ENGL 1050/1051 Pulp Fiction

This course will provide an introduction to the study of popular fiction by examining the history of various popular genres, including horror, detective, adventure, romance, western, and science fiction, as well as the various magazine formats through which these genres were developed, disseminated, promoted, and consumed. We will also apply a wide range of theoretical approaches to these texts based on psychoanalytic theory, Marxist theory, postcolonial theory, feminist theory, masculinity studies, and science and technology studies, which each employ a different method of textual analysis. Our primary goal will be to explore how the study of popular fiction complements the study of serious literature and how the analysis of a text’s social and political value complements the evaluation of its aesthetic value. ENGL 1050 also satisfies half of the university writing requirement, and it will include formal instruction on the principles of effective scholarly writing, including thesis statements, organization, evidence, formatting, documentation, style, and mechanics.