Sometimes the most helpful articles come as tid-bits that can completely change our view of a work.

PRE-WORK:

Read the Notes & Queries (on Reserve). How long are they? Why type of information do the authors include? What did you learn from these articles?

 WRITE YOUR OWN N & Q
Using the Notes & Queries as models, re-read one of the works "published" between 1492 and 1770 and write a 2-3 page, carefully focused Notes & Queries of your own. Analyze a reference, a symbol etc. (that the Norton has not footnoted) so that your readers learn something they would not have understood or would have missed without your article.

  Research your topic as necessary.

  ANALYZE (don't summarize)

Helpful Resources: Meyer pp. 23 - 33, class handouts, YOUR PEERS, the Discussion Forum, me.

Wouldn't you love to read your sibling's diary or the love letters your parents exchanged? Humans love to be voyeurs. But, what deeper meanings do we miss out on by being outsiders looking in? Here's your chance to find out.

PRE-WORK:

Look at set of letters in the Norton Anthology. What type of information does the editor explain? How does this increase your understanding of the letter? What else would you have liked the editor to tell you?

EDIT YOUR OWN
Transcribe (decipher, type) a letter (TBA; I'll put the choices on Reserve)

Footnote references that you think will increase understanding, such as:

author (biographical information)
recipient (biographical info.; relation to author etc.)
date (any important events occurring at the time?)
importance of setting?
reason for writing?
any references in the letter that need explanation?

As we read from our bulky, heavy, and blinding (the font size is cruel!) Norton Anthology, keep in mind that the original readers often encountered these works in very different forms. This assignment is designed to help you reconstruct the original reader's experience.

Pre-thinking:

What goes through your mind when you pick up your favorite magazine?

What makes it your "favorite" magazine? Why did you buy it, subscribe to it, or borrow it from the UL magazine area?

What do you look at first? Why?

How do the ads add to or interfere with your reading experience? Why?

How do you decide on which articles to read? Why?

Find an original periodical that published ONE work by Poe, Hawthorne, Fuller, Stowe, Twain, Gilman, Wharton, or Cather. (Look at the footnotes in the Norton to determine original place of publication). You can find the magazines either in the U.N.C. Rare Book Room, Davis, Duke's Rare Book Room, or on microfilm.

Write a 2-3 page article in which you ANALYZE the periodical to determine why you think the editor thought this author's work was appropriate for this periodical.

Some questions that may help you arrive at an interesting analysis:

Who is the audience for this periodical?

Look at the ads. What is advertised? How do these "things" appeal to the audience?

Look at illustrations, if any. What are they like? How do they contribute to the periodical etc.?

What are the periodical's other special features?

Who else is published in this magazine? Who are these people?

What types of other articles appear? Fiction? Non fiction? What might this indicate?

What is the difference in reading a story in one of these magazines as opposed to reading it in the Norton?

Audience: readers of literary anthologies (college students/professors who what insight, not plot summaries!)

Outside sources: none

Helpful Resources: Meyer pp. 23 - 33 and class handouts

Imagine that you are an assistant editor contributing to a literature anthology that contains primary sources followed by critical articles. Using SFs for ideas, re-read one of the FICTIONAL works assigned thus far and write a 3-4 page, carefully focused "critical appraisal" that will follow the work in the anthology. This "critical appraisal" should provide the reader with an analysis and interpretation s/he might not glean from a first or second reading.

Focus your analysis on no more than two of the following narrative techniques: point-of-view, character, symbolism, theme, or setting. ARGUE how the author manipulates the technique(s) to make a single point. First demonstrate how the author manipulates these techniques. ANALYZE: ask "why?" and "so what?"

For example, "How and why does Faulkner use setting to shed insight on Emily's character in A Rose For Emily?

Length: 4-6 double-spaced pages

Audience: readers who may be unfamiliar with the theoretical approach, but who have read the short story/novel and want new insights (no plot summaries!)

Outside sources: 4 or more (at least 2 for each work)

Helpful Resources: Meyer 33 - 44 & 94-137 and course pack
This assignment builds on the last project (and your SFs) in which you focused on writing an analysis. Write a 4-5 page original comparison and contrast that analyzes how two authors tackle the same theme through ONE of the following critical lenses: history, culture, psychology, gender, class, religion, or race. Suggest how reading the story through this critical lens adds to our understanding of the texts. You may want to support your argument with discussions of a narrative technique.

You must read at least two scholarly articles about each work that relates to your chosen critical approach. Feel free to disagree with your critic's analysis. Check the Reserve list for articles, or see me.

A typed proposal on your possible paper topic. What is the main question / problem you would like to explore? Why? What do you suspect you will find? Re-read the work to trace the issue and locate your evidence.

After you have completed part c (see below), write a paragraph or two in which you carefully explain how your interpretation will add something new to the critical debate about your fictional work. In other words, use the outside research to determine how critics have written about the work. After you understand what has been said, you should explore an ORIGINAL idea.

Part B:

Choose a theoretical or combine two (such as psychoanalysis and feminist). How will I apply the theory so that it sheds new light on the work? (Re-read definitions in the Meyer.)

Part C

An annotated bibliography is a list of the critical articles you have read.

Length: 5-7 double-spaced pages

Audience: academic research journal; literary critic

Outside sources: 4 = minimum

Helpful Resources: Meyer pp. 150 - 169, 94-137, and course pack
This paper builds on the critical reading (analysis and interpretation) and writing skills you have honed this semester. Using those skills, write a 5-7 original scholarly article on the topic of your choice (choose something you are PASSIONATE about) from one of the following critical approaches: history, psychology, gender, class, religion, or race. For example, you could do a reading that combines elements of psychoanalysis and gender in The Turn of the Screw. You can analyze any work (novel, short story, or poem) we have read this semester.

You must cite a minimum of 4 secondary sources from your annotated bibliography. While you can use the critic's argument to support your point, an upper-level paper will demonstrate an awareness of the critical scholarship about that work, refute existing critical arguments, and suggest how your interpretation adds something new to the critical debate. A paper can include a Works Cited page (those critics you quote) and a Bibliography (those you read, but do not refer to in your paper).

General Tips:
Ask the following two questions which will help you to avoid plot summary:
 

Why

KEEP IN MIND: If you decide to come to office hours the day before the paper is due, there is NO guarantee that I will be able to see you. Also, keep in mind that the more papers I read back to back, the less effective a reader I become. I'm only human--I get tired too. So, if you insist on coming the day before it's due, come prepared with specific questions. I will NOT read papers in their entirety at that time. If you need a longer session, plan ahead. Keep in mind that coming to office hours does NOT guarantee an "A"-- we can only "fix" so much. You may also want to meet with a member of your group to "swap" papers or visit the Writing Center. But, ultimately YOU are responsible for your own paper.

A successful paper will: