108T W22 Tolmie

ENGL108T Tolkien: Book to Film Winter Term 2022

Prof. S. Tolmie stolmie@uwaterloo.ca

Drop-in Hour Wednesday 11:30-12:30 on Webex

Course Description

This is an introductory-level English course on J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings trilogy and its cultural impact, including the movies by Peter Jackson. Focus will be on the original texts. If you don’t want to read them in their entirety do not take this course.

Course Objectives and Learning Outcomes

The purpose of this course is to advance student readers of the series from fandom to critical analysis and to develop a sense of what is gained and lost in translating a popular book into a film. We will consider Tolkien’s sources and analogs, the genre of his books, and their place in literature, folklore, and pop culture. In so doing students will practice their critical reading, writing, and collaboration skills.

Textbooks

All three of the Lord of the Rings volumes — The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers and

The Return of the King — in any edition. Texts must be complete, unabridged, and in English.

The movies will not be screened in-course. Students are responsible for watching them on their own time, in any format they prefer. Material from the movies will not be covered in tests and is optional in essay assignments. Knowledge of them will only be required for the group presentations. Screenplays for the films by Peter Jackson are available on IMSDb.

Here are links to the scripts, FYI:

https://imsdb.com/scripts/Lord-of-the-Rings-Fellowship-of-the-Ring,-The.html https://imsdb.com/scripts/Lord-of-the-Rings-The-Two-Towers.html https://imsdb.com/scripts/Lord-of-the-Rings-Return-of-the-King.html

What We’ll Do in Case of COVID Shutdown (Like Now)

This course was initially set up as an in-person class. Omicron has changed this and we will be conducting at least our initial few weeks online. Fortunately, our format is fairly flexible. Most of the work submitted in the class was already scheduled to come in via LEARN anyway. The exceptions are the group presentation and the three quizzes. The group presentation can easily be converted to an online group project. Quizzes can be offered on a timed basis on LEARN if we cannot hold them in person. In-class lectures can likewise be converted to posted notes. So for the initial weeks, we can expect posted lectures on the Announcements page on Mondays and Wednesdays.

1. I am not doing online lectures for this course. Nobody wants that, least of all me. Informative, thought-provoking written notes to accompany your reading of the original texts are the way to go for online literature teaching, in my opinion.
2. I am, however, holding online drop-in hours. These are practical office hours if

you have any questions and a general place to chat about course-related matters and ideas. I do not lecture during them, and attendance is not mandatory, nor does it count as participation. Assessing participation in synchronous online sessions is pointless in my view. Drop-in hours will be held via Webex on WEDNESDAYS 11:30-12:30 A.M. Reminders and meeting info (meeting ID/password) will be sent each week beforehand. If and when we return to in-class learning, these may change to in-person office hours.

3. If we have to persist in online teaching past Jan 28th, I will commute the 10% in-class participation grade into three paragraph-length online responses to be posted on the discussion boards: one answering one of the reading questions posed by a classmate in a chapter summary, one answering one of the thinking questions that I include at the end of each posted lecture, and one on any topic that individual students choose. Everybody gets a free pass on participation until that time. However, if you do not do the assigned reading of the LOTR texts (page amounts are indicated on the syllabus) and read the posted lectures, you will be clueless on the first quiz, no matter what format it ends up being in.

Mark Breakdown

• 3 one-hour content quizzes, one on each book - 45% (15% each)
• 1 1500-word analytical essay - 20%
• 1 chapter summary and set of 3 reading questions - 10%
• Group project comparing the film to book - 15% (a group grade)
• Participation - 10%

Description of the Assignments Quizzes

There will be three one-hour, in-class quizzes (with a 15 minute grace period each time). Each one will be on the content of a single volume, and contain a series of short detail-oriented questions and one broader thematic question. They will exclusively concern the books. If we are still online as of Feb. 2, I will offer a timed quiz via LEARN and further specs will follow.

1500-word essay (approximately 5 pages, double-spaced)

These are short explanatory essays, answering one of the questions provided (posted under Content) or answering individual questions designed by students themselves. The question must be posed at the top of page one, as a single sentence ending with a question mark. Then the essay answers it in an orderly fashion, with evidence from the texts. These are not research essays, but all sources consulted in writing them, whether quoted in the text or not, should be acknowledged in a bibliography at the end. Bibliography and all formatting must adhere to MLA style. They are marked on coherence of argument, correctness of grammar, and exactness of formatting and presentation.

The essay is due in the appropriate Dropbox by Monday March 7 at 11:59 p.m.. Chapter summary and reading questions

Q: Where do I find my assigned chapter and due date?

A: You find them in the chart posted as Chapter Summaries List under Content. It is your responsibility to find this information and to submit your summary on the Chapter Summaries discussion board  by noon on the day it is due. No exceptions.

Specs

Each student will be responsible for providing a detailed chapter summary of a single, assigned chapter on the Chapter Summaries Discussion Board on a designated date. As these documents are for use by class members on an ongoing basis they must be posted on time. If they are posted by noon of the day on which they are due, they are on time: if posted between noon and midnight on that day, they lose 10%: after that, they earn zero. With each summary, the student should provide a set of three reading questions that provide thinking points about the chapter.

Summaries should provide a clear overview of who does what to whom and all the main elements of the plot. They are not required to provide analysis. The idea is to provide a clear, grammatical cheat sheet about what happens in that chapter for the use of your time-pressed classmates. You will lose marks for spelling place or personal names wrong. You must choose whether to narrate in the present or past tense and be consistent throughout.

The three reading questions are the place for you to think about the thematic meanings available in the chapter material. You are trying to guide readers towards thinking about interrelationships with other parts of the text, central ideas of the series or volume, or possible sources and analogs for incidents and characters. They must be real questions, ending with a question mark – not statements dressed up as questions. One of the three questions you provide may be based on a quotation. The others must be independent questions.

Group presentations/projects

Q: Where do I find my group and the due date for our project?

A: Each presentation group has its own Discussion Board under Connect. Only the group you are in will be visible to you. The topic is indicated there. Due dates for each group are on the syllabus. Dates are firm.

Specs

Starting in week 6 of class, each of the student project groups (all members of class will be randomized into the groups from the beginning, and each group will have individual discussion space on LEARN) will do a live, collaborative presentation of 20 minutes on the topic they have been assigned. One group will present per week, starting with Group 1 and proceeding through to Group 6. The topics all concern elements that have been changed or omitted in translating the LOTR books to film. This is the one place in the course in which we will deal with the Jackson movies.

The format of the presentation is up to the group: a debate, a jointly-composed analysis, a fake ad campaign, imaginary actor/director/author interviews, whatever. If film clips or Powerpoint slides will be used, they should be uploaded beforehand to the Group Project Discussion Board so they are available to the class onscreen. (That is, I will not screen them at the front of the class and I don’t want you to waste time doing so either. I want to hear what you have to say, not watch you stand in front of a screen. And if you choose to include slides or clips, you are responsible for testing them on LEARN in advance.) The point is to address differences between the written text and the films. All members must participate both in development and on the presentation date itself. Group members who do not contribute sufficiently will end up with a grade 10% lower than their peers -- and they will get zero if they contribute nothing. Timing must be strictly observed so we have time for class discussion each time.

Possible COVID impacts on group presentations/projects

A student who misses the presentation date and cannot provide evidence of illness or emergency will earn zero and the presentation will go ahead without them. If evidence is provided after the fact, upon return to class, an alternate assignment will be arranged for that student (e.g., written submission of their part of the presentation). Only for declared cases of COVID self-isolation will this rule be waived and alternate dates for the group be provided. This option can only be implemented if the reason for the absence (i.e., self-isolation) is known in advance.

If we are continuing online, this project will move to an online, posted format. In this case, students may compose a multi-authored document in any format they choose, or a video/audio presentation that is recorded and posted. Documents cannot exceed 2000 words and video length cannot exceed 10 minutes.

Participation

This means regular attendance, coming on time, obeying all masking and other COVID protocols exactly, making sure readings are done in advance, being polite and professional to all class members, and asking and answering questions in class. If we remain online past Jan 24th, assessment for this component will move to the three online posts mentioned previously.

Lateness Policy

Essays submitted late earn a 10% penalty automatically and will not be accepted after 7 days beyond the deadline, earning a zero.

Chapter summaries must be posted by noon on their due dates; if posted between noon and midnight of that day, they lose 10%; thereafter, zero.

Group projects must be presented/posted on their scheduled day. Only if COVID self-isolation is a known factor — that is, known by me and the other group members before the class begins — will rescheduling be allowed.

If you need an extension, please contact me two weeks before things are due.

Schedule of classes

The following will give you a rough idea of how much you should be reading per week. It is imperative to keep up with the readings or you will get lost.

Week 1:

• Wed Jan 5       introduction and goals; reading Fellowship Book 1, chap. 1-3

Week 2:

• Mon Jan 11     Fellowship Book 1, chap. 4-6
• Wed Jan 13     Fellowship Book 1, chap. 7-9

Week 3:

• Mon Jan 17     Fellowship Book 1, chap. 10-12
• Wed Jan 19     Fellowship Book 2, chap. 1-3

Week 4:

• Mon Jan 24     Fellowship Book 2, chap. 4-6
• Wed Jan 26     Fellowship Book 2, chap. 7 and 8 Week 5:
• Mon Jan 31     Fellowship Book 2, chap. 9 and 10 Wed Feb 2        
• Quiz 1 on Fellowship

Week 6:

• Mon Feb 14    Two Towers Book 3, chap. 1-3
• Wed Feb 16     GROUP 1 PRESENTATION; Two Towers Book 3, chap. 4-6

READING WEEK FEB 19-27, NO CLASSES

Week 7:

• Mon Feb 28    Two Towers Book 3, chap. 7-9
• Wed Mar 2      GROUP 2 PRESENTATION; Two Towers Book 3, chap. 10 and 11

Week 8:

• Mon Mar 7      Two Towers Book 4, chap. 1-3; 1500-word essay due in Dropbox by 11:59 p.m.
• Wed Mar 9      GROUP 3 PRESENTATION; Two Towers Book 4, chap. 4-7

Week 9:

• Mon Mar 14    GROUP 4 PRESENTATION; Two Towers Book 4, chap. 8-10
• Wed Mar 16           Quiz 2 on Two Towers

Week 10

• Mon Mar 21    Return of the King Book 5, chap. 1-5
• Wed Mar 23    GROUP 5 PRESENTATION; Return of the King Book 5, chap. 6-10

Week 11:

• Mon Mar 28    GROUP 6 PRESENTATION; Return of the King Book 6 chap. 1-5 Wed

• Mar 30    Return of the King Book 6 chap. 6-9

Week 12:

• Mon Apr 4      Quiz 3 on Return of the King

University Policies

Academic Integrity: in order to maintain a culture of academic integrity, members of the University of Waterloo community are expected to promote honesty, trust, fairness, respect, and responsibility.

Grievance: A student who believes that a decision affecting some aspect of his/her university life has been unfair or unreasonable may have grounds for initiating a grievance. Read Policy 70 - Student Petitions and Grievances, Section 4, http://www.adm.uwaterloo.ca/ infosec/Policies/policy70.htm

Discipline: A student is expected to know what constitutes academic integrity, avoid committing academic offenses, and take responsibility for his/her actions. A student who is unsure whether an action constitutes an offense, or who needs help in learning how to avoid offenses (e.g., plagiarism, cheating) or about “rules” for group work/collaboration should seek guidance from the course professor, academic advisor, or the Undergraduate Associate Dean. When misconduct has been found to have occurred, disciplinary penalties will be imposed under Policy 71 – Student Discipline. For information on categories of offenses and types of penalties, students should refer to Policy 71 - Student Discipline, http:// www.adm.uwaterloo.ca/infosec/Policies/policy71.htm

Appeals: A student may appeal the finding and/or penalty in a decision made under Policy 70 - Student Petitions and Grievances (other than regarding a petition) or Policy 71 - Student Discipline if a ground for an appeal can be established. Read Policy 72 - Student Appeals, http://www.adm.uwaterloo.ca/infosec/Policies/policy72.htm

Accommodations for Persons with Disabilities

The AccessAbility Office (AO), located in Needles Hall, Room 1401, collaborates with all academic departments to arrange appropriate accommodations for students with disabilities. If you require academic accommodations (such as alternate test and exam arrangements) please register with the AO at the beginning of each academic term and inform the course instructor. Contact them at access@uwaterloo.ca.