Southern Utah University

Course Syllabus

Back to Syllabus Search | Browse by Department
Southern Utah University
Southern Utah University
Fall Semester 2025

Imaginative Lit: Vampires (Face-to-Face)

ENGL 2130-01

Course: ENGL 2130-01
Credits: 3
Term: Fall Semester 2025
Department: ENGL
CRN: 32257

Course Description

ENGL 2130 is an introduction to imaginative literature as cultural production, providing a detailed overview of a featured genre (science fiction, fantasy, horror, etc.). Students will discuss a variety of texts to recognize generic characteristics and understand embedded cultural value and social meaning. This section of ENGL 2130 will explore this historical and cultural tradition of the vampire.

Required Texts

Required Texts (any editions will do)

  • Cohen, Jeffrey Jerome. “Monster Culture (Seven Theses).” In Monster Theory: Reading Culture, U of Minnesota P, pp. 3-25.
  • Le Fanu, Sheridan, J. Carmilla: A Tragic Love Story. 1872.
  • Matheson, Richard. I Am Legend. 1954.
  • Polidori, John William. “The Vampyre.” 1819.
  • Rice, Anne. Interview with the Vampire. 1976.
  • Stoker, Bram. Dracula. 1897.

Required Films (to screen on your own)

  • Dracula. Directed by Tod Browning. Universal, 1931.
  • Let the Right One In. Directed by Tomas Alfredson. EFTI, Sandrew Metronome Distribution Sverige, 2008.
  • The Lost Boys. Directed by Joel Schumacher. Warner Bros., 1987.
  • Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror. Directed by F. W. Murnau. Jofa-Atelier Berlin-Johannisthal, 1922.
  • What We Do in the Shadows. Directed by Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi. Unison Films, 2014.

Learning Outcomes

Course Learning Outcomes

Your success in this course will be based on your mastery of the following program learning outcomes. These outcomes will be reinforced through instruction, practice, and formative assessment. Your efforts will be summatively assessed via a number of interrelated assignments and projects.

Learning Outcomes Learning Activities Assessment Methods
Knowledge of Human Cultures: Students develop and express ideas and will be able to do so in a variety of ways, namely in writing, by speaking, visually, kinesthetically, through design or aurally. Readings, lectures and discussions, research efforts, and drafting Assignments, response papers, exams, and group presentation
Critical Thinking: Students demonstrate disciplined processes of actively and skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and/or evaluating information gathered from, or generated by, observation, experience, reflection, reasoning, or communication, as a guide to belief and action.
Inquiry and Analysis: Students systematically explore issues, objects or works through the collection and analysis of evidence that results in informed conclusions or judgments. Students then break complex topics or issues into parts to gain a better understanding of them.
Communication: Students develop and express ideas and will be able to do so in a variety of ways, namely in writing, by speaking, visually, kinesthetically, through design or aurally.

Course Requirements

Course Assignments

Assignments: [10% of the course grade] You may complete in-class quizzes and writing assignments, along with potential take-home assignments, over the course of the semester. These will not appear in the course schedule but will occur at my whim.

Response Papers: [30% of final grade] You will write four short essays (five paragraphs each) that analyze, reflect, discuss, and respond to the texts studied as part of this course.

  • Response 1: Critically analyze and respond to “The Vampyre,” Carmilla, or both (in conversation with each other). Inclusion of personal experience and perspective is encouraged.
  • Response 2: Critically analyze and respond to Stoker’s Dracula, Nosferatu, the Browning film Dracula, or two or more of the texts (in conversation with each other). Inclusion of personal experience and perspective is encouraged.
  • Response 3: Critically analyze and respond to I Am Legend, Interview with the Vampire, or both (in conversation with each other). Inclusion of personal experience and perspective is encouraged.
  • Response 4: Critically analyze and respond to The Lost Boys, Let the Right One In, What We Do in the Shadows, or two or more of the films (in conversation with each other). Inclusion of personal experience and perspective is encouraged.

Exams: [40% of the course grade] You will take two online, open-book/notes exams via Canvas: a midterm focusing on the first half of the semester and a final exam addressing the second half. These exams must be taken on the days indicated in the syllabus—although we will not meet as a class on those days, and you will only have a two-hour window between 9 and 5 during which to take the exams. You will demonstrate your competence in the course learning outcomes through multiple choice questions, fill-in-the-blank answers, and scene identification and analysis. The final exam may be taken early under extenuating circumstances, requiring a formal rescheduling fee, but neither exam may be taken late.

Group Presentation: [20% of the course grade]: Working with a group of 5-6 other students, you will select an example of vampire-focused literature or cinema not already addressed in the class to consume on your own before “teaching” it to the rest of us via a 20-minute formal presentation. A multimedia component is required, and all members of the group must participate in both the project’s creation and its in-class presentation.

Course Outline

Tentative Course Schedule

Week 1

  • Wednesday, August 27: Screening and discussion of the opening scene from Buffy the Vampire Slayer; Introduction to vampires
  • Friday, August 29: Discussion of the syllabus, outcomes, Google Docs, and Canvas; Explanation and discussion of papers and group presentation

Week 2

  • Monday, September 1: LABOR DAY - NO CLASSES
  • Wednesday, September 3: Discussion of Jeffrey Jerome Cohen’s “Monster Culture (Seven Theses).”
  • Friday, September 5: Lecture on the “Ghost Story Contest” of 1816; Lecture on the Gothic and horror fiction tropes

Week 3

  • Monday, September 8: Discussion of “The Vampyre”
  • Wednesday, September 10: Discussion of “The Vampyre”
  • Friday, September 12: Discuss response papers and review composition essentials; Organize presentation teams and meet in class

Week 4

  • Monday, September 15: Discussion of Carmilla
  • Wednesday, September 17: Discussion of Carmilla
  • Friday, September 19: Discussion of Carmilla

Week 5

  • Monday, September 22: Response Paper 1 Due; Discussion of Dracula
  • Wednesday, September 24: Discussion of Dracula
  • Friday, September 26: Discussion of Dracula

Week 6

  • Monday, September 29: Discussion of Dracula
  • Wednesday, October 1: Discussion of Dracula
  • Friday, October 3: Discussion of Dracula

Week 7

  • Monday, October 6: Discussion of Nosferatu (1922)
  • Wednesday, October 8: Discussion of Dracula
  • Friday, October 10: Discussion of Dracula

Week 8

  • Monday, October 13: FALL BREAK - NO CLASSES
  • Wednesday, October 15: In-class Draft Workshop
  • Friday, October 17: Mid-term Exam (on Canvas—9 a.m. to 5 p.m.)

Week 9

  • Monday, October 20: Response Paper 2 Due; Discussion of I Am Legend
  • Wednesday, October 22: Discussion of I Am Legend
  • Friday, October 24: Discussion of I Am Legend

Week 10

  • Monday, October 27: Discussion of Interview with the Vampire
  • Wednesday, October 29: Discussion of Interview with the Vampire
  • Friday, October 31: Discussion of Interview with the Vampire

Week 11

  • Monday, November 3: Discussion of Interview with the Vampire
  • Wednesday, November 5: Discussion of Interview with the Vampire
  • Friday, November 7: Discussion of Interview with the Vampire

Week 12

  • Monday, November 10: Response Paper 3 Due; Discussion of The Lost Boys
  • Wednesday, November 12: Discussion of The Lost Boys
  • Friday, November 14: Discussion of Let the Right One In

Week 13

  • Monday, November 17: Discussion of Let the Right One In
  • Wednesday, November 19: Discussion of What We Do in the Shadows
  • Friday, November 21: Discussion of What We Do in the Shadows

THANKSGIVING BREAK

Week 14

  • Monday, December 1: Response Paper 4 Due; Team 1 Presentation
  • Wednesday, December 3: Team 3 Presentation
  • Friday, December 5: Team 5 Presentation

Finals Week

  • Wednesday, December 10: Final Exam (on Canvas—9 a.m. to 5 p.m.)

Instructor's policies on late assignments and/or makeup work

Late/Makeup Work

Generally speaking, I do not accept late work nor will I provide makeup or substitution assignments. I may make exceptions in advance if I choose.

Attendance Policy

Course Expectations, Standards, and Policies

Attendance: I generally do not take attendance, but please come to class! You will learn more and have a better experience if you hear the lectures, engage with your classmates, and participate in the discussions personally. That said, if you are ill (especially if you are contagious), please stay home!

Class Decorum and Behavior: Please listen attentively and engage respectfully in all seminar conversations. You must come to class prepared with your journals so you can participate intelligently in all in-class discussions and activities. Please don’t distract others with your electronic devices!

In-class Work: You will potentially participate in a number of in-class activities to enhance your learning. Although your work will not be formally graded (except for any quizzes, of course), you will learn through practice, feedback, reflection, and repetition.

Assignment Submission: Your SUU student email account (username@suumail.net) is affiliated with Gmail, and we will use Google Drive to facilitate your learning process. You will need to create a folder titled “LastnameFirstinitial2130” inside the Google Drive “Vampires” folder and share it with me; you will then be able to save your assignments there so I can easily provide you with digital feedback. If you prefer, however, you may submit your work as “hard copy” for more traditional written feedback.

Course Fees

This course does not include any additional course fees.

ADA Statement

Students with medical, psychological, learning, or other disabilities desiring academic adjustments, accommodations, or auxiliary aids will need to contact the Disability Resource Center, located in Room 206F of the Sharwan Smith Center or by phone at (435) 865-8042. The Disability Resource Center determines eligibility for and authorizes the provision of services.

If your instructor requires attendance, you may need to seek an ADA accommodation to request an exception to this attendance policy. Please contact the Disability Resource Center to determine what, if any, ADA accommodations are reasonable and appropriate.

Academic Credit

According to the federal definition of a Carnegie credit hour: A credit hour of work is the equivalent of approximately 60 minutes of class time or independent study work. A minimum of 45 hours of work by each student is required for each unit of credit. Credit is earned only when course requirements are met. One (1) credit hour is equivalent to 15 contact hours of lecture, discussion, testing, evaluation, or seminar, as well as 30 hours of student homework. An equivalent amount of work is expected for laboratory work, internships, practica, studio, and other academic work leading to the awarding of credit hours. Credit granted for individual courses, labs, or studio classes ranges from 0.5 to 15 credit hours per semester.

Academic Freedom

SUU is operated for the common good of the greater community it serves. The common good depends upon the free search for truth and its free exposition. Academic Freedom is the right of faculty to study, discuss, investigate, teach, and publish. Academic Freedom is essential to these purposes and applies to both teaching and research.

Academic Freedom in the realm of teaching is fundamental for the protection of the rights of the faculty member and of you, the student, with respect to the free pursuit of learning and discovery. Faculty members possess the right to full freedom in the classroom in discussing their subjects. They may present any controversial material relevant to their courses and their intended learning outcomes, but they shall take care not to introduce into their teaching controversial materials which have no relation to the subject being taught or the intended learning outcomes for the course.

As such, students enrolled in any course at SUU may encounter topics, perspectives, and ideas that are unfamiliar or controversial, with the educational intent of providing a meaningful learning environment that fosters your growth and development. These parameters related to Academic Freedom are included in SUU Policy 6.6.

Academic Misconduct

Scholastic honesty is expected of all students. Dishonesty will not be tolerated and will be prosecuted to the fullest extent (see SUU Policy 6.33). You are expected to have read and understood the current SUU student conduct code (SUU Policy 11.2) regarding student responsibilities and rights, the intellectual property policy (SUU Policy 5.52), information about procedures, and what constitutes acceptable behavior.

Please Note: The use of websites or services that sell essays is a violation of these policies; likewise, the use of websites or services that provide answers to assignments, quizzes, or tests is also a violation of these policies. Regarding the use of Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI), you should check with your individual course instructor.

Emergency Management Statement

In case of an emergency, the University's Emergency Notification System (ENS) will be activated. Students are encouraged to maintain updated contact information using the link on the homepage of the mySUU portal. In addition, students are encouraged to familiarize themselves with the Emergency Response Protocols posted in each classroom. Detailed information about the University's emergency management plan can be found at https://www.suu.edu/emergency.

HEOA Compliance Statement

For a full set of Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA) compliance statements, please visit https://www.suu.edu/heoa. The sharing of copyrighted material through peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing, except as provided under U.S. copyright law, is prohibited by law; additional information can be found at https://my.suu.edu/help/article/1096/heoa-compliance-plan.

You are also expected to comply with policies regarding intellectual property (SUU Policy 5.52) and copyright (SUU Policy 5.54).

Mandatory Reporting

University policy (SUU Policy 5.60) requires instructors to report disclosures received from students that indicate they have been subjected to sexual misconduct/harassment. The University defines sexual harassment consistent with Federal Regulations (34 C.F.R. Part 106, Subpart D) to include quid pro quo, hostile environment harassment, sexual assault, dating violence, domestic violence, and stalking. When students communicate this information to an instructor in-person, by email, or within writing assignments, the instructor will report that to the Title IX Coordinator to ensure students receive support from the Title IX Office. A reporting form is available at https://cm.maxient.com/reportingform.php?SouthernUtahUniv

Non-Discrimination Statement

SUU is committed to fostering an inclusive community of lifelong learners and believes our university's encompassing of different views, beliefs, and identities makes us stronger, more innovative, and better prepared for the global society.

SUU does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, citizenship, sex (including sex discrimination and sexual harassment), sexual orientation, gender identity, age, ancestry, disability status, pregnancy, pregnancy-related conditions, genetic information, military status, veteran status, or other bases protected by applicable law in employment, treatment, admission, access to educational programs and activities, or other University benefits or services.

SUU strives to cultivate a campus environment that encourages freedom of expression from diverse viewpoints. We encourage all to dialogue within a spirit of respect, civility, and decency.

For additional information on non-discrimination, please see SUU Policy 5.27 and/or visit https://www.suu.edu/nondiscrimination.

Pregnancy

Students who are or become pregnant during this course may receive reasonable modifications to facilitate continued access and participation in the course. Pregnancy and related conditions are broadly defined to include pregnancy, childbirth, termination of pregnancy, lactation, related medical conditions, and recovery. To obtain reasonable modifications, please make a request to title9@suu.edu. To learn more visit: https://www.suu.edu/titleix/pregnancy.html.

Disclaimer Statement

Information contained in this syllabus, other than the grading, late assignments, makeup work, and attendance policies, may be subject to change with advance notice, as deemed appropriate by the instructor.