Course Syllabus: ATEC 6351.

501
Course Information

STORY

SPECIAL TOPICS: MECHANICS OF STORY

Course: ATEC 6351.501 Day/Time: MONDAY 7:00 PM - 9:45 PM Room: ATEC 1.102

Class Blog: writerscurtain.blogspot.com

Professor Contact Information: alb032000@utdallas.edu (albrackin@gmail.com)
Adam L. Brackin, Ph.D - Visiting Assistant Professor, ATEC - University of Texas at Dallas OFFICE: JO 3.506 (OFFICE PHONE: 972-883-4350) Alternate: 214-354-6161 / 972-516-8844 OFFICE HOURS: Monday 10-12, 1:15-3:30 & Tuesday 10-12, 1:15-2:00 (& other times by appointment)

Course Description
Students must be actively enrolled in or officially auditing this class in order to attend it due to UTD policy, fire code, and very real seating restrictions. When you consider the millennia of storytelling that comprise our literary tradition, it is easy to feel overwhelmed by the shadow of so many works. But there are common threads that link all stories--from Beowulf and Hamlet to Gone With the Wind and The Godfather to the story you are drafting right now in your head. These threads form the foundation that supports story whether you are writing a novel, a memoir, screenplay, video game, or other "Alternate Reality" world. This class explores both historically traditional storytelling models and new models which require recognition of the balance of aesthetic story and mechanics within new media storytelling. Topics include linear and non-linear storytelling methods across multimedia and trans-media methods of delivery with a focus on 1) reading/viewing/ playing stories, 2) critical analysis of storytelling mechanics in various works, 3) creating and publishing original student works using the most modern and appropriate new-media methods such as social networking tools. We will examine a range of topics, including storytelling in a multiplayer environment; narrative techniques for a 3,000,000-page novel; continuity (or the impossibility of it) in pervasive fictional worlds; managing multiple intertwined narratives; the spatial experience of virtual worlds; Emergent adventure texts created by designers and fans; and the serial storytelling, among many other essential insights into how fictions are constructed and maintained in very different forms of media through to the beginning of the twenty-first century.

Student Learning Objectives/Outcomes

Students will examine the range of media available for storytelling. Students will learn to think critically about various storytelling issues and gain exposure to seminal examples of various writers and researchers in the field. Students will also learn how to critique and analyze new media forms, and how to present this critical review in ways that are appropriate to the ever-evolving genre. Students will engage in discussion and debate with each other and with developers in the field where appropriate through a class blog. Finally, students will create original IP in various classic and new media formats to demonstrate a fluency and proficiency in the above concepts.

Required Textbooks and Materials

The Hero with a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell (Hardcover), New World Library, (July 28, 2008) 1577315936 The Art And Craft Of Storytelling: A Comprehensive Guide to Classic Writing Techniques by Nancy Lamb (Paperback) F&W Media, Inc., (December 15, 2008) 1582975590 The Heros Journey by Harold Bloom (Hardcover), Facts On File, Inc. (January 30, 2009) 0791098036 Third Person: Authoring and Exploring Vast Narratives by Pat Harrigan (Hardcover) MIT Press (May 29, 2009) 0262232634 Quests: Design, Theory, and History in Games and Narratives by Jeff Howard (Paperback), A K Peters Ltd (February 26, 2008) 156881347 (And selected short readings online and given in class as well as various selections from the book list - TBD.)

Course Syllabus

Page 1

Course Content, Assignments, & Academic Calendar

Students will complete reading assignments throughout the semester followed by group discussion and individual analysis on the class blog as a part of a daily participation grade. Students will turn in five additional deliverables throughout the semester: first by keeping a DAILY Story Journal, which will be supplemented by various WEEKLY Story Drills, then by reading and critically analyzing a story example through a Critical Analysis (and Presentation) and finally creating an Original Intellectual Property Story in an appropriate (new) media genre. A more detailed description of the weekly reading assignments and other requirements will be posted each week on the Class Blog: http://writerscurtain.blogspot.com/ Note: Case Studies are tentative, flexible, and subject to change as new media never stops especially for academics such as ourselves.
(Course requirements or due-dates may be amended or changed; such changes will be given in writing, with sufficient advance notice for completion.)

MECHANICS AXIS

STORY AXIS

A THEORETICAL GRID MATRIX OF STORY AND MECHANICS ELEMENTS

STORY AXIS MONOMYTH & LINEAR MODELS NARRATIVE DEPTH OF CONTEXT INTERACTIVE MODELS NON-LINEAR MODELS MULTI-LINEAR STORY ERGODIC NARRATIVE STORY AXIS

8/29/2011 (9/5/2011) 9/12/2011 9/19/2011 9/26/2011 10/3/2011 10/10/2011 10/17/2011 10/24/2011 10/31/2011 11/7/2011 11/14/2011 11/21/2011 11/28/2011 12/5/2011

WHY MOFS? NO CLASS MONOMYTH CHARACTER CONTEXT PLOT (D1 DUE) INTERACTIVE SETTING NON-LINEAR (D2 DUE) POV MULTI-LINEAR ERGODIC THEME/TONE PRESENTATIONS (D3 DUE) PRESENTATIONS (D4 &D5)

MECHANICS AXIS

MECHANICS AXIS

CHARACTER AND HERO

Attendance and Grading Policy

Students are generally expected to attend ALL classes unless you have a special circumstance in which case, as a courtesy, please contact me in advance by phone or email. Late work will be dropped by one letter grade (10 points) for each week it is late without exception. If there is a conflict, please turn it in early. There are five deliverables for this class NOT including any weekly homework or small assignments (which count towards the daily participation grade). This class will be graded on a standard 10 point grading scale for all deliverables. Grade weights will be determined as follows: Weekly Class & Blog Participation --------------------------------- 15% of total grade D1: Critical Analysis --------------------------------------------------- 10% of total grade D2: Comparative Analysis ------------------------------------------- 15% of total grade D3: Original IP Story / Presentation-------------------------------- 25% of total grade D4: Daily Story Journal (Begins Jan 10) ------------------------- 20% of total grade D5: Weekly Story Drills (Begins Jan 10) ------------------------- 15% of total grade

This class relies heavily on discussion and class participation, and a high level of professionalism and good citizenship is expected. Attention should be given to the speaker at all times and respect shown as expected within the university classroom environment. Appropriate multi-tasking is permitted only so long as it does not interfere with the high expectations described above. This DOES NOT include personal use of the lab computers, social media sites, games, etc unless directly related to instruction at that moment. Any student who attends all classes, completes all coursework on time, and whose deliverables all meet the high standards expected of a UTD graduate student, will receive an A in this course.

UT Dallas Syllabus Policies and Procedures

The information found at the following link constitutes the University's policies and procedures segment of course syllabi. Be aware that all information contained at this link are considered to be fully a part of this syllabus herein without exception as if it were printed below. http://provost.utdallas.edu/syllabus-policies/
Course Syllabus Page 2

THEME AND TONE

SETTING AND SITUATION

PLOT AND CONFLICT

POINT OF VIEW

*The above is a generalized schedule of topics. I expect that we will get a little ahead or behind depending on various factors and the depth and complexity of these topics achieved.