    Steven Shaviro, "Bodies of Fear: David Cronenberg" •    Carol Clover, "Her Body, Himself (Excerpt)" [Not Eligible for Class Presentation] •    Harry Benshoff, "Blaxploitation Horror Films: Generic Reappropriation or Reinscription?" [Not Eligible for Class Presentation] November 17: Baby Bitches, Bug Mothers, and The Monstrous Feminine •    Barbara Creed, "Alien and The Monstrous Feminine"  [Not Eligible for Class Presentation] •    Ava Briefel, "Monster Pains: Masochism, Menstruation, and Identification in the Horror Film" •    Lynda Zwinger, "Blood Relations: Feminist Theory Meets the Uncanny Alien Bug Mother" [Not Eligible for Class Presentation] •    Barbara Creed, "Baby Bitches From Hell: Monstrous Little Women in Film"  November 19: Monstrous Masculinity, Gothic Sex •    Klaus Reiser, "Masculinity and Monstrosity: Characterization and Identification in the Slasher Film" •    Brenda Boyle, "Monstrous Bodies, Monstrous Sex: Queering Alien Resurrection" •    Lorena Russell, "Queer Gothic and Heterosexual Panic in the Ass-End of Space" •    Jacqueline Fulmer, "'Men Ain't All': A Reworking of Masculinity in Tales from the Hood, or, Grandma Meets the Zombie" •    Francis Shor, "Father Knows Beast: Patriarchal Rage and the Horror of Personality Film" [Not Eligible for Class Presentation]   ASSIGNMENT : Rough Draft of Research Paper Due (See the Course Website for Tips)  November 24: Beyond The Binary: Gender Blending and The Flexibly Sexed Subject •    Christine Cornea, "Gender Blending and the Feminine Subject in Science Fiction Film" •    Patricia Melzer, "Beyond Binary Gender: Genderqueer Identities and Intersexed Bodies in Octavia E. Butler's Wild Seed and Imago and Melissa Scott's Shadow Man" •    Wendy Pearson, "Sex/uality and The Figures of the Hermaphrodite in Science Fiction, or The Revenge of Herculine Barbin"  November 26: THANKSGIVING BREAK (NO CLASS)  December 1: The (Post)Feminist Politics of Cyberpunk •    Stacy Gillis, "The (Post)Feminist Politics of Cyberpunk"[Not Eligible for Class Presentation]  •    Patricia Melzer, "Technoscience's Stepdaughter: The Feminist Cyborg in Alien Resurrection" •    Nicola Nixon, "Cyberpunk: Preparing the Ground for Revolution or Keeping the Boys Satisfied" •    Kim Toffoletti, "Feminism, Technology, and the Posthuman"   ASSIGNMENT : Final Draft of Research Paper Due (See the Paper FAQ on the Course Website)  December 3: Haunted Whiteness, Racialized Posthumanism •    Annalee Newitz, "The Undead: A Haunted Whiteness" •    Dale Hudson, "Vampires of Color and the Performance of Multicultural Whiteness" •    Thomas Foster, "The Souls of Cyberfolk: Performativity, Virtual Embodiment, and Racial Histories"   ASSIGNMENT : Blog Post Due by 11PM. December 8: Miscegenation: Fear of a Multiracial Future •   LeiLani Nishime, "The Matrix Trilogy, Keanu Reeves, and Multiraciality at the End of Time" •    Jane Park, "Virtual Race: The Racially Ambiguous Action Hero in The Matrix and Pitch Black" •    Lisa Nakamura, "The Multiplication of Difference in Post-Millennial Cyberpunk Film: The Visual of Race in The Matrix Trilogy" [Not Eligible for Class Presentation] •    Adam Knee, "Race Mixing and The Fantastic: Lineages of Identity and Genre in Contemporary Hollywood"    ASSIGNMENT : Portfolios Due in Class. Portfolios should include hard copies of the following: blog posts, paper proposal, annotated bibliography, detailed outline, and rough draft. December 9: Email A Short Media Clip to the Professor by 11PM Clips should demonstrate how race, sex and/or Otherness figures in SF and horror. Clips should be 3 minutes or less in length. We will discuss them as a group. December 10: Summing Up and Discussion of Media Clips •   Joshua David Bellin, "Conclusion: Monster's End?" [Not Eligible for Class Presentation] •   Bram Dijkstra, "Introduction: Evil Sisters" [Not Eligible for Class Presentation] •    Patricia Melzer, "The Alien in US: Metaphors of Transgression in the Work of Octavia E. Butler" [Not Eligible for Class Presentation] •    Patricia Melzer, "Conclusion: Alien Constructions"  [Not Eligible for Class Presentation] •    Octavia Butler, "The Monophobic Response" [Not Eligible for Class Presentation]  December 11: Self-Evaluations Due

Learning Goals

 * Multi-Cultural
 * Presenting
 * Reading
 * Writing