HNRS 250

HONORS READING SEMINAR

Apocalypse!
Fall 2020
TA Maclen
Pearson 018

CONTACT INFORMATION
Phone Number – 816-863-5796
Email – mjohnson024@drury.edu

This is the way the world ends… this is the way the world ends… this is the way the world ends…
not with a bang but with a whimper.
- T.S. Eliot, “The Hollow Men”

“It’s the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine.”
- R.E.M.

From Y2K to 2012 to 2020, our generation has lived through quite a few doomsdays. Humanity has
tried to predict the end of the world from the very beginning, and we’ve never hit the mark. Why are
we so focused on the end? Are we hastening our demise? How do we react when living through
legitimate apocalyptic scenarios? Is the end-of-days cyclical? We will discuss all these questions and
more – and hopefully have quite a few laughs along the way.

Learning Outcomes

LO1- Develop critical reading and thinking strategies

LO2 – Gain experience in leading small group discussions and demonstrating leadership skills

Catalog Description
 A seminar devoted to the discussion of books and films. Each student chooses a selection of
books and/or films and must be prepared to lead discussions of the selected works.

Course Assignments
Assignment 1 – Develop the course assignments as a group (LO2)
Assignment 2 – Complete reading, watch films, & participate in discussions (LO1)
Assignment 3 – Co-Lead One Discussion (LO2)
Assignment 4 – Short Response paper (2-3 pages) (LO1)

Grading Scale

This class is graded as either Satisfactory or Unsatisfactory. To earn a Satisfactory, students must
attend each session (or write a brief summary for any discussions missed), lead or co-lead a
discussion, and write a short response paper that demonstrates mastery of the text, offer an
interesting response indicating thought and reflection, and meets the basic standards for
professional communication.
Statement Regarding Students with Disabilities

Drury University is committed to making reasonable efforts to assist individuals with a

disability in their efforts to avail themselves of services and programs offered by the
University. Drury University will provide reasonable accommodations for persons with
documented qualifying disabilities. It is the student’s responsibility to request
accommodations.

To receive accommodations please contact Ed Derr in the Disability Support Services

Office, Findlay Student Center, room 1116, 417-873-7457, ederr@drury.edu.

Title IX Responsibilities Of Faculty

Drury University faculty are committed to supporting our students, upholding gender
equity laws as outlined by Title IX, and fostering a learning and working environment
based on mutual respect. If you choose to confide in a member of Drury’s faculty
regarding an issue of sexual misconduct, that faculty member is obligated to report the
basic facts of the incident to Drury’s Title IX Coordinator. The Title IX Coordinator will
provide you with information regarding your rights and options, as well as possible
resources both on and off campus. For information about your options at Drury, please
go to: http://www.drury.edu/hr/Title-IX-Policies-and-Resources/.

Participation & Attendance

Students are expected to attend all class sessions and participate actively. If a student
cannot attend a session (for any reason), he or she will need to submit (within a week) a
summary of the reading assignment to receive the attendance and participation points
for that day.

Assignment One

As a group, the students enrolled in the class will need to meet and propose a course
calendar. The calendar must require all of us to read three “good” books (two fiction
and one non-fiction) and screen one film. The students will need to explain the rationale
for selecting each text and how the various texts fit the theme of culture and inequality.
For each book, we will meet and discuss the text. For the film, we will screen the film
together and then discuss it. One (or two) students will lead each discussion. The team
can propose any other session dates within the semester.

The team will need to submit one document outlining the proposal. The document
should be about two to three pages and explain the rationale for the texts chosen. The
calendar, due dates, and other materials should not take up more than another page or
two. The assignment will be graded based on how well the team collaborates, the
seriousness and quality of the proposed course calendar, and the thought it reflects
about the concept of “classic”. This assignment will be due on Thursday, September 3.
The whole team will receive the same grade unless a student does not participate in the
creation of the document.

Assignment Two – Course Readings/Film Viewings/Discussion Participation.

Each non-discussion leader will receive up to 10 point for the quality (not the quantity)
of their participation in our discussion about the given book or film (for a total of 30
points for the semester). Over the course of our discussion, each student should
demonstrate that they completely read the text and thought about it deeply.

Assignment Three – Discussion Leading

When a student co-leads a discussion, he or she should demonstrate that they have
completely read the assigned text and though about it deeply. The students leading
discussion should prepare by bringing a minimum of 10 questions that should generate
conversation (It is okay if we do not get to all of them). As part of those questions, the
discussion leader should consult book/film reviews, the author’s biography or past work,
historical or cultural context, or other outside reading or materials. The discussion will
leader will receive up to 20 points for the quality of their preparation and the quality of
the discussion leading. Discussion leaders should e-mail the discussion questions to the
entire group, 24 hours before the scheduled discussion.

Assignment Four –
At some point in the semester, each student should write or produce some kind of
response and analysis of the text. The best responses are personal, specific and detailed.
Try to make a connection between the text and your own life and how reading this book
will change you as a professional or the personal choices you will make. The review will
be evaluated based on the quality of the writing/presentation and the depth of
understanding of the text it reveals.

Texts Required: as determined by the proposed course calendar.

These are not extensive lists, but a jumping-off point for our reading and viewing
options this semester.

Potential Fiction Books

1. Life as We Knew It – Beth Pfeffer
2. City of Ember – Jeanne DuPrau
3. Good Omens – Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett
4. The Road – Cormac McCarthy
5. I am Legend – Richard Matheson
6. World War Z – Max Brooks
7. The Zombie Survival Guide – Max Brooks
8. Earth Abides – George R. Stewart
9. On the Beach – Nevil Shute
10. One Second After – William R. Forstchen
11. Station Eleven – Emily St. John Mandel
12. A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Apocalypse – T.J. Reid
13. The Gone-Away World – Nick Harkaway
14. Liberation, Being the Adventures of the Slick Six After Collapse of the United
States of America – Brian Francis Slattery
15. The Odds: A Post-Apocalyptic Action Comedy – Robert J. Peterson
16. The Stand – Stephen King
17. The Three-Body Problem – Cixin Liu
18. Things We Didn’t See Coming – Steven Amsterdam
19. Into the Forest – Jean Hegland
20. Metro 2033 – Dmitry Glukhovsky

Potential Nonfiction/Religious Books

1. Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail and Succeed – Jared Diamond
2. The Coming Plague: Newly Emerging Diseases in a World Out of Balance – Laurie
Garrett
3. The Day After the Dollar Crashes: A Survival Guide to the New World Order –
Damon Vickers
4. Revelations, The Bible
5. Ragnarok, Norse mythology
6. The Four Yugas and Kali Yuga, Hinduism
7. The Decameron – Boccaccio
8. The Future of Humanity – Michio Kaku
9. The Space Barons: Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and the Quest to Colonize the Cosmos
– Christian Davenport
10. Hot: Living Through the Next Fifty Years on Earth – Mark Hertsgaard
11. AI Superpowers: China, Silicon Valley, and the New World Order – Kai-Fu Lee

Potential Movies
1. The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)
2. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1946)
3. Pontypool (2008)
4. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
5. Shaun of the Dead (2004)
6. This is the End (2013)
7. Ghostbusters (1984)
8. A Quiet Place (2018)
9. Snowpiercer (2013)
10. Train to Busan (2016)