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WRTG 3020: Sections 3646

The Grotesque, Spring 2013

Instructor: Dr. Nancy Hightower / Office: TB1 8
Office Hours: 12-1 Mon & Wed, and Fri by appointment / Email:

Rhetorical Knowledge:

Modern contemporary art, film, TV, and literature embrace the bizarre in a way never before seen. Many might term what they see and read as “grotesque”—used pejoratively to mean that which is strange, unsightly, obscene; in some cases, even funny. The grotesque as a scholarly study, however, is something different. It’s not altogether different, mind you, for certainly the grotesque always includes elements of the bizarre. Yet many authors and artists have used the grotesque—this elusive intersection of humor and horror—to question the strongest rhetoric that holds our society together. Students will look as the persuasive qualities of the grotesque and come to a fuller understanding of how this aesthetic has become more rhetorically complex over time. It was simply ornamental back in Nero’s time, as we see in the “grottoes” of his palace, the Domus Aurea. Human forms blended into plants and animals, with a playfulness that delighted the eye. That ornamental version of the grotesque turned darker when Bosch incorporated it into his Garden of Earthly Delights and Bruegel in The Triumph of Death. Both works give us insight into the paradoxes of the artists’ cultures. At the same time, a literature that embodied the carnivalesque, such as Rabelais’ Gargantua and Pantagruel also appeared. While the time of carnival is no more, we see shards of it in today’s literature. Today, transgressive humor addresses the paradoxes, hypocrisies, and binaries seen in our post-modern society. By examining the rhetorical aspects of the grotesque, students will come to a deeper understanding of how it affects their civic, academic, and personal lives.

Writing Process and Peer Reviews: Writing is an ongoing dialogue between writer and the reader. As such, students will write multiple drafts of each paper throughout the semester. This includes crafting an evolving thesis that truly allows exploration of an issue and reworking the thesis as new claims and evidence are discovered. Students must turn in all drafts with the final paper to document their writing processes throughout the term. Students are also part of a writing community, and as such, much of the participation grade will be based on student interaction within the peer review groups. As an integral component in helping one’s classmates become better writers through the workshop process, students will be asked to provide constructive, yet honest, feedback. Students will also be expected to take the comments of their peers very seriously, and to implement their suggestions in each progressive draft.

Conventions and Effective Application: This is fundamentally a writing course focused around the rhetoric of the grotesque. Students will be evaluated for their comprehension of, and ability to engage with, the creative and theoretical material covered. We will review the fundamental rules of writing, including sentence structure, use of active voice, vibrant imagery, and discovery of your own writer’s voice. Writing is a dialogue, not a monologue, not a lecture. Students will extend writing practice to special rhetorical situations even as they make their work accessible to secondary audiences in other disciplines.

Content Knowledge: Students will demonstrate comprehension of the grotesque’s place in society by composing pieces for specific audiences and purposes and adapting content and style around this specialized discourse, as shown in the visual rhetoric assignment, an final multimodal project centered around a work of their choice, a multimedia presentation, as well as weekly blog posts. Students also will continuously reflect on and synthesize their knowledge about rhetoric and the grotesque.

OFFICE LOCATION:

Myoffice is locatedin the Temporary Building 1, located inbetween SewallHall and the Rec Center. You’ll see a horizontal building with two sets of doors. Choose the doors on the LEFT. Once inside, you should see stairs to your immediate left. Take the stairs down, then go down the hall. I’m the second door on the right (red room, brain in jar on desk, etc.).

Assignments:

Quizzes: 10% Participation: 10%Visual Rhetoric Assignment: 20%

Argument Paper: 30% Group Presentation 15%Midterm 15%

Major Assignments:

Quizzes: Your quizzes will be more akin to reading responses to the texts. Some of the quizzes will be quite specific and open book to ensure that you are annotating your stories and articles.

Visual Rhetoric Assignment: This assignment is an analytical and argumentative paper with a photographic component. Focusing on a very specific and narrow topic of your choice, you will use the visual persuasion of the grotesque to deconstruct the binary and cliché rhetoric surrounding the issue. Your paper will also be an examination of this process—how you came to choose your content and frame it as an act of persuasion.

Midterm: This essay is an open note test. You will have the opportunity to show how you have progressively deepened your knowledge surrounding the rhetorics of the grotesque and uncanny—this includes literature, film, and theory. You will also show how you have mastered a specialized vocabulary and comprehend this material at an advanced level.

Final Project: Your final project will consist of an original argument/analysis regarding one work of literature, film, or art. This paper is not a literary analysis; rather, it will focus on how the work employs the grotesque as a rhetorical tool in order to persuade, or perhaps even dissuade, an audience regarding a societal issue.

Group Presentation: As a group of 5, you will give a multi-media presentation on how the grotesque could be used to question a prevalent issue in today’s society that has become polarized in popular culture. You will need to analyze different texts for this presentation, including scholarly articles, popular ads, and media such as TV, film, and art. The presentation will take the entire class period (including a question and answer time).

POLICIES

EMAIL POLICY:

Please feel free to email me with any questions you may have. I usually respond to emails in less than 24 hours (and sometimes as quickly as 24 seconds, if I’m online). However, you will need to follow good email etiquette when contacting me. Please include the following:

1) a proper subject line that lets me know the nature of your email

2) a respectful greeting (Dear Nancy, Hi Dr. Hightower, etc.)

3) your name at the end

For the first two weeks of class, please include your class time or section number with your signature or in the subject line. If you do not receive some kind of reply within 24 hours, please email me again.

** I never accept final assignments in disk form or in an email, and I don’t take attachments.

ATTENDANCE AND LATE WORK:

You are allowedthree absences, for any reason. After three absences,your finalgrade will be lowered by one letter grade for every day missed,and more than six absences will cause your failure of the course. I will take into account extreme illness (with a doctor’s note). Your timely attendance is required; if you are late for three classes, it will count as an absence.

LATE WORK:We will have numerous draft workshops for all major projects, so you will have adequate time to complete your assignments on time. Therefore, late work incurs a letter grade deduction for every day it is late.Work turned in after the beginning of class incurs a five point deduction.

Religious Observance:Please be sure to give me two weeks’ notice if you need to miss a class for religious practices (which count as an excused absence). See full details at.

PARTICIPATION:

This class isn’t a lecture class (nothing could be more boring—lecture upon lecture about writing!). So, we will need everyone’s participation in order to help us learn what it means to engage in thoughtful, articulate persuasion. Therefore, your participation grade is based on the following:

  • printing out all the reading material in order to engage in class discussion.
  • contributing to class discussions in a thoughtful, engaging, and productive way.
  • being good, active peer editors when work-shopping drafts.
  • having a good attitude during discussions and peer workshops.

***Texting in class is very distracting both to me and your fellow students. Please turn off all electronics before the class period begins. Because such distraction so negatively affects the classroom, if your cell phone rings in class, or you are caughttext messaging someone, your finalparticipation grade will be reduced by 5 points.

DRAFTS:

Bringing in drafts of your work is an essential part of this class. Good writing always means revision. Therefore, failure to bring a draft on a draft due date will result in a 5 point reduction of your final participation grade.

If you have missed a draft dayfor illness (with a doctor’s note) or havenotified me in advanceof your absence on a draft day:

  • Email two other students your draft and get comments on it.
  • Edit their drafts as well.
  • Bring all edited drafts in hard copyby the next class dayto getfull credit.

RECAP--to get full participation points: come to class on time, bring drafts when due, turn in projects when due, turn off cell phones, and be active class participants.

Other In-class Policies

Behavior: Students and faculty each have responsibility for maintaining an appropriate learning environment. Those who fail to adhere to such behavioral standards may be subject to discipline. Professional courtesy and sensitivity are especially important with respect to individuals and topics dealing with differences of race, culture, religion, politics, sexual orientation, gender, gender variance, and nationalities. Class rosters are provided to the instructor with the student's legal name. I will gladly honor your request to address you by an alternate name or gender pronoun. Please advise me of this preference early in the semester so that I may make appropriate changes to my records. See policies at

and at

Harassment: The University of Colorado at Boulder policy on Discrimination and Harassment, the University of Colorado policy on Sexual Harassment and the University of Colorado policy on Amorous Relationships apply to all students, staff and faculty. Any student, staff or faculty member who believes s/he has been the subject of sexual harassment or discrimination or harassment based upon race, color, national origin, sex, age, disability, creed, religion, sexual orientation, or veteran status should contact the Office of Discrimination and Harassment (ODH) at 303-492-2127 or the Office of Judicial Affairs at 303-492-5550. Information about the ODH, the above referenced policies and the campus resources available to assist individuals regarding discrimination or harassment can be obtained at

Academic Integrity: Violations of this policy may include: cheating, plagiarism, aid of academic dishonesty, fabrication, lying, bribery, and threatening behavior. All incidents of academic misconduct shall be reported to the Honor Code Council (; 303-735-2273). Students who are found to be in violation of the academic integrity policy will be subject to both academic sanctions from the faculty member and non-academic sanctions (including but not limited to university probation, suspension, or expulsion). Other information on the Honor Code can be found at and at

Special Accommodations:

If you need special accommodations due to a disability, please give me a letter from Disability Services so that we can make the necessary arrangements. If you have any questions regarding this process, please visit

Conflict Resolution. If you have a conflict with me or these policies, the first step is to talk to me. If we can’t resolve the issue, the next step is to contact the Conflict Resolution Coordinator in the Program for Writing and Rhetoric: .

Counseling Services. If you have a life crisis or feel depressed for an extended period of time, please talk to me or contact Counseling Services at Willard Administration Center, Room 134, phone 2-6766. Walk-in hours are Monday through Friday 8-5.

Student Academic Services Center. If you find yourself struggling with academic life, you may visit the Student Academic Services Center (SASC), which helps students who are having difficulty meeting the expectations of college life. Some students may be eligible for no-cost tutoring, and there’s a dedicated computer lab in Willard 353. SASC also offers assistance to ESL students. Willard Hall, room 386, phone 2-0259.

Course Schedule: Readings are to be printed out, read, and annotatedbefore class. All readings, except for The Yellow Wallpaper, can be found on the class blog (I will send the blog address to you via email).

WEEK 1 Jan 14, 16

Mon:

  • Review of class policies. Introductions.

Weds:

  • Presentation of the visual grotesque, followed by discussion
  • In-class reading and discussion
  • Visual Rhetoric Assignment explanation

WEEK 2 Jan 21, 23

Mon: Martin Luther King Jr. Day

Wed:

  • Harpham, On the Grotesque
  • Carnivalesque, Timothy Hyman and Roger Malbert

WEEK 3 Jan 28, 30

Mon:

  • Thomson The Grotesque in Art and Literature, part 1, and Thomson The Grotesque in Art and Literature, part 2; discuss differences in literary genres and conventions and how they pertain to the use of the grotesque
  • The Lady's Dressing Room Jonathan Swift--using Thomson's theories, discuss where the grotesque might momentarily take over the satire in this piece
  • Have two typed paragraphs (half a sheet of paper each) exploring 2 possible VR topics (just one paragraph per topic) to turn into me. What very specific issue do you want to look at? Remember, the issue itself isn’t grotesque–you’re going to use the aesthetics of the grotesque in your pics to create a paradigm shift in the viewer.

Weds:

  • Excerpts from Freud’s “Uncanny”
  • Paz, The Blue Bouquet

WEEK 4 Feb 4, 6

Mon:

  • Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been, Joyce Carol Oates
  • Draft Due:Bring first page of VR assignment to workshop. Look for evolving thesis, logical structure

Weds:

  • The Doll Queen, Fuentes
  • Draft Due:Bring 2-3 pages (double spaced) of VR assignment to workshop, with photograph sketch or sample photos if possible. Does the paper effectively analyze the photographs and incorporate the analysis seamlessly into paper?

WEEK 5 Feb 11, 13

Mon:Good Country People, O’Connor—Discuss how the grotesque questions the concept of use value within story

Weds:

  • MOATG, Chapter 9: “Grotesque Bodies: Weimar-Era Medicine and the Photomontages of Hannah Hoch”
  • Draft Due:Bring 2-3 heavily revised pages (double spaced) of VR assignment to workshop, with photograph sketch or sample photos if possible. Does the paper effectively analyze the photographs and incorporate the analysis seamlessly into paper?

WEEK 6 Feb 18, 20

Mon:The Yellow Wallpaper

Weds:

  • MOATG, Chapter 5: “Blemished Physiologies: Delacroix, Paganini and the Cholera Epidemic of 1832”
  • Draft Due:Last draft workshop of Visual Rhetoric assignment. Check to see if the paper covers the following:
  • What is the public/cultural discourse on this issue? How has the rhetoric surrounding it been turned into a cliché or become polarized?
  • Persuasion: What kinds of rhetorical appeals do your pictures employ, and how do those appeals question the clichés and boundaries surrounding your topic?
  • Analysis: Discuss how form interacts with content to create meaning. What angles did you use to take the pictures and why? What about distance or clarity of picture? How did you decide on the “frame”? Did you choose to print the pictures in color or black in white? Why?
  • Reflection: What new things didyousee about your subject?
  • Does the conclusion present a thesis that has been developed, tested, and evolved throughout the essay

WEEK 7 Feb 25, 27

Mon:

  • VISUAL RHETORIC Assignment Due at the beginning of class.
  • Watch Antichrist–What does the grotesque look like in film, as opposed to Hollywood’s “taboo-breaking” movies?

Weds:

  • Finish movie and discuss.

WEEK 8 March 4, 6

Mon:

  • A Country Doctor, Kafka
  • Go over finalproject and group presentation. Break-out sessions for final participation groups

Weds:

  • Choose final presentation groups. Begin brainstorming.

WEEK 9 March 11-13

Mon:

  • Topic for final paper chosen.
  • Rabbits, KanaiMieko—Re-examine literary conventions—is this story grotesque, surreal, the “new weird,” or merely a tale of the fantastic? What constructions of gender does the story question and how does the shift between two frame narrators work as rhetorical device?

Weds:

  • Turn in list of four sources consulted (one has to be scholarly)
  • Group presentation time

WEEK 10 18, 20

Mon:Santa Sangre

Weds: Santa Sangre

WEEK 11: March 25, 27 SPRING BREAK

WEEK 12 April 1, 3

Mon:Writing Justice

  • In the Penal Colony, KafkaContinuation of discussion about the relationship/dialectic between language and the idea of justice

Weds:

  • Bring first two pages of final paper to workshop

WEEK 13 April 8, 10

Mon:

  • Midterm (bring all notes, paper, essays and several writing utensils). You may listen to music with earphones during the exam.

Weds:

  • Draft Due:Bring4pagesof final paper to workshop (heavily revised first two pages)
  • Presentation Workshop: Have each group member summarize their part in the presentation

WEEK 14 April 15, 17

Mon:

  • Presentation Workshop: Have each group member summarize their part in the presentation
  • Sign up for presentation schedule
  • Draft Due: Bring full project to workshop

Weds:

  • Draft Due: Bring full project to workshop
  • Presentation workshop

WEEK 15 April 22, 24

Mon: Multimedia Presentations. Attendance mandatory

Weds: Multimedia Presentations. Attendance mandatory

LAST WEEK April 29, May 1

Mon: Multimedia Presentations.

Weds: Multimedia Presentations. Final Projects due.