ENGL 345: Modern and Contemporary American Satire
Course Introduction
Required Texts and Materials
Assignments
Exams and Grading
Academic Policies
COURSE INTRODUCTION
This course explores critical and theoretical approaches to modern and contemporary American literary satire, as well as
cinematic satire. You will explore essential critical and theoretical definitions and descriptions of satire and test out those
definitions and descriptions while reading a selection of twentieth- and twenty-first-century satirical works.
Lesson Activities
Reading
Viewing
Discussion
Writing
Lens Reading
and
Primary Text
Video Lectures
Discussion
Forum or Videobased
Conversation
Papers
The lessons cover theories and critical approaches to satire. Each lesson seeks to define satire or to describe certain aspects or
conventions of satire. Learning objectives are provided at the beginning of each lesson. A brief video lecture (approximately 5
minutes) will supplement the lens reading and enhance your comprehension of it. Video lectures do not cover every aspect of
associated lens readings, so for each lesson you should read the lens reading and watch the video lecture. Then, you will read
the primary text or watch a film.
Each lesson includes discussion activities in which you will locate textual evidence within complex literary and cinematic works
on assigned themes; use online forums to engage in peer-to-peer, critical conversations; and write persuasive critical essays on
a variety of relevant themes. See the schedule for due dates.
REQUIRED TEXTS AND MATERIALS
See the course description for an up-to-date list of materials.
Course Reserves
Electronic reserve readings are available via Course Reserves in the Sakai menu.
Students enrolled in Carolina Courses Online have access to the UNC Library System. Library Services for eLearners and
Distance Learners provides access to a wide array of online services and resources including course reserves, online
databases, online journals, online books, and live help with research and library access. Most online resources require you to log
in with your Onyen and password. If you have trouble finding or accessing resources, contact Distance Education Library
Services. You can chat live about your problem or send an email to request assistance.
ASSIGNMENTS
Discussion
You are expected to participate in online discussions for each lesson (unless a paper is due for that lesson). Participation is
worth 25 percent of your final grade. I will provide discussion prompts based on the reading assignments; however, the topic of
your post will be up to you. In addition to responding to these discussion prompts, you are required to respond to one another in
order to facilitate interaction and dialogue. Refer to the instructions within each lesson regarding the type of discussion and
number of responses due.
You will be assigned to a discussion group (see Roster in the Sakai menu) for the duration of the course. More details will be
provided in lesson 1. Most lessons, you will respond in writing to each of your group members’ postings in the discussion.
Two Types of Discussions
Discussion Forums (Text Harvest)
VoiceThread
Depending on the lesson, one or the other will be assigned. Use the links provided within the lessons to access the discussion
forums, or select Forums or VoiceThread from the Sakai menu.
Text Harvest Discussion
Text Harvest discussions will take place in Sakai Forums. A "text harvest" is a type of discussion activity in which you post a
transcribed excerpt “harvested,” or extracted, from the primary text that responds to the assigned discussion prompt. Below your
transcribed Text Harvest, compose a brief written defense for your posting. You may choose to quote from the lens reading.
Text Harvest Responses
You will read through Text Harvest posts from members of your group and respond to them. Each Text Harvest response must
be 150–500 words long and address one or more of the following: the text excerpt, the poster’s defense of his/her post,
supporting evidence from the lens reading, and/or what others have commented.
VoiceThread Discussion
VoiceThread is an online collaboration tool in Sakai that allows you to upload, share, and discuss a variety of media
(documents, text, images, audio, and video). You will be able to record and post VoiceThread videos using your computer’s
webcam, or you can record video from another camera device and upload the file. If you are not familiar with VoiceThread, view
What’s a VoiceThread, anyway? Help is available within the VoiceThread application in Sakai. If you need further assistance
with VoiceThread, contact the ITS Helpdesk at help.unc.edu.
You will also engage in VoiceThread video-based discussion in response to a discussion prompt. You will deliver a scripted or
outlined argument in a brief video related to an excerpt that you have found in the primary text. Include quotes from the primary
text and perhaps also the lens reading.
Create a VoiceThread by recording your video with your webcam or uploading your video from your computer/camera device.
Your VoiceThread video should be two- to five-minutes in length
VoiceThread Responses
Depending on the lesson, you may be required to respond in writing (not video) to VoiceThread posts made by members of your
group. Each VoiceThread response must contain 150–500 words, and address one or more of the following: the VoiceThread
video post, the textual example/s given, understanding of the lens reading, and/or what other commenters have said about the
VoiceThread post.
Optional: Book Talk
The optional Book Talk forum is a community forum where students can discuss the content of each novel as a novel, and
without having to discuss satire. The forum is open to all students within this course. Your instructor will provide ideas and
questions to get the conversation going, and you can choose to participate in that conversation, or to start your own.
Writing Assignments
In addition to your lesson readings and discussion, you will write a total of four papers, including the midterm and final exam
papers. Your papers should be “textual”—that is, they will be built around quotations from the course’s primary texts and lens
readings. You are expected follow the assignment instructions, which you will find in Papers from the Sakai menu.
As is always the case, you must properly cite all material borrowed from other sources, following MLA conventions for in-text and
end citations. Please review and follow the Writing Guidelines page in order to write a high-quality paper that meets the
standards of the discipline and of MLA Style.
Submitting Your Assignments
You will write original, creative work for your written assignments and submit that work on Sakai. Remember that you cannot wait
until the last day to submit all your required posts to the discussion forum; these discussions fulfill the same role as in-person
class discussions, so be sure to submit at least half of your posts early in the lesson. It is recommended that you submit your
papers early, as well.
Saving and naming your files: Name your files with the course number, lesson number, and your last name (example: CCOENGL345-Lesson1-Smith.doc). Upload your assignment as a Word document attachment in Sakai Assignments by the due
date.
EXAMS AND GRADING
There will be two exams in this course: a midterm and a final. The midterm doubles as Paper 2. The final exam is a 10-15 page
essay. See the schedule for dates. Assignment
Percent of
Grade
2 Papers (15 percent each)
30 percent
Midterm Exam (paper)
25 percent
Discussion Participation
20 percent
Final Exam (paper)
25 percent
ACADEMIC POLICIES
By enrolling as a student in this course, you agree to abide by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill policies related to
the acceptable use of online resources. Please consult the Acceptable Use Policy on topics such as copyright, net-etiquette, and
privacy protection. As part of this course, you may be asked to participate in online discussions or other online activities that may
include personal information about you or other students in the course. Please be respectful of the rights and protection of other
participants under the UNC-Chapel Hill Information Security Policies when participating in online classes.
When using online resources offered by organizations not affiliated with UNC-Chapel Hill, such as Google or YouTube, please
note that the terms and conditions of these companies and not the University’s Terms and Conditions apply. These third parties
may offer different degrees of privacy protection and access rights to online content. You should be aware of this when posting
content to sites not managed by UNC-Chapel Hill. When links to sites outside of the unc.edu domain are inserted in class
discussions, please be mindful that clicking on sites not affiliated with UNC-Chapel Hill may pose a risk for your computer due to
the possible presence of malware on such sites.
Honor Code
As a UNC student, you are expected to uphold the University’s Honor Code. All graded academic work must include the
following pledge: “No unauthorized assistance has been received or given in the completion of this work.”
All work that you produce must be your own! Plagiarism is a serious offense and will not be tolerated in this course. Please view
the Plagiarism Tutorial created by the librarians of UNC-Chapel Hill, Duke University, NC State University, and NC Central
University.
Office of Accessibility/Special Accommodations
If you are a student with a documented disability, you can receive services through Accessibility Resources & Service. You must
self-identify through Accessibility Resources to receive services or accommodation from either of these offices. Accessibility
Resources works closely with programs, offices, and departments throughout the University to help create an accessible
environment.
The office is located in Suite 2126 of the Student Academic Services Building (SASB), 450 Ridge Road, Chapel Hill, NC, and is
open from 8 am to 5 pm Monday through Friday. You can contact them by phone at 919-962-8300 or 711 (NC-RELAY), or by
email at [email protected].
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