Académique Documents
Professionnel Documents
Culture Documents
501
Course Information
STORY
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.
Course Syllabus
Page 1
MECHANICS AXIS
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
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.
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.