Assignments

English 6601 Methods of Research, Fall 2020

TR 2:00-3:15 p.m., Online

Small Group Activities

Breakout Room Students

Breakout Room 1

Kelly Capers

Lindsey Kellogg

Ally Smithweck

Breakout Room 2

Miki Fahiym

Denechia Powell

Breakout Room 3

Tara Heimberger

Uri-Kimtrell Johnson

Revised and Expanded Paper

Original Paper Workshop

Send one or two potential papers to your fellow group members by Wednesday at noon. Read your fellow group members papers in advance of Thursday's class. During Thursday's class, you'll discuss each paper's potential to revise the argument, expand the argument, and add additional research.

Original Paper Selection

Select a recent research paper that you believe needs both further development of interpretation and further research to help prove your argument.

Annotated Bibliography, Research Strategy, and Revision Plan

Annotated Bibliography

 

Find 10 scholarly, secondary sources (books, book chapters, and peer-reviewed journal articles) that will help you further develop your literary interpretation, format the sources in MLA style, and provide a 75-100 word summary of each secondary source's argument as well as how the secondary source interprets and illuminates the meaning of the primary text, i.e., the literary work. Do not simply summarize the topic, provide the thesis. I recommend answering the following questions:

  1. What question, issue, or topic is the source investigating?
  2. What is the source's thesis or conclusion regarding the work of literature?
  3. How does the source help your understanding of the work of literature?

Research Strategy

 

Provide a paragraph length summary of how you found the secondary sources. For instance, list the library databases you used and secondary sources' works cited you consulted.

 

Revision Plan

 

Finally, provide a paragraph length explanation of how you plan to revise your original paper. For instance, discuss the new research you will incorporate, how you will amend your interpretation, and how you will expand the argument.

 

I suggest using this template. The annotated bibliography, research strategy, and revision plan is due in GeorgiaVIEW > Course Work > Assignments > Revised and Expanded Paper on Thursday, September 3.

Revised and Expanded Paper

The revised and expanded paper must be one-third to one half longer than the original paper and incorporate at least 5 new secondary sources. For instance, if the original paper was 10 pages long and had 5 secondary sources, the revised and expanded paper should be 13-15 pages long and have 10 secondary sources. It is due Tuesday, September 15 in GeorgiaVIEW > Course Work > Assignments > Revised and Expanded Paper. If you revised your annotated bibliography based on feedback, also resubmit your bibliography, research strategy, and revision plan on Tuesday, September 15.

Textual Scholarship Annotations

While we were studying the history of the book, you worked on revising and expanding a previous research paper. This project provided the opportunity to practice the research methods learned in your undergraduate programs (researching and writing an annotated bibliography) as well as refine your argument and integrate additional research to a previous paper. Now, the textual scholarship and book history project allows us to practice the methods of textual scholarship learned in Williams and Abbotts', Greetham's, and Kirschenbaum and Rside's books and articles.

 

The class will select a work of literature and then individual students will be assigned to research its textual issues (such as the debate between differing scholarly editions or translations), its publication history (discuss its different editions), and its readership history (discuss its critical and social reception, both then and now). Each of you will find and annotate three sources pertaining to your assigned topic.

 

Some examples of topics include the inclusion of T. S. Eliot's notes in the publication of The Waste Land, the 2011 Touch Press Media editions of The Waste Land, the 1965 original publication of Sylvia Plath's Ariel versus the 2004 restored collection, and the original 1922 publication of James Joyce's Ulysses versus Hans Walter Gabler's 1984 edition.

Topics

Bring one two possible topics to class on Thursday, September 10 and the class will finalize a topic.

Annotations

The list of assigned sources is here. On Tuesday, September 22, submit three annotations of 75-100 words each to GeorgiaVIEW > Course Work > Assignments > Textual Scholarship and Book History Project.

Scholarship Summary

While the textual studies project requires you to practice your annotation skills and learn more about textual criticism, the scholarship summary compels you to practice more comprehensive summary skills while learning about a new scholarly discipline and sharing your understanding with the class.

 

The scholarship summary, which will summarize a category of modern scholarship, should

Due Date

The summary is due by the start of class on the scheduled day in two places:

Sign Up Sheet

Sign up here for one Scholarship Summary slot.

 

Date

Text

Student

T, 9-8

Language, Culture, and Society

1 Denechia Powell

T, 9-8

Linguistics

2 Lindsey Kellogg

T, 9-8

Language Acquisition and Language Learning

3 Uri-Kimtrell Johnson

R, 9-10

Rhetoric

4 Kelly Capers

R, 9-10

Composition

5 Tara Heimberger

R, 9-10

Poetics

6 Miki Fahiym

T, 9-17

Translation Studies

7 Ally Smithweck

Scholarship Presentation

After revising and expanding a research paper and then researching a textual issue in a published literary work, you will research a form of modern scholarship: historical scholarship; comparative literature; cultural studies; feminisms, genders, sexualities, race and ethnicity; and migrations, diasporas, and borders. After signing up for a scholarly method, read the corresponding chapter from Nicholls' Introduction to Scholarship in Modern Languages and Literature. Compose a 10 source annotated bibliography comprised of overviews of the scholarly approach as well as theoretical sources that founded the scholarly approach. In a 30-45 minutes presentation, share your research findings with the class, teach the scholarly approach, and engage class discussion about the approach. Sign up here.

Due Date

The 10 source annotated bibliography is due in GeorgiaVIEW > Course Work > Assignments > Scholarship Presentation on the day you are assigned to teach the scholarly approach. Your project will be graded in terms of annotated bibliography quality (range of overviews and theoretical sources, quality of annotations), presentation quality, and understanding of the scholarly approach.

Scholarship Application

In addition to researching and presenting on a modern scholarly approach to literary studies, you will also research and teach a literary work from the perspective of a modern scholarly approach: historical scholarship; comparative literature; cultural studies; feminisms, genders, sexualities, race and ethnicity; and migrations, diasporas, and borders. Select a work of literature from the list of works pre-selected by the class that you would like to research and teach to the class using the assigned method for which you are scheduled. Inform the class of your selected text two weeks prior to the scheduled teaching demonstration (we need time to read the works). Compose a 10 source annotated bibliography comprised of critical sources interpreting the literary text from the assigned critical lens. Lead class discussion of the literary work for 30-45 minutes by employing the critical approach and using your bibliography to inform your teaching.

Due Date

The 10 source annotated bibliography is due in GeorgiaVIEW > Course Work > Assignments > Scholarship Application on the day you are assigned to teach the work. Your project will be graded in terms of annotated bibliography quality (range of critical sources, quality of annotations), understanding of the critical approach, and application of the critical approach, and teaching of the literary work.

Text Selection

On Tuesday, September 1, the class will pick numbered selections from the MA Exam List (1-2 British periods, 1-2 American periods, and 1-2 International Periods) from which to complete the scholarship application. Here are the class's choices:

Sign Up

Sign up here for one Scholarship Presentation (P) and one Scholarship Application (A) from different scholarship approaches at least two weeks apart. Since there are seven students in the class, either Cultural Studies or Feminisms (but not both) can have two students, and those two students will coordinate their projects so they do not overlap.

 

Due Date

Scholarship Type

Student

R, 9-24

Historical Scholarship

P1 Tara Heimberger

T, 9-29

Historical Scholarship

Rossetti, "Goblin Market"

A1 Lindsey Kellogg

R, 10-1

Comparative Literature

P2 Kelly Capers

T, 10-6

Comparative Literature

Césaire, A Tempest

A2 Ally Smithweck

R, 10-8

Cultural Studies

P3 Denechia Powell

T, 10-13

Cultural Studies

Larsen, Passing

A3 Miki Fahiym

R, 10-15

Feminisms, Genders, and Sexualities

P4 Ally Smithweck

T, 10-20

Feminisms, Genders, and Sexualities

Rossetti, "Goblin Market"

A4 Tara Heimberger

A5 Uri-Kimtrell Johnson

R, 10-22

Race and Ethnicity

P5 Miki Fahiym

T, 10-27

Race and Ethnicity

Morrison, Beloved

A6 Denechia Powell

R, 10-29

Migrations, Diasporas, and Borders

P6 Lindsey Kellogg

P7 Uri-Kimtrell Johnson

T, 11-3

Migrations, Diasporas, and Borders

Césaire, A Tempest

A7 Kelly Capers

Thesis Proposal

You have revised and expanded a research paper, researched the textual history of a work of literature, and applied a scholarly methodology to a work of literature. Your final assignment is to research and compose a potential thesis proposal. First, select a topic and obtain instructor approval. Then, create a 20 source annotated bibliography composed of both theoretical sources that ground your scholarly methodology (no less than 5) and critical sources that interpret your selected literary work(s); and also develop a 3-4 page thesis proposal that articulates the topic's significance and originality, poses research questions, and offers tentative conclusions based on the preliminary research of the annotated bibliography. PapersOWL also offers guidelines.

Topic Selection

Prepare one or two potential topics for Tuesday, October 13 for class feedback and instructor approval.

 

Student

Topic

Kelly Capers

the anti-feminist rhetoric of the King James bible

Miki Fahiym

African-American horror or fantasy (specify monster and/or time period)

Tara Heimberger

feminist and psychoanalytic analysis of female villains in contemporary thriller and horror films

Uri-Kimtrell Johnson

representation of black women in film

Lindsey Kellogg

themes of love and lust in Christina Rossetti's "Goblin Market"

Denechia Power

Alice Walker's In Search of Our Mothers' Gardens as autotheory

Ally Smithweck

spirituality and Buddhism in Adventure Time and other cartoons

Thesis Proposal Conferences

Meet with your instructor about your project (annotated bibliography, presentation, proposal) on Thursday, November 5 and Tuesday, November 10. At the time of your scheduled appointment, use the Office Hours Zoom link.

 

Date & Time

Student

R, 11-5, 2:00

Uri-Kimtrell Johnson

R, 11-5, 2:20

Ally Smithweck

R, 11-5, 2:40

Lindsey Kellogg

R, 11-5, 3:00

Denechia Powell

T, 11-10, 2:00

Mikki Fahiym

T, 11-10, 2:20

Tara Heimberger

T, 11-10, 2:40

Kelly Capers

Thesis Proposal Presentations

Present your annotated bibliography (in progress, but at least 10 annotations should be completed and shared), your research questions, and possible preliminary findings in a 10-15 minute presentation on Tuesday, November 17; Thursday, November 19; or Tuesday, November 24.

 

Time

Student

T, 11-17, 2:00

Uri-Kimtrell Johnson

T, 11-17, 2:25

Tara Heimberger

T, 11-17, 2:50

Lindsey Kellogg

R, 11-19, 2:00

Denechia Powell

R, 11-19, 2:25

Mikki Fahiym

R, 11-19, 2:50

Kelly Capers

T, 11-24, 2:00

Ally Smithweck

Thesis Proposal

Submit your final project (20 source annotated bibliography and 3-4 page proposal) to GeorgiaVIEW > Course Work > Assignments > Thesis Proposal on Thursday, December 3. Your project will be graded in terms of quality of annotated bibliography (range of sources and annotation of sources) and quality of proposal (topic context, research questions, tentative findings). Retrieve feedback approximately one week later in GeorgiaVIEW > Course Work > Assignments > Thesis Proposal. You can access your final grade in the course via PAWS after Wednesday, December 9. Here's how to calculate your course grade.