Faculty of Liberal Arts and Professional Studies

Department of Humanities
AP/HUM 1780 6.0 Section B
STORIES IN DIVERSE MEDIA
Fall/Winter 2023-2024
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Instructor Information

Instructor: Sharon Davidson

Instructor Contact:

** Please Note: I do not use email to communicate with students so contact will be
through eclass(Moodle) messaging, office hours using Zoom, in-person and/or by
telephone appointments. The fastest way to contact me is through eclass (Moodle)
messaging; please identify what course you are taking with me when you message
me.

Office Phone: (416) 736-2100 extension #20621 (voice message)

I retrieve messages on a daily basis from Monday to Friday and will make every effort to
return calls within 24 hours. Please clearly state the course you are taking with me, your
name and telephone number with two different times and days that you can receive a call
back.

Office Hours: Tuesdays (after class) or by appointment via Zoom

Course Prerequisite: None

Course website: eclass (Moodle)

Course Description

This course focuses on recurrent stories and themes that have been realized in a variety of
media (film, literature, music, theatre, visual arts). Emphasized are various settings for
the arts and their reception by audiences, viewers and readers.

Course Content

This course will examine the art of storytelling within specific historical and cultural
contexts as these stories are shaped and transmitted through various media. Through
comparative analysis, we will consider diverse narrative strategies and conceptions of
narrative in a variety of forms including visual and textile art, theatre, non-fiction, oral
forms, music, fiction and film. By developing critical reading skills and visual literacy,
students will explore the ways in which stories articulate both individual and collective
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experiences with a particular focus on reoccurring motifs, images, themes, and issues
including race, class, gender, and sexuality.

Learning Objectives

1. Recognize and identify the influences of various media used to tell stories and
how they shape story and its reception.
2. Identify the various conventions and characteristics of a range of particular story
types and to recognize the different functions of these stories.
3. Understand the role of story within specific historical and cultural contexts.
4. Develop literacy in oral, written and visual forms of storytelling.
5. Critically analyze and compare stories for recurrent narratives.
6. Write critically within the conventions of an academic context.
7. Creatively explore the elements of particular media and consider how story is
shaped by these elements.

Required Texts

**Atwood, Margaret, The Handmaid’s Tale, Random

Course Kit for AP/Hum 1780 6.0 Section C, Fall/Winter 2022-2023 (can be ordered
from York Bookstore online with free shipping) please make sure that you purchase
the correct course kit as there are multiple sections of this course with different kits
Highway, Tomson, Dry Lips Oughta Move to Kapuskasing, Fitzhenry & Whiteside
**McCarthy, Cormac, The Road, Vintage
O’Hagan, Howard. Tay John, McClelland & Stewart.
Sears, Djanet. Harlem Duet, Scirocco.
Shakespeare, William, Othello, Signet (in public domain but read original version of the
play)
Shelley, Mary, Frankenstein, Norton (in public domain)
Sophocles, Oedipus Rex
** You will have the choice to read either Atwood’s or McCarthy’s novel.

Course Requirements and Assessment

Assessment Due Date Weighting

Film Analysis on Tragedy Oct. 24/23 10%
Test Dec. 5/23 20%
Group Creative Response Jan. 30/24 15%
Comparative Essay Mar. 5/24 20%
Test Apr. 2/24 20%
Participation in Class Activities throughout course 15%
________________________________________________________________
Total 100%
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Description of Assignments

Detailed descriptions and assessment guidelines for all course requirements will be
posted in the course eclass site under Assignments and reminders will be announced in
weekly activities. Normally assignments will be posted three weeks before due dates and
are all asynchronous. There are no research components to these assignments as they
require students to engage critically with primary course materials and course concepts.

15% of final mark for the course is a participation mark based on regular engagement in
class discussions and exercises

Course Format and Delivery

Lectures will not be posted on the course website each week but links to films and other
visual and audio materials will be. Students are expected to view/listen to these texts as
well as follow readings and films listed in course syllabus. These will be done
asynchronously. A weekly meeting will be held on Tuesdays from 2:30-5:30 in person.
These sessions will highlight key concepts and give students an opportunity to ask
questions and discuss texts. This is the synchronous element in the course.

Academic Honesty

Students are required to complete the academic integrity checklist from the Sparks site
available at http://spark.library.yorku.ca The Spark checklist must be signed and
uploaded in the designated site in eclass and this must be done before or on Oct. 24/23.
This only needs to be completed once. Please be aware that I can submit assignments to
Turnitin to verify academic honesty.

All components of the course must comply with the University’s policy on academic
honesty. Please inform yourself of your responsibilities by referring to these policies at
https://council.laps.yorku.ca and use the academic honesty link at https://secretariat-
policies.info.yorku.ca.
You can also refer to direct links in the eclass course website.

Grading as per Senate Policy

The grading scheme for the course conforms to the 9-point grading system used in
undergraduate programs at York (e.g. A+=9, A=8, etc.).Assignments and tests will bear
either a letter grade or a corresponding number grade (e.g. A+= 90-100, A=80-89.9,
B+=75-79.9, B=70-74.9, C+=65-69.9, C=60-64.9, D+=55-59.9, D=50-54.9, E=40-49.5,
F=below 40).
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For a full description of York grading system see the York University Undergraduate
Calendar.

Late Work/Missed Tests

Students with a documented reason for missing a course test or assignment deadline, such
as illness, compassionate grounds, etc., which is confirmed by supporting documentation
(Attending Physician Statement) may request accommodation from the Course Instructor.
Further extensions or accommodation will require students to submit a formal petition to
the Faculty. Assignments will receive a late penalty of 2% per day and will not be
accepted beyond seven days (including weekends). Students who miss a test for
legitimate reasons should contact the Course Instructor within 24 hrs of the test in order
to arrange a makeup.

Important Dates

Sept. 6 – courses begin

Sept. 20 – last date to add a course without permission of the instructor
Oct. 28 – last date to add a course with permission of the instructor
Oct. 9-13 – Reading Week; no classes
Feb. 8/24 – last date to drop without receiving a grade
Feb. 9-April 8/24 – Course Withdrawal Period (students may withdraw from a course
and receive a “W” on transcripts)
Feb. 19-23/24 – Reading Week; no classes
Dec. 6 & Apr. 9 – Study days; no classes or tests
Apr. 8 – classes end (note this is a Friday class)
Apr. 10-25/24 – final exam period

Course Materials Copyright Information

These course materials are designed for use as part of Hum 1780 6.0 Section B and are
the property of the instructor unless otherwise stated. Third party copyrighted materials
(such as book chapters, articles, music, video, etc.) have either been licensed for use in
this course or fall under an exception or limitation in Canadian Copyright law.

Copying this material for distribution (e.g. uploading material to a commercial third party
website) may lead to a violation of Copyright law. Intellectual Property Rights Statement.
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COURSE SCHEDULE

Please Note: This schedule lists the main course texts but the eclass schedule will
also include additional activities such as the viewing of videos, films, documentaries,
and artwork.

Week One: Sept. 12

Introduction to Tragedy and Performance Texts

Orientation for the course and introductory lecture.

Begin reading Oedipus Rex.

Week Two: Sept. 19

Greek Tragedy and Adaptations of Oedipus Rex

Read Sophocles, Oedipus Rex

Week Three: Sept. 26

Elizabethan Tragedy and Shakespeare’s Othello
Discussion of Play to Film

Read Acts I-III of Othello

Week Four: Oct. 3

Adaptations of Othello

Read Acts IV-V of Othello

Week Five: Oct. 10

READING WEEK; no classes

Week Six: Oct. 17

Improvisations on Shakespeare
Orality and History in Sears’ ‘Adaptation’

Read Djanet Sears’ Harlem Duet

Week Seven: Oct. 24 ESSAY ASSIGNMENT # 1 DUE

Stories of Resistance – Oral Texts- Song Traditions

Read pages 1-5 in course kit and sample various versions of these songs through online
catalogues
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Week Eight: Oct. 31

Stories of Resistance -- Oral Texts – Speeches & Oratory

Read pages 7-28 in course kit and view Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X deliver
speeches that are available on YouTube

Week Nine: Nov. 7

Resistance Narratives and the Oppositional Gaze
The Art of Resistance – Visual Texts - Art & Film

Read bell hooks’ in course kit pp 187-195

View the art of Faith Ringgold on her website and through YouTube
View “Awakenings” clip from Eyes on the Prize documentary (no longer available
through York streaming services)
View I Am Not Your Negro posted on web site

Week Ten: Nov. 14

Introduction to the Gothic and Prose Narrative

Read three gothic short stories in course kit, pp 145-163 (Hawthorne, Faulkner and
Betts).

Week Eleven: Nov. 21

The Gothic Novel

Read Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein

Week Twelve: Nov. 28 REVIEW FOR TEST

Adaptations of Frankentein

View film clips and play through links posted to course website

Week Thirteen: *** DEC. 5th *** TEST #1

Week Fourteen: Jan. 9

Doppelganger and Detective Stories

Read the Poe and Doyle short stories on pages 165-185 in course kit

Week Fifteen: Jan. 16

Creation Stories

Read selections from course kit on pages 29-59

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Week Sixteen: Jan. 23
Fairy Tales

Read selected tales in course kit on pages 61-72

Week Seventeen: Jan. 30

Tricksters and Tale Spinners: Tall Tales GROUP CREATIVE PROJECT DUE

Read Thorpe’s story on pages 119-128 in course kit and begin O’Hagan’s Tay John

Week Eighteen: Feb. 6

Tall Tales

Finish reading Howard O’Hagan’s Tay John

Week Nineteen: Feb. 13

History as Story
Stories of Exploration and Settlement

Read selections in course kit, pp. 73-101 (Columbus, Smith, Thompson and Moodie)

Week Twenty: Feb. 20

READING WEEK; no classes

Week Twenty-One: Feb. 27

Frontier Stories and Myths of the West

Read Turner and Sollors on pages 103-117 and 129-143 in course kit
View the art and sculpture of Frederic Remington and Gerald McMaster on Google
Images

Week Twenty-Two: Mar. 5 ESSAY ASSIGNMENT # 2 DUE

Contested Spaces and Hockey Stories – Our National Stories

Read Highway’s Dry Lips Oughta Move to Kapuskasing

View Roch Carrier The Sweater available on the NFB website or YouTube

Week Twenty-Three: Mar. 12

National Stories and Dystopian Visions

Review of national narratives and introduction of dytopian narratives.

Week Twenty-Four: Mar. 19

Dystopian Narratives and Post-Apocalyptic Fiction
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Read either Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale or McCarthy’s The Road

Week Twenty-Five: Mar. 26 REVIEW FOR TEST

View selected film clips links on course website

Week Twenty-Six: *** APR. 2nd *** TEST #2

Explicit Course Policy on Students’ Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI)

In this course, all work should be completed by you and you alone. As such, you are not
allowed to use generative artificial intelligence, such as ChatGPT, to help you complete
any of your work in this course. If you do not know whether an online resource or tool
can be used in this course, please contact me for guidance. Any use of generative AI in
this course will be considered a breach of the Senate Policy on Academic Honesty.