English 2570: The Supernatural

Fall 2017
T/TH 8:00-9:15

Professor: Dr. Andrea Kitta Office Phone: 328-2832

Office: 2211 Bate Office Hours: Tuesday/Thursday: 9:30-11:30,
Email: KittaA@ecu.edu Tuesdays 2-3
Facebook Group: www.facebook.com/folklorerules

Course Objective:
Statistics gathered by Gallup Poll, together with a variety of other scientific and public opinion surveys,
indicate that an extremely large percentage of the American population not only believe in the supernatural
but in fact believe that they themselves have had a supernatural or paranormal experience. While most social
science disciplines consider belief to be either historical or marginal, it would seem that a substantial
proportion of the North American population, of all ages and social classes, share in these traditions. If this is
the case, two questions become enormously important. First, why is it that traditions predicted to decline as
scientific rationalism arose have not? Second, why has the extent of belief in the supernatural gone
unrecognized and underestimated by the academy for so long?

By examining patterns of belief and the features of supernatural folklore, this course will attempt to
understand the nature of surviving and declining tradition. This course will focus on the phenomenological
features of supernatural traditions; explanatory frameworks and their internal logic; means of developing and
maintaining belief; functions and structures of belief traditions; and relationships between genres of belief.
The general approach of the course will be ethnographic, focusing on the ethnography of belief systems.

Be forewarned that this class will occasionally deal with folklore that is obscene or inflammatory in content
(e.g., racist, sexist, violent). The intention is not to promote such folklore but to deal in a critical way with the
realities of culture.

I reserve the right to make changes in the class schedule as needed. In the event that it might be deemed
necessary to change the date of an exam or paper, I will make them due later, not earlier.

Because this is a Foundations: Humanities course:

Students will learn the subject matter of at least one discipline in the humanities. In this case, youll
learn to read and analyze supernatural experience narratives and films and other forms of popular
culture about the supernatural, which are important to the discipline of Folklore and English Studies.
Students will learn the research methodology applied by disciplines in the humanities. In this case,
youll learn what counts as good reasoning and evidence in English classes and you will learn basic
ethnographic techniques.
Students will learn about the disciplines contribution to general knowledge. In this case, youll learn
how understanding the importance of supernatural narratives not only tells us more about culture, but
also helps us express fears that we may not be able to express otherwise.

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Required Texts:

Goldstein, Diane; Sylvia Grider, and Jeanie Banks Thomas. 2007. Haunting Experiences: Ghosts in
Contemporary Folklore. Utah State University Press: Logan, Utah. 0874216362 Required. Can be accessed for
free electronically via the librarys website. http://goo.gl/2bX44m

Hufford, David. 1982. The Terror that Comes in the Night: An Experience Centered Study of Supernatural
Assault Traditions. University of Pennsylvania Press. 081221305X Required.

McNeill, Lynne S. 2013. Folklore Rules. Utah: Utah State University Press. Required. Can be accessed for free
electronically via the librarys website. http://goo.gl/P4Tpnt

Thomas, Jeanie Banks. 2015. Putting the Supernatural in its Place. Utah State University Press.

The Babadook, 2014. Available through the librarys website (make sure youre logged in if youre off campus)
and Netflix. https://digitalcampus.swankmp.net/ecudatabase#/play/2327

The Nightmare, 2015. Available through Netflix and for purchase through many other websites.

Get Out, 2017. Available through the librarys website (make sure youre logged in if youre off campus).
https://digitalcampus-swankmp-net.jproxy.lib.ecu.edu/ecudatabase#/play/65672

The Witch, 2015. Available through the librarys website (make sure youre logged in if youre off campus).
https://digitalcampus-swankmp-net.jproxy.lib.ecu.edu/ecudatabase#/play/65673

Supernatural, Season One, Episode One. Available through Netflix and for purchase through many other
websites.

Electronic Copies of additional readings will be provided.

All readings must be completed by the start date of the topic they are associated with unless otherwise
specified.

Grading Structure:
Attendance and Participation 10%
3 Exams 45%
Campus Ghost Walk
(interviews, fulling your role,
review) 45%

If you dont understand how to calculate a weighted grade, read this: http://www.wikihow.com/Calculate-
Weighted-Average

Please dont email me to ask me your grade keep track of your own grades and do the math yourself.

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Course Requirements:
1. Attendance and Participation (10% of the final grade): This includes general participation and asking
questions, as well as participation in organized classroom activities, online activities, online assignments
and/or pop quizzes. To participate, you will need to attend classes and keep up with the readings.

This year I am also requiring you to work in some way on the Campus Ghost Tour, more details to come.

In order to be successful in this class, your regular attendance is essential. Class meetings will be used to
discuss material, to complete in-class assignments and group work, to participate in peer review activities, and
to receive information about assignments and writing expectations.

Official University Absences will be recognized, although I will expect you to hand in work prior to your
absence unless we have discussed a different option. If you need to be absent for any reason, it is very
important that you make me aware of your absence as soon as possible. An absence which requires that you
miss a due date must be accompanied by significant and specific documentation, such as a doctors note.
Working is not a reason to miss class.

Some good information to know about attendance:

A students participation in the work of a course is a precondition for receiving credit for the course.
You cannot turn in the work and not attend classes.
Students should consult with their instructors about all class absences. It is the responsibility of the
student to notify the instructor immediately about class absences, to provide appropriate
documentation for an absence, and discuss any missed class time, tests, or assignments. Except in the
case of university-excused absences, it is the decision of the instructor to excuse an absence or to allow
for any additional time to make up missed tests or assignments.
Student Health Services does not issue official written excuses for illness or injury.
The Dean of Students may authorize university-excused absences for student participation in
authorized activities, extreme personal emergencies about which the student is unable to speak
directly to the instructor, the death of an immediate family member, and student participation in
religious holidays (information about religious accommodation is available at
http://www.ecu.edu/PRR/05/25/01). Students who anticipate missing more than 10% of class time as
a result of university-excused absences must receive approval from the instructor at the start of the
semester.
Students are responsible for contacting instructors, the Deans office, and others as required about
absences and requests to be excused.
If you have the flu or a flu-like illness, please go to One Stop and report it. One Stop will generate an
email contacting all of your professors letting them know of your illness, which is valid for 72 hours.
Please note that this does not supersede any academic or course guidelines and requirements.

2. Writing Assignments (45% of the final grade): This is designed to allow you to learn more about the ghost
stories on campus and participate in the ghost walk. Each person will conduct 5 interviews about campus
ghost stories. All sources used require proper reference citations and appropriate quoting/paraphrasing. You
absolutely MUST have a signed consent form or you will receive a zero on the interview project. You will be
asked to work in groups so that you have the most data possible.

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The project must be submitted online, on the due date, and must contain all relevant materials, including
recordings, emails, photographs, ethics forms, etc., as appropriate to your project. You will also be required
to submit your paper (including interviews) to ECUs Folklore Archive online.

In order for an assignment to be considered completed and handed in on-time, all elements of the
assignment must be present (including you).

Interviews: 15%
Your role in the ghost walk: 20%
Your review: 10%

3. Exams (45% of the final grade): Exams will be short answer. There will be no word bank.

PLEASE NOTE: LATE WORK LOSES A LETTER GRADE PER DAY IT IS LATE
(INCLUDING WEEKENDS)

Grading
According to the student handbook, this is the meaning that is associated with ECUs grading scale:

Grade Meaning Grade Meaning

Achievement substantially exceeds
A C-
basic course expectations
A- D+
Achievement falls below basic course
B+ D
expectations
Achievement exceeds basic course
B D-
expectations
Failure - achievement does not justify credit
B- F
for course
Incomplete (granted for deficiency in
C+ I
quantity, not quality, of work)
Achievement adequately meets
C N Audited
basic course expectations

Before you come to me to discuss the grade you earned, please ask yourself, did I really exceed the basic
course expectations as outlined in the syllabus?

Also remember, if you ask me to reconsider your grade, it is entirely possible that your grade could be
raised, lowered, or stay the same.

I absolutely will NOT under any circumstances raise your grade for any reason other than you successfully
completing class assignments. I dont care what grades youve received before, what
program/extracurricular activity youre trying to get into, what grade you expected to earn, etc. DO NOT
ASK FOR A RAISE OF GRADE YOU DID NOT EARN THROUGH THE CLASS ASSIGNMENTS. I WILL LOWER YOUR
OVERALL GRADE A FULL LETTER IF YOU ASK.
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Meeting the minimum requirements (such as doing the assignments or attending class) does not entitle you
to an A, that is the definition of a C.

Legitimate reasons to ask about your grade:

I miscalculated your grade.
You truly dont understand, you want to do better on the next assignment, and youve already
looked at the syllabus and/or supplementary materials.

ECU has recently changed their grading scale to a plus/minus grading scale. Here are the numerical values:

Grade Quality Points 10-Point Scale

A 4.0 94-100
A- 3.7 90-93
B+ 3.3 87-89
B 3 83-86
B- 2.7 80-82
C+ 2.3 77-79
C 2 73-76
C- 1.7 70-72
D+ 1.3 67-69
D 1 63-66
D- .7 60-62
F 0 Below 60

Accommodation of Special Needs

East Carolina University seeks to fully comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Students
requesting accommodations based on a covered disability must go to the Department for Disability Support
Services, located in Brewster A-117, to verify the disability before any accommodations can occur. The
telephone number is 328-6799.

Policy on Disruptive Academic Behavior

It is important that we have a classroom atmosphere that optimizes teaching and learning and we all share the
responsibility for creating a civil and non-disruptive forum. Students are expected to conduct themselves at all
times in a manner that does not disrupt teaching or learning. Behavior that disrupts the learning process may
lead to disciplinary action and/or removal from class as specified in university policies, including the Student
Code of Conduct, which is available here: http://www.ecu.edu/csstudentlife/policyhub/conduct_code.cfm .
Examples of behavior considered disruptive:
arriving late;
reading in class;
sleeping in class;
using cell phones during class;
using your computer for things other than note-taking during class;

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 showing disrespect for the views of others (both online and in class);
offering non-constructive criticism to your fellow students during editing sessions;
holding side conversations during class discussion; and
participating in any activities that do not contribute positively to the learning environment in the
classroom.

Academic Integrity Policy

An introduction to your responsibilities as a student may be found on website of the Office of Student Rights
and Responsibilities: http://www.ecu.edu/osrr/

The full text of the policies and procedures may be found the ECU Faculty Manual, linked here:
http://www.ecu.edu/cs-acad/fsonline/customcf/currentfacultymanual/part6section2.pdf

A few highlights quoted from the Faculty Manual:

An academic integrity violation is defined as any activity that exhibits dishonesty in the educational process or
that compromises the academic honor of the university. Examples of academic integrity violations include, but
are not limited to, the following:

Cheating. Unauthorized aid or assistance or the giving or receiving of unfair advantage on any form of
academic work.
Some examples of cheating (note that this is not an exhaustive list): Copying from another student's
paper or receiving unauthorized assistance during a quiz or examination; using books, notes or other
devices when these are not authorized; improperly obtaining tests or examinations; collaborating on
academic work without authorization and/or without truthful disclosure of the extent of that
collaboration; allowing or directing a substitute to take an examination.

Plagiarism. Copying the language, structure, ideas, and/or thoughts of another and adopting the same
as ones own original work.
Some examples of plagiarism (note that this is not an exhaustive list): Submitting a paper that has been
purchased or downloaded from an essay-writing service; directly quoting, word for word, from any
source, including online sources, without indicating that the material comes directly from that source;
omitting a citation to a source when paraphrasing or summarizing another's work; submitting a paper
written by another person as ones own work, submitting a paper youve written for a past/current
class.

Violation foundacademic penalty assigned by faculty member. If the faculty member believes there
has been a violation, he or she will assign an appropriate academic penalty, including, for instance,
reducing the grade on the assignment or reducing the course grade. The faculty members penalty can
be as severe as failure for the course and a grade of XF recorded on the students transcript to
indicate that failure in the course was the result of an academic integrity violation. The X designation
must remain on the students transcript for at least one year and will be removed from the official
transcript after one year only if the student has completed the academic integrity training module and
obtained the approval of the Director of the OSRR. The approval of the Director of the OSRR must be
obtained through the submission of a formal written request for removal of the X designation.
Courses in which a student receives a grade of XF are not eligible for grade replacement even if the
X is removed from the official transcript with the approval of the Director of the OSRR. In all cases,

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 courses for which a student receives an XF will be factored into the students GPA, even if the X is
removed from the official transcript and the course is retaken.

For more information, including the procedures to follow if you have been accused of an academic integrity
violation, please consult the Faculty Manual, linked above.

Plagiarism
The ECU student handbook defines plagiarism as Copying the language, structure, ideas and/or thoughts of
another and adopting some as ones own original work. You may access the student handbook at
http://www.ecu.edu/studenthandbook/I.htm

Be aware that the writing you do for this course must be your work and, primarily, your words. It is OK to
incorporate the words of others from articles, essays, and interviews as evidence in support of your ideas, but
when you do so, you should be sure to cite the source appropriately. We will talk about citation throughout
the course.

Penalties for plagiarism are severeif I become aware of any intentional attempt to plagiarize (e.g. knowingly
submitting someone elses work as your own, downloading a paper from the internet, etc.), you may be given
an F for the course and a report will be filed with the Office of Student Rights and Responsibilities, the office
which maintains reports from all university faculty and staff regarding academic integrity violations. If you are
caught cheating or plagiarizing a second time, in this course or in any other course while you are at ECU, you
can be suspended or even expelled from the university. The Student Handbook is online at
http://www.ecu.edu/csstudentlife/policyhub/academic_integrity .cfm. Be sure to see me if you have any
questions about plagiarism before you turn in an assignment, and remember that it is only acceptable to
submit your own work.

Weather/Campus Emergencies
In the event of a weather emergency, information about the status of classes at ECU is available through the
ECU emergency alert website (http://www.ecu.edu/alert) and the ECU emergency information hotline (252-
328-0062).

Continuity of Instruction
In the event that face-to-face classes are suspended due to a pandemic or other catastrophe I will strive to
continue instruction to those that are able to participate. If and when face-to-face classes are suspended, you
will receive an email from me and a Blackboard Announcement that detail how we will communicate, where
you can locate course information, and what you can expect during this time period. I realize that some of you
may be affected by the event and not able to participate, however I will continue to provide instruction to
those that are able to continue.

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The following is the course outline, but please see Blackboard for any changes.

Section Topic(s) Readings

Section One Definitions; McNeill, Entire book
Introduction, Folklore, epistemological
Epistemological problems in the study McNeills Tedx talk: http://tedx.usu.edu/portfolio-
problems, of belief; history of items/lynne-mcneill/
Ethnocentrism and folklore and the
Worldview history of belief Goldstein, Thomas, Grider (GTG), Introduction
systems;
ethnocentrism and David Hufford (DH), Introduction (pp. ix-xxiv)
worldview; systems
theory The Morbid Curiosity Podcast The History of
Headhunting: http://mcpod.libsyn.com/

Section 2: The experience- DH, The Old Hag in Newfoundland (pp. 1-12)
Features of Belief centered approach;
Traditions the cultural source The Old Hag and the Cultural Source Hypothesis (pp.
hypothesis and the 12-47),
experiential source
hypothesis; The Phenomenology of the Old Hag (pp. 48-114)
interpreting the belief Hufford Beings Without Bodies: An Experience-Centered
context; observation Theory of the Belief in Spirits in Walkers Out of the
and evaluation Ordinary, 11-45.

Watch: The Nightmare

Section 3: Memorate and the GTG, Scientific Rationalism and the Structure of
Belief, Narrative, and weight of evidence; Supernatural Experience Narrative,
Transmission tradition and cultural
interpretation; cross- DH, The Psychological Dis-interpretation of the Old Hag
cultural analysis and (READ pp. 115-118 & 167-170, SKIM 119-166)
variation
The Old Hag and Culture (pp. 171-157)

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Section 4: Slender Man Invented traditions, Slender Man:
the Internet http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/slender-man

How is Slender Man Internet Folklore?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0RNkkd2peE

Please do some internet research on the Slender Man

Stabbings

Blank and McNeill Boiling Over

Tolbert Dark and Wicked Things

Kitta What Happens When the Pictures are No Longer

Photoshops?

Howard Taking Digital Folklore Seriously

Tucker Waiting for Slender Man

Section 5: The restless dead; GTG, The Usefulness of Ghost Stories, Haunted
Ghosts, Revenants, and their features and Houses, The Commodification of Ghosts
Poltergeists their reasons for PTSIIP, De Caro The Lalaurie Haunted House, Ghosts,
returning; historical and Slavery
and contemporary
ghosts Watch Supernatural Season One, Episode One

Section 6: Fairy tradition and GTG, Gender and Ghosts,

Fairies, Witches, social control theory;
Deviance space, time, and the Watch The Babadook
explanation of
deviance; disability GTGThe Spectral Turn; Eberly Fairies and the Folklore
of Disability

The Morbid Curiosity Podcast The Swapped Child:

http://mcpod.libsyn.com/

Watch: The Witch

Thomas Which Witch is Witch? (PTSIIP)

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 Section 7: Health panics, viruses, Kitta Vampires
Vampires & Zombies borders, and war
Primiano I Wanna Do Bad Things With You: Fantasia on
Themes of American Religion from the Title Sequence of
HBOs True Blood

Barber, Selected readings from Vampire: A Casebook ed,

Alan Dundes

Froula, Anna. Prolepsis and the War on Terror;

The Great New England Vampire Panic

McNeill Twihards, Buffistas, and Vampire Fanlore

(PTSIIP)

Watch: Get Out

Section 8: Declining versus TBA

Conclusion changed tradition;
course wrap-up

Dates to remember:
Interviews Due: September 5th
1st Exam: September 14th
Ghost Walk: October 3rd
Post-Ghost Walk Review: October 12th
Dr. Kitta at conference: October 17th and 19th No classes
2nd Exam: November 2nd
Final: December 12th 8:00 a.m.

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