English 115F Worlds of Wordcraft

[Mrbloodworth]

a Vanderbilt University English course that explores the role of storytelling in the MMO medium.

[Nebu]

The shit you get away with when you have tenure.  It boggles the mind.

[Soln]

Write a lucid, engaging biography for your LOTRO character.

That's an Assignment. Unbelievable.  Wonder if I can get partial credit or an exemption for my stale blog.

[Goreschach]

the role of storytelling in the MMO medium

Easiest class ever.

[Soln]

You know there's a wonderful presumption about this syllabus; namely, that all players are playing-within-the-game and playing-it-as-a-"game".  They invoke books that talk about meta gaming (e.g. RMT) but all the assignments are play-nicely.   

I wonder what it would be like if instead they had some PKer in the class who just let rip.   


> would Mr.WUA & Mr.Cheddar plz come to the Dean's office.

[trias_e]

English.  MMORPG storytelling.  wat.

You're telling me that we ran out of classics?  They've already read everything from Chaucer to Nabokov eh?   Is this just a fucking joke?  Perhaps afterwards we can go with "English 115F:  Analyzing critical theory using book reports by fifth graders"


Now using a MMORPG for sociology I could see.   Actually, that would be an improvement over the usual sociology course.

[Lantyssa]

You're telling me that we ran out of classics?  They've already read everything from Chaucer to Nabokov eh?   Is this just a fucking joke?  Perhaps afterwards we can go with "English 115F:  Analyzing critical theory using book reports by fifth graders"

The prof wanted his grants to pay for his subscription.

[Stormwaltz]

# Weekly blog entries, 30% of the grade

    * Passionate
    * Author Engagement in the topic
    * Thoughtful
    * Creative
    * Coherent
    * Not grading on length or mechanics unless major patterns of bad grammar appear.

*facepalm*

I do believe that storytelling in MMGs and adaptation of a literary work to a game are subjects worth of study. In university, though? No.

It's something those who do it for a living should learn. Writing MMGs is a unique skill set from telling a story in a book, P&P RPG, or even a single-player RPG.

[schild]

I would sign up for this class if I lived near Vanderbilt just to get a discount on Adobe software.

Also, I'd roleplay a furry. And use f13 as my blog. You're all lucky I'm in Austin.

Edit: http://discoverarchive.vanderbilt.edu/handle/1803/1238

Someone listen to that Mp3 so we can discover how fruitbaggy all the stuff going on over there really is.

[Malakili]

I mean, obvious jokes aside, why does learning have to be boring?  Its a 100 level English class, and people will probably be a lot more engaged in their writing than in "write me a bunch of shit you hate 101."

[schild]

I mean, obvious jokes aside, why does learning have to be boring?  Its a 100 level English class, and people will probably be a lot more engaged in their writing than in "write me a bunch of shit you hate 101."

Who said learning had to be boring?

Anyway, this shit is simply not going to prepare these kids for anything in the future, and I bet you at least 10% of them suffer from lower grades in all of their other classes because they've got addictive personalities and managed to somehow magically avoid MMOGs til now. In fact, if anyone took a microscope to this class, it would be wiped from the schedule faster than you can say "My paper is late because I had to raid."

[trias_e]

I mean, obvious jokes aside, why does learning have to be boring?  Its a 100 level English class, and people will probably be a lot more engaged in their writing than in "write me a bunch of shit you hate 101."

Look, I don't mind some of the content (reading) of that class, and exploring narrative in games isn't a horrible idea for a class in and of itself, but you simply don't learn anything useful or enlightening from leveling up a character in LOTRO.  And I just don't see why the adaptation of LOTR into the MMORPG format is anything to be interested in other than looking at it via gameplay or technical issues, neither of which have anything to do with English.

And if it were actually a course primarily focused on writing, it's doing even worse, because wasting time blogging about your character in a MMORPG is even more useless than playing the MMORPG is, and that's 30% of the grade!

Finally, being too harsh on things online for the sake of comedy...well, shit.  What else are you supposed to do on the internet?

[UnSub]

Would LOTRO slash fic be appropriate to hand in if that is what you built your character for? "Brokeback Mount Doom" is a catchy title.

[Pezzle]

They are speaking English.. in that way it qualifies as English 115.  The F is for Fail.

[Mrbloodworth]

I mean, obvious jokes aside, why does learning have to be boring?  Its a 100 level English class, and people will probably be a lot more engaged in their writing than in "write me a bunch of shit you hate 101."

Look, I don't mind some of the content (reading) of that class, and exploring narrative in games isn't a horrible idea for a class in and of itself, but you simply don't learn anything useful or enlightening from leveling up a character in LOTRO.  And I just don't see why the adaptation of LOTR into the MMORPG format is anything to be interested in other than looking at it via gameplay or technical issues, neither of which have anything to do with English.

And if it were actually a course primarily focused on writing, it's doing even worse, because wasting time blogging about your character in a MMORPG is even more useless than playing the MMORPG is, and that's 30% of the grade!

Finally, being too harsh on things online for the sake of comedy...well, shit.  What else are you supposed to do on the internet?

I do believe part of the point of the class is English and storytelling IN MODERN MEDIA. IMHO, LOTRO story's and subsequent quests are some of the best in the MMO subgroup. If you don't read the quests, you wouldn't know this.

[DeathInABottle]

I think there's a lot of value in the critical analysis of pop culture.  The syllabus for this particular course doesn't look like it's got a lot of critique, but hell, it's first year.  The point at that level is to get people interested, and give them a general idea of how you can apply literary theory to non-traditional "texts".  I'd enroll.

[caladein]

I think there's a lot of value in the critical analysis of pop culture.  The syllabus for this particular course doesn't look like it's got a lot of critique, but hell, it's first year.  The point at that level is to get people interested, and give them a general idea of how you can apply literary theory to non-traditional "texts".  I'd enroll.

This.

Once your past the first set of upper-division English courses (*insert_region_here* Literature I/II/III), the classes either drill down into specific movements/authors or start dealing with non-traditional works.  I'd rather do four hours/week of the latter than four hours/week of the Canterbury Tales.

[DraconianOne]

I'd rather do four hours/week of the latter than four hours/week of the Canterbury Tales.

Any particular reason you pick on Chaucer?

[Oban]

Any particular reason you pick on Chaucer?

Whilom ther was dwellynge in my contree
And erchedeken, a man of heigh degree,
That boldely dide execucioun
In punysshynge of fornicacioun,
Of wicchecraft, and eek of bawderye,
Of difamacioun, and avowtrye,
Of chirche reves, and of testamentz,
Of contractes and of lakke of sacramentz,
Of usure, and of symonye also.

[DraconianOne]

That's not really answering my question.

[HaemishM]

The important question here, though, is whether taking this class will cause job recruiters to pass you over because you played an MMOG?

[squirrel]

Any particular reason you pick on Chaucer?

Whilom ther was dwellynge in my contree
And erchedeken, a man of heigh degree,
That boldely dide execucioun
In punysshynge of fornicacioun,
Of wicchecraft, and eek of bawderye,
Of difamacioun, and avowtrye,
Of chirche reves, and of testamentz,
Of contractes and of lakke of sacramentz,
Of usure, and of symonye also.

A British Dude did his thesis by translating The Cantebury Tales to rap (not gangsta stuff, more melodic).

I have the album, it's actually really good.

[DraconianOne]

A British Dude did his thesis by translating The Cantebury Tales to rap (not gangsta stuff, more melodic).

I have the album, it's actually really good.

By "British" you mean Canadian don't you. 

Thanks for that - may have get a copy. Pop culture is all well and good but my kids are going to get raised on Chaucer and Shakespeare.

[squirrel]

Err yeah. Canadian. I'm sick today. I blame the BBC.

[Morat20]

Good lord, you guys overreact. Did you read through the syllabus, or just grab whatever struck your fancy?

Reading through the syllabus, it appears the professor has a rather modern focus, yes, but one of the things he's doing (and it's insanely obvious from the syllabus) is having his students read Lord of the Rings, watch the movie, and play the game -- then compare the way the story is presented in all three. (Check the week 3 paper he/she assigns). Or the Week 11 paper (either some discussion on the Faerie Queene or a compare/constrast the journey to Weathertop in the game and the book)

Week Six introduces Snow Crash, with a requirement to contrast the novel with scenes from Strange Days.

The blogging assignments are straightforward -- requiring students to indulge in thoughtful or creative writing regularly, with access for the instructor. Beats the fuck out of handing in JUST papers, and allows students to work in a mix of formal and informal styles. (Shit, most people could really use a day of "How the fuck to write an email -- emailing your boss is different from emailing your mom, moron"). Even the character biography is simple an example of creative writing in context of the class.

Week 8 has them trying the story in Neverwinter Nights 2, then delve into the clusterfuck of Star Wars Galaxies --- starting with the New York Times article about the NGE shit.  If you like classics, part of the Faerie Queene is in there.

This isn't a bad class --- rephrase, it could be run poorly by the professor, but there's nothing wrong with the syllabus. If anything, it's a damn good idea. It forces students out of the box that High School's generally put them in, and forces them to engage their brains and pay attention to how the stories themselves are told -- what's changed and cut between books, movies, and games -- and how people invest themselves in stories.

I have no doubt that Vanderbilt requires the usual delving into classical English literature -- this appears to replace their standard English composition class. I see nothing wrong with it -- there's multiple papers required, a great deal of daily writing, and the subjects themselves require students to concentrate on how stories are told and modified and compared. There are multiple writing typles involved -- informal blogging and more formal and reasoned papers, creative writing and off-the-cuff analysis.

It's not a bad concept. It's a fuckton superior in terms of design and what it (on the surface) asks of the students than the standard English Comp classes I took at A&M.

[Fabricated]

Beats reading whatever tripe they usually ask you to read in college literature courses.

[Morat20]

Beats reading whatever tripe they usually ask you to read in college literature courses.

It's not a literature course -- or if it is, Vanderbilt structures theirs strangely (since I don't go there, I have no idea!). It looks like a comp class, or a mix of the two. Some English Lit classes are literature specific -- studying past literature and it's influence. Some are more "classes about literature". What makes good literature, how stories and influences intereact, that sort of thing.

It's really hard to tell from the syllabus, and I'm too lazy to check Vanderbilt's web site to see if it's classified comp or lit.

But hell, I took -- after English 101 and 102 (English comp and English lit) a class devoted to science fiction as my upper-level lit course. We covered everything from Frankenstien to The Lathe of Heaven, and it was a pretty good class.

Either way, it's not badly structured. There's a variety of writing styles required, a solid focus on examining the same story through multiple methods of storytelling, that sort of thing. Judging purely by the syllabus, it's a solid class. The professor could suck balls, of course.

[Soln]

Ok, then explain "what is the class about?"   What are you supposed to learn?  And why would learning it at that University be different than say reading f13?  Or doing this at DigiPen?  Or reading Stormwaltz's blog (if he had one) to learn about narrative in games?

If there was an exam that said "summarize what you have learned in the class" what would it say? 

Any University course (and they are expensive) ought to be able to give you clear objectives for your money.  This is why I'm skeptical.

[Morat20]

Ok, then explain "what is the class about?"  

I did. The class appears to be an examination of writing and storytelling through multiple media. I suspect Lord of the Rings was chosen (and it's not the ONLY thing they do in the class) because they have the same story told through three entirely different mediums -- book, movie, game. Several assignments are very specific "Compare the story book versus film at this moment" sort of thing.

Seems to also have the required English 101 writing assignments -- two papers, some creative/open writing, that sort of thing.

What are you supposed to learn?  And why would learning it at that University be different than say reading f13?  Or doing this at DigiPen?  Or reading Stormwaltz's blog (if he had one) to learn about narrative in games?

Modern storytelling, modern literature, and the effects of medium on it. You don't think that's worth studying? Movies, games, books -- they're all (or can be) mediums for telling stories. They differ in how the story is told, which changes what sort of stories and how you tell them.

This goes a bit beyond "narratives in games", though.

As to what you'd get -- probably developing your own opinions and thinking on the matter, which is a bit beyond what most people do when they read a blog. There's nothing stopping you from, say, reading every assignment given out in a standard Freshman lit course. Yet, strangely, they charge you for it instead of just handing out a list of books to read and giving you credit.

If there was an exam that said "summarize what you have learned in the class" what would it say? 

Exams are a poor way to judge how you learned in a literature class. Or rather, your exam would be something like "Discuss at length the different approaches to the character of Faramir in the movie and in the book. Why the changes?" and then "Discuss various stylistic elements used in the escape from the Shite in the game and in the movie. What commonalities are there? What is different? Why was it done that way?".

Any University course (and they are expensive) ought to be able to give you clear objectives for your money.  This is why I'm skeptical.

That's a pretty detailed syllabus, and seems quite clear to me -- and I'm not an English major.

The objectives seem pretty clear to me, and all it took was a bit of reading. Three variants of modern (20th century or so) literature, same story told through three different mediums. Sprinkled in some other writings with corresponding films (although nothing as close as the three LoTR's things, a number of writing and analysis assignments, and some open writing.

What exactly is missing in terms of "clear objectives"? Read this. Play that. Watch this. Compare them. Contrast them. Identify common elements to the narrative, similar approaches. Identify medium-unique ones. Write out this analysis in a several page paper. Defend your assertations. Using this medium, do some open writing not analysis. Now compare Snow Crash to Strange Days. What's different? What's the same? How are the narratives handled? What does medium change?

That's English lit. I fail to see what's not clear there. It reads like EVERY other English lit syllabus I ever saw, except there's more of a focus on mediums other than writing. Which makes sense, since modern storytelling is NOT restricted to book form. If you're going to complain those objectives aren't clear, then you'll probably never find an English class with clear objectives.

Well, unless it was a BAD English class. Like "Learn how to write a five paragraph essay" bad.

[Morat20]

Huh, reading it even further -- it's a specialist English class devoted to story-telling in alternate media.

Half the grade is the 3 papers, 30% is equivalant to class discussion (the blog writing) and 20% is a mix of classroom specific stuff and a narrative project.

You should be applauding this class. It's designed to get people whose focus is writing and story-telling to learn how modern styles (specifically games, but to a smaller extent film) require altering common techniques, and what the trade-offs are.

Given the shit-tastic writing in a lot of games, this should be applauded it. There's some decent reading in there too -- I'd have to go to Vanderbilt to check, but I suspect this is an elective class for English majors. It's certainly not a required class for anything.

[Soln]

Right.  I like the idea.  But for a first year level course this is ridiculous.  Yes, study narrative (interesting Film Studies seminar topic: LotRO the film vs. the original trilogy.  How Jackson and team made the story work), but leave the course with something you can build on. Your money, kids.

Edit: I'm jealous a bit.  This would be a neat intro to literature.  If it was show them how stories had a history and extensibility and structure (and thus portability).

[IainC]

Thanks for that - may have get a copy. Pop culture is all well and good but my kids are going to get raised on Chaucer and Shakespeare.

Geoffrey Chaucer hath a blog and it is pretty awesome. Serpentes on a Shippe and Ich Pwn Noobs are particular favourites of mine.

[Mrbloodworth]

Huh, reading it even further -- it's a specialist English class devoted to story-telling in alternate media.

I do believe part of the point of the class is English and storytelling IN MODERN MEDIA.

[Morat20]

Right.  I like the idea.  But for a first year level course this is ridiculous.  Yes, study narrative (interesting Film Studies seminar topic: LotRO the film vs. the original trilogy.  How Jackson and team made the story work), but leave the course with something you can build on. Your money, kids.

Edit: I'm jealous a bit.  This would be a neat intro to literature.  If it was show them how stories had a history and extensibility and structure (and thus portability).

I broke down, went to the Vanderbilt web page, found their English department, and looked up the 115F designation.

It's a Freshman seminar. The topic changes each semester. This year's:

FYS 115F-20. Freshman Seminar
Religion, Science and Literature: Apocalypse, Dystopia and Beyond
Fanning, J.
TR 1110-1215
The millennium’s end, disasters such as Hurricane Katrina, and the specter of global warming have precipitated what has been called the “doom boom.” This increased interest in stories about the end of the world and depictions of societies gone wrong has also been fed by technological advances and religious extremism. Will the Human Genome Project usher in a new eugenics? Can we avoid a nuclear 9/11?
 
For thousands of years, storytellers have been imagining the world’s complete destruction or transformation by forces beyond human control. In the 19th and 20th centuries, authors of speculative fiction turned their imaginations to communities corrupted or destroyed by unbridled scientific, religious or political ideologies. In this course, we will explore novels, short stories and films that present post-apocalyptic worlds and dystopias where the forces of nature and culture threaten to extinguish the human spirit. Readings span from Aldous Huxley’s 1932 novel Brave New World, to Cormac McCarthy’s 2006 Pulitzer-Prize-winning book The Road. Viewings include Andrew Niccol’s Gattaca and Fernando Meirelles’ Blindness.

Seminar's like this are generally required only for majors in that field, so this is a specialist English class, devoted to people pursuing an undergraduate degree in English. It's a perfectly fine first-year course for English majors, and quite useful -- if you don't find this sort of class and study interesting, you shouldn't be a bloody English major. Which I suspect is half the reason to require it.

[lamaros]

I wish I had something as interesting as this in my first year English classes.