WYOMISSING, Pa. — Penn State Berks students enrolled in the course “The Rhetoric of American Horror Films” encountered a new twist in this year’s syllabus. While in past semesters, students in CAS 415 would write an academic research paper analyzing the rhetoric of horror films, this spring students had the opportunity to submit creative projects, supported by research.
The Rhetoric of American Horror Films is a communication arts and sciences course that focuses on film as rhetorical messages that dramatize the ways in which people use language and images to tell stories and foster identification within and between citizens. Students consider the role of social, political, and economic context in the production of films and the stories they tell, including the characters they construct.
According to course instructor Michele Ramsey, associate professor of communication arts and sciences and women’s studies, the philosophy behind changing the parameters for students came from the desire to let students bolster their creative and technological skills while still practicing the kinds of skill sets required of the traditional research paper in the humanities—the thorough location, evaluation, synthesis, and organization of research.
After researching the role of the humanities in modern and future high-tech, global economies for her recent book, "Major Decisions: College, Career, and the Case for the Humanities" (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2020), co-authored with another Berks faculty member, Laurie Grobman, Ramsey changed the final project to allow students to learn and perfect a myriad of skills via creative projects.
Ramsey explained that the project assignment also offered students the opportunity to impress future employers with their ability to turn research and arguments into creative formats designed to also entertain and encourage audience engagement. Students were able to strengthen skill sets that are at the top of employer “wish lists” for college graduates, including written communication, creativity and innovation, technological competence and technological literacy, and collaboration.
Three projects from this semester’s course provided excellent examples of students’ abilities to merge excellence in research with excellence in other highly desired skill sets, said Ramsey.
In the first example, three students created a short film addressing COVID-19 as part of their final project. Planned prior to the college’s move to remote teaching and learning, Cameron Rice, communications arts and sciences major; Kevin Clements, business major; and Ife Ogunyinkas, a global studies major, had already worked together to conceptualize, write, and create their film. The move not only meant that they now had to work remotely, it also meant that their story and concept had to change. And, the three considered, what better context to address right now than a worldwide pandemic?
The film, titled "Flat," focuses on a survivor of COVID-19 who is haunted via social media during the pandemic. The students used the concept of horror verité to reflect the “real life horror” of COVID-19. They also employed invasion narratives from 1950s films that reflected concerns linked to the atomic bomb and the Red Scare. Some additional concepts used came from class discussions of dystopian horror in the movie "The Purge" and camera angles in 1980s slasher films. The students added social media as an important part of today’s cultural context, especially as people “shelter in place” and rely on these platforms for connection and information. To view the film, click here.