Summer 2023 - ENGL 383 E100

Studies in Popular Literature and Culture (4)

Class Number: 3381

Delivery Method: In Person

Overview

  • Course Times + Location:

    May 8 – Aug 4, 2023: Wed, 4:30–8:20 p.m.
    Burnaby

  • Exam Times + Location:

    Aug 15, 2023
    Tue, 7:00–10:00 p.m.
    Burnaby

  • Instructor:

    Jon Smith
    jon_smith@sfu.ca
    1 778 782-4512
    Office: AQ 6117
    Office Hours: Wed 2:25-4:25
  • Prerequisites:

    30 units or two 200-division English courses.

Description

CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:

A study of popular literature and its cultural contexts. May be defined by genre, author, period, or critical approach. This course may be repeated for credit if a different topic is taught, though students who obtained credit for ENGL 363 prior to Summer 2015 may not take this course for further credit. Breadth-Humanities.

COURSE DETAILS:

Buffy the Vampire Slayer

The first episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer aired in 1997, before most SFU undergraduates were born, and the academic subfield of “Buffy Studies” probably peaked around 2005. (By 2009, Slayage: The Online Journal of Buffy Studies had become Slayage: The Journal of the Whedon Studies Association, and by 2012 it had switched from publishing quarterly to publishing just twice a year.)  So, even as a new generation of young people has discovered the show on Disney+, this is probably not a hip, edgy, or terribly current cultural studies course.  On the other hand, most of the show’s issues and tropes remain with us under new names, from “toxic masculinity” to “dark academia,” so neither can we simply write the show off as an outdated marker of 1990s/Third Wave/“grrl power” white feminism.  Furthermore, Buffy’s massive influence on popular culture extends far beyond television.

So this is partly a class about Buffy—a show that, like television itself, was sometimes formulaic, sometimes jaw-droppingly brilliant—and partly a class about what we do when we write and think about popular culture.  So as we do close readings of the show’s 144 episodes and 7 seasons, and as we put it in the myriad 90s contexts of network television, indie rock, the Monica Lewinsky scandal, the rise of computer nerd culture (Bill Gates, Steve Jobs), “Generation X,” the Columbine massacre, and 90s white feminism, among others, we’ll also investigate why and how people—including us—write (and wrote) about that show.  As Amelie Hastie asks in one essay on Buffy, “How do we avoid falling into television’s own traps of ephemerality, obsolescence, and market demands?”  How do we write a cultural criticism that isn’t just dolled-up fanboydom/fangirldom?  What, as too many academics have already punned, are the “stakes” of writing about Buffy?  Put differently, if Buffy is so great, why hasn’t it produced any major criticism?  Conversely, if it’s so last century, why do its thematic concerns keep roaring back so powerfully in this one?  Like the undead?

COURSE-LEVEL EDUCATIONAL GOALS:

Students will read and write better. Students will become acquainted with the major strands of cultural studies from the Birmingham School to the present. Students will be able to apply those strands to Buffy as appropriate. Students will begin to be able to distinguish between major and minor cultural criticism, insightful and pedestrian scholarly articles. Students will interrogate their own critical practices and affects.

Grading

  • Attendance, Participation, and Discussion Questions 16.67%
  • First Paper (5-6pp) 16.67%
  • Midterm exam 16.66%
  • Final Paper (6-7pp) 25%
  • Final Exam 25%

NOTES:

Note: Attendance at all classes is expected.  Students who miss more than 3 classes without a valid reason (medical or family emergency) will receive “0” for the participation/attendance grade.  Repeatedly arriving late to class is disruptive and may also have an impact on one’s participation grade. Late papers will be marked down at the rate of one letter grade per day.   To receive credit for this course, students must complete all requirements.


Because this year's course is offered weekly, students will need to have watched the 12 episodes of Season 1 before our first class on Wednesday, May 10.  That way, the show's 6½ seasons fit perfectly into our 13 meetings.

Materials

MATERIALS + SUPPLIES:

The bookstore cannot provide competitive pricing on videos, so you will need to access Seasons 1-7 of Buffy on your own. Disney+ is the most popular current option.  The professor will use the DVDs, mainly because of the bonus features, but also because they retain the original 4:3 formatting.

REQUIRED READING NOTES:

Your personalized Course Material list, including digital and physical textbooks, are available through the SFU Bookstore website by simply entering your Computing ID at: shop.sfu.ca/course-materials/my-personalized-course-materials.

Department Undergraduate Notes:

IMPORTANT NOTE Re 300 and 400 level courses: 75% of spaces in 300 level English courses, and 100% of spaces in 400 level English courses, are reserved for declared English Major, Minor, Extended Minor, Joint Major, and Honours students only, until open enrollment begins.

For all On-Campus Courses, please note the following:
- To receive credit for the course, students must complete all requirements.
- Tutorials/Seminars WILL be held the first week of classes.
- When choosing your schedule, remember to check "Show lab/tutorial sections" to see all Lecture/Seminar/Tutorial times required.

Registrar Notes:

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: YOUR WORK, YOUR SUCCESS

SFU’s Academic Integrity website http://www.sfu.ca/students/academicintegrity.html is filled with information on what is meant by academic dishonesty, where you can find resources to help with your studies and the consequences of cheating. Check out the site for more information and videos that help explain the issues in plain English.

Each student is responsible for his or her conduct as it affects the university community. Academic dishonesty, in whatever form, is ultimately destructive of the values of the university. Furthermore, it is unfair and discouraging to the majority of students who pursue their studies honestly. Scholarly integrity is required of all members of the university. http://www.sfu.ca/policies/gazette/student/s10-01.html

RELIGIOUS ACCOMMODATION

Students with a faith background who may need accommodations during the semester are encouraged to assess their needs as soon as possible and review the Multifaith religious accommodations website. The page outlines ways they begin working toward an accommodation and ensure solutions can be reached in a timely fashion.