Requirements

Requirements

Throughout the semester we will read essays that discuss attitudes and habits essential to solid scholarship, examine various types of literary scholarship, explore the uses in textual study of different contemporary literary theories, or offer diverse--often opposed--assumptions about the purposes, methods, and theoretical grounding of literary scholarship and criticism. Since these discussions are important to any work that we do as scholars, I ask you to use writing extensively to engage the texts and make meaning of them. Our writing about, and discussion of, these readings afford us an opportunity to participate in the lively conversations and debates that currently characterize literary and cultural studies. Think of your log as a conversation with the various writers whose positions we will study. Logs should be roughly 2 typed pages each week. See Reader's Log Assignment and Reader's Log Assessment Criteria & Grading Contract for fuller explanations of this activity, the specific questions I would like you to address in your log, and the criteria for its assessment.

2. Research Problems and Electronic Technology Activities: 10% of Grade

To sharpen your skills in using both printed and electronic scholarly resources, I ask each of you to participate in a group of 3 students to work together on a set of typical research problems that literary scholars must confront in preparing scholarly pieces. In tracing solutions to these problems, you will become more familiar with the library, its reference sources, and its research guides. See Research Problems Assignment for the problems and instructions on how to proceed in the activity.

In addition, I ask each of you to engage in several typical research activities using electronic resources and the WorldWide Web. You will submit an Electronic Technology Activities Checklist when you have completed all assigned tasks. As part of this activity, you will contribute at least one web site to the list of valuable research sources the class finds on the Internet and compiles on our Hot Links to Cool Resources page. See Electronic Technology Activities for the required tasks.

Assessment of both these activities will be based on full completion of all assigned tasks. You must complete all problems assigned to you and all electronic technology tasks to receive credit for this percentage of the grade. If all problems and technology tasks are completed successfully, you will have earned an A for this portion of the grade; otherwise, you will not receive credit for this portion of the final grade. I urge you to collaborate with each other and to seek the advice of other faculty members in completing both the research problems and the electronic technology tasks.

3. Critical Review of Scholarly Text: 25% of Grade

To sharpen your critical judgment of scholarship and to watch closely how one scholar works, I ask each of you to choose a work of scholarship, preferably one directly related to your major research project for the semester. Each of you will critique the work in the light of your own standards as well as standards we will discuss in class. Part of the review will also present and critique other scholarly reviews of the book. The review should define, clearly and specifically, the book's thesis and main supporting arguments; it should describe its methodology and arrangement; it should suggest ways in which this book could be helpful to other scholars in the area; it should explain the value of the book. It should also explain and illustrate the shortcomings of the book (for instance, in its methods of analysis, use of evidence, drawing of conclusions, clarity, or style). The critical review will be roughly 8 typed pages and will include a works cited page as well as correct MLA documentation. See Critical Review Assignment and Critical Review Assessment Criteria & Grading Contract for full explanations of this activity.

4. Research Project : 50% of Grade

Starting as soon as possible, I would like each of you to begin your own scholarly work on a research project to extend throughout the semester. I encourage each of you to begin working immediately on this project and to formulate a research problem or question as soon as possible. Ideally the area you select to research should be one that you would like to pursue in your Master's thesis, or one that emerges from your most passionate intellectual interests and involves the interpretation of texts in some way. (Here I take a broad interpretation of "text," for your work may involve a literary or non-literary text or some other medium of communication--films, cultural artifacts, historical documents, popular media, etc). My advice is to seek out something you love--some interest that emerges from deep within you--something you are passionate about. It is my conviction that the best scholarship comes from those hidden depths within us where the things we most care about reside. The best scholarship is something we need to write.

The research project will reflect a process and will consist of the following components, which you will submit in a portfolio on the due date:

WORKING BIBLIOGRAPHY

An extensive bibliography encompassing several categories of texts pertinent to your study including: primary texts, secondary criticism, theoretical works, and contextual materials or collateral areas

ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY

Annotations on some of the readings from each category of pertinent texts on your working bibliography

PROGRESS REPORT

A brief written report in which you explore your research problem, the steps you have taken so far to address it, and your hypothesis, if you have one at this point

FINAL SCHOLARLY ESSAY

The final written product may take one of two possible forms: Either a completed conference paper along with an abstract of the essay and a letter of submission to a particular conference (10-12 pages typed text, including content endnotes and works cited pages); OR a journal article along with a letter of submission to your target journal. A journal article is generally about 18-25 pages, including content endnotes and works cited pages. The exact length depends upon the editorial policy of the journal for which it is written. Whether you write a conference paper or an article, you will do so for a particular audience and purpose; that is, you will write it for a specific conference or journal.

When you submit your research project, please include in a large portfolio folder the working bibliography, your annotations, your progress report, and the final report.

ORAL PRESENTATION

Regardless of the written option you choose, I will ask you to prepare a 10 minute oral presentation about the project so that all of us can learn from the experiences of each individual. These will be presented during the final exam. For a fuller explanation of each required part of the project, see Research Project Assignment and Research Project Assessment Criteria & Grading Contract.

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