Dr. Alex E. Blazer	Course Site	Syllabus
Informal Writing	Scholarly Criticism	Peer Response
	Group Project
Paper 1	Paper 2	Paper 3

Assignments

The Dream of Literature

English 310-76: Writing about Literature

Fall 2003, TR 5:30-6:45PM, Bingham Humanities Bldg 104

Informal Writing

The goal of informal writing assignments is to get you to think actively and write critically about literature. These short assignments will also prepare you to write the longer, formal papers. Approximately once per week, you will be asked to respond to practice analyzing some element of fiction (conflict, character, setting, imagery, figure of speech, etc.) or respond to a thematic issue. Out of class responses will be due electronically via Blackboard in the "Course Information" section by 5:15PM on the due date. Please use Word or WordPerfect format (not Works), and name your fie with your last name, IW (for informal writing), and the assignment number. Here's an exampe filename for Joe Smith's response to #1 Daitch: "Smith-IW-1.doc".

1. Susan Daitch, "X=/Y"
• How does daydreaming function in the story? Why do "you" daydream these particular events? What latent conflict does the daydream manifest? Due Thursday, 8-28
2. Kate Chopin, The Awakening
• Do a character sketch of Edna Pontellier. Who is she? What kind of person is she? What does she want from life? her husband? her children? Robert? What does she fear? Why does she do what she does at the end of the novel? Due Tuesday, 9-2
3. Kate Chopin, criticism
• Summarize only the one article (Pollard, Spangler, Ringe, Wolff) that you were assigned on the criticism schedule. Note the article's topic, thesis, whether or not it convinced you of its interpretation, and why it did or did not convince you. Due Thursday, 9-11
4. Arthur Miller, Death of a Salesman
• From whose point of view is the story mainly told? What do the hallucinatory flashbacks reveal about Willy Loman's particularly American dream? In other words, how has the American dream affected his psyche? Due Tuesday, 9-16
5. Dark City (Alex Proyas, 1998)
• Write your response to Dark City with your response to Woman in Mind, Informal Writing #6 below. Due Tuesday, 10-7
6. Woman in Mind (play by Alan Ayckbourne performed at the Thrust Theatre, 10-1 through 10-5)
Performances nightly at 8:00 PM with a 3:00 PM Sunday matinee. Tickets $7 for students; for reservations, call 6814. Write a double-length response to both Dark City and Woman in Mind which addresses how each treats dreams. How does film portray dream as opposed to how stages enact dream sequences? What is Dark City's theme about dreams as opposed to Woman in Mind's controlling idea about dreams. Due Tuesday, 10-7
7. Galway Kinnell, The Book of Nightmares
• What is the tone of this book of poetry? Why would a father adopt such a tone in a lullaby for his children? What is his message to his children? Due Thursday, 10-16
8. Galway Kinnell, criticism
   • Summarize the argument of one of the four articles on Kinnell. This is a practice annotation in preparation of the group project annotated bibliography and should follow the parameters of the annotated bibliography prompt: identifying the issue or question that the source is investigating, defining the source’s thesis or main idea relevant to your story, and explaining how the source helps your understanding of the story. Due Friday, 10-31
9. Mulholland Dr. (David Lynch, 2001)
   • What is real and what is dream? Sketch the narrative of the film as you understand it. Due Tuesday, 11-11

Reading Scholarly Criticism

As preparation for the group project and third paper, we'll read and discuss scholarly articles on some of the texts we're reading in class. You are only responsible for reading the article(s) that you're assigned, so look for your last name in bold following the article title.

Criticism of Kate Chopin's The Awakening

the following articles are available in our Norton Critical Edition textbook

• Group 1 (Danielle Baines, Brandon Harder, Charles Nasby, Peggy Sturgeon)
  read these articles and write an informal response to Pollard only
  • Pollard, Percival. [The Unlikely Awakening of a Married Woman]
  • Rankin, Daniel S. [Influences Upon the Novel]
  • Arnavon, Cyrille. [An American Madame Bovary]
  • Eble, Kenneth. [A Forgotton Novel]
• Group 2 (Donita Baines, KeShonda Keltee, Terquiesa Perkins, Ronda Ware)
  read these articles and write an informal response to Spangler only
  • Arms, George. [Contrasting Forces in the Novel]
  • Seyersted, Per. [Kate Chopin and the American Realists]
  • Spangler, George M. [The Ending of the Novel]
  • May, John R. "Local Color in The Awakening"
• Group 3 (Josh Fischer, Sarah Leinenbach, Stephanie Ramser, Dorse Wise)
  read these articles and write an informal response to Ringe only
  • Leary, Lewis. [Kate Chopin and Walt Whitman]
  • Chametzky, Jules. [Edna and the "Woman Question]
  • Ringe, Donald A. [Romantic Imagery]
  • Sullivan, Ruth and Stewart Smith. [Narrative Stance]
• Group 4 (James Hamon, Reneé Murphy, Pasquel Ross, Aleisha Young)
  read these articles and write an informal response to Wolff only
• Wolff, Cynthia Griffin. [Thanatos and Eros]
• Treichler, Paula A. [Language and Ambiguity]
• Gilbert, Sandra M. [The Second Coming of Aphrodite]
• Ammons, Elizabeth. [Women of Color in The Awakening]
• Showalter, Elaine. [Chopin and American Women Writers]

Criticism of Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman

the following articles are available in our Viking Critical Library textbook

• Miller, Arthur. "Tragedy and the Common Man"
• Gassner, John. "Death of a Salesman: First Impressions, 1949"
• Schneider, Daniel E. "Play of Dreams"
• de Schweinitz, George. "Death of a Salesman: A Note on Epic and Tragedy"
• Hynes, Joseph A. "Attention Must Be Paid . . ."

Criticism of Dark City (Directed by Alex Proyas)

the following articles are available in Minerva's Electronic Reserves

• Romney, Jonathan. "The New Paranoia." Film Comment Nov.-Dec. 1998: 39-43.
• Swope, Richard. "Science Fiction Cinema and the Crime of Social-Spacial Reality." Science-Fiction Studies 29.2 (2002): 221-46.

Galway Kinnell, The Book of Nightmares

the following articles are available in Minerva's Electronic Reserves

• Gardner, Thomas. "The Wages of Dying is Love: Galway Kinnell’s Book of Nightmares." Critical Essays on Galway Kinnell. Ed. Nancy Lewis Tuten. New York: G. K. Hall-Simon & Schuster Macmillan, 1996. 227-43.

• Hilberry, Conrad. "The Structure of Galway Kinnell’s The Book of Nightmares." On the Poetry of Galway Kinnell: The Wages of Dying. Ed. Howard Nelson. Ann Arbor: U of Michigan P, 1987. 210-26.

• Hudgins, Andrew. "'One and Zero Walk Off Together': Dualism in Galway Kinnell’s The Book of Nightmares." Critical Essays on Galway Kinnell. Ed. Nancy Lewis Tuten. New York: G. K. Hall-Simon & Schuster Macmillan, 1996. 174-188.

• Kleinbard, David. "Galway Kinnell's Poetry of Transformation." Centennial Review 30.1 (1986): 41-56.

Peer Response

You will be given the opportunity to revise your first two formal papers based upon not only my comments but your peer's comments as well. You will provide constructive criticism to 2 or 3 other members of the class as will they to you. Exchange papers and responses with your group and me in Blackboard > Group Pages > Your Paper and Group # > File Exchange.

 

Here follow the groups for Paper 1:

• Group 1: Danielle Baines, Josh Fischer, Brandon Harder, Aleisha Young
• Group 2: Donita Baines, Sarah Leinenbach, Charles Nasby, Terquiesa Perkins
• Group 3: KeShonda Keltee, Peggy Sturgeon, Dorse Wise
• Group 4: Reneé Murphy, Stephanie Ramser, Ronda Ware

Here follow the groups for Paper 2:

• Group 1: Danielle Baines, Charles Nasby, Dorse Wise, Aleisha Young
• Group 2: Donita Baines, Josh Fischer, Terquiesa Perkins, Stephanie Ramser
• Group 3: Brandon Harder, Reneé Murphy, Ronda Ware

Use the following issues to help you to formulate your 250 word response to each peer's paper.

• Grammar: Mark grammatical, usage, and typographical computer errors. However, if they are so frequent that you're doing more marking than reading, write a general note to the author explaining that fact.
• Thesis: Does the paper cut to the quick of the core conflicts, issues, and ideas of the work of literature?
• Organization and Argument: Does each paragraph support and develop the controlling thesis? Does the paper convince you of its interpretation of the work of literature?
• Voice: Does the paper use a voice adequate to its interpretation? Does the paper represent the voice of the work of literature fairly?
• Successes and Weaknesses: Where is the paper most successful? least?
• Quality and Creativity: Does the paper evoke authority? Does the paper approach its text in innovative, original ways?

Note: If you wish to use it (but you are certainly not required to), Microsoft Word has a peer editing feature in which you can edit peers' papers as well as make marginal annotations. Follow this link to learn how to track changes: <http://ccl.english.ohio-state.edu/handouts/miscellaneous/word_revision_track_changes.htm>.

Group Project

1. Sign-Up

The informal writing and first two papers compelled you to analyze literature, to estimate the author's world view. This assignment asks you to do just that, but also to teach the class what you've come to understand. Your group must choose a work of literature in the genre you've been assigned. Groups of four or five will compose a website that provides a working analysis of the text as well as an annotated bibliography of journal articles, book chapters, and scholarly websites on the text and/or its author. Groups will then teach the work of fiction to the class in a multimedia enhanced presention.  The website and presentation must be uploaded to Blackboard on the day your presentation is due. The project should be informative and argumentative. This assignment is neither a book report nor a biography, but instead a critical and analytical interpretation of a work of literature.

 

The purpose of this sheet is merely to form groups.  Sign up for two slots, placing a #1 by your first choice and a #2 by your second choice.  Once groups are assigned, those groups are responsible for meeting with me outside of class to determine a work of literature to read, research, and teach to the class via both a website and an oral presentation.

 

novel or two short stories Toni Morrison, Sula	Danielle Baines Donita Baines Ronda Ware Dorse Wise
play Arthur Miller, The Crucible	Josh Fischer Reneé Murphy Charles A. Nasby Stephanie Ramser
film David Lynch, Lost Highway	Brandon Harder Terquiesa Perkins Aleisha Young
poetry

2. General Goals

The informal writing and first two papers compelled you to analyze literature, to estimate the author's world view. This assignment asks you to do just that, but also to teach the class what you've come to understand. Your group must choose a work of literature in the genre you've been assigned. Groups of three or four will compose a website that provides a working analysis of the text as well as an annotated bibliography of journal articles, book chapters, and scholarly websites on the text and/or its author. Groups will then teach the work of literature to the class in a multimedia enhanced presention.  The website and presentation must be uploaded to Blackboard on the day your presentation is due. The project should be informative and argumentative. This assignment is neither a book report nor a biography, but instead a critical and analytical interpretation of a work of literature.

 

Blackboard Group Pages affords group discussion board, collaboration (chat), email, and file exchange.

3. Web Component

• Analysis and Interpretation of the Work of Literature: As this project is not a traditional paper, the word-length is up to the group, but the project should be sure to fully explain how the group is reading the work of literaute, for instance, by discussing in terms of the elements of fiction discussed in class.
• Annotated Bibliography
  • Search Strategy: Recapitulate where and how you went about your search for sources. Use the literary research methods handout to guide your search. Don’t put off obtaining print sources until the last minute.  You should request and check out materials from libraries a full two weeks before the assignment is due.  Once you have a critical article or book, check its works cited and reference pages for other books that might help your research.
  • Summary of Findings: In at least 250 words, summarize the various ways critics are interpreting the story. For instance, point out where scholars fall into different camps of interpretation on certain points of the story.
  • Secondary Sources
    • number and type of sources: 3 sources per group member (at least 1 scholarly journal article, at least 1 book chapter, and 1 web source if it offers more than a biography, i.e., a substantial reading of the story; do not use encyclopedias, magazines, newspapers, primary texts; also, no critical articles and websites used in class already
    • arrangement and citation format of sources: arrange sources alphabetically and format them according to MLA citation standards
    • annotations: summarize and evaluate the source in 75-100 words by
      1. identifying the issue or question that the source is investigating,
      2. defining the source’s thesis or main idea relevant to your story, and
      3. explaining how the source helps your understanding of the story
• Website Construction: You may use any program (Dreamweaver, FrontPage, Netscape) to build your website; I'll demonstratre how to build a basic website using Netscape. Turn in your website to me on disk or via a zipped file in Blackboard's digital dropbox or attached to an email attachment.

4. Presentation Component

The presentation should accomplish two objectives:

1. summarize the ways critics read the story as well as what issues they debate
2. teach the work of fiction to the class according to your groups reading of it<

As long as you meet these two objectives, the format of the presentation is completely up to you. You may choose to use aspects of the website to guide your group presentation, or you may use Microsoft Powerpoint, which I'll show you how to use in class, to guide your presentation. You may choose to focus on various elements of literature (conflict, character, setting, symbol, point of view, structure, tone) as ways into the work of literature as we have done in previous classes. You have all the technology of our lab at your disposal: projector, vcr, cd players, speakers, web browsers, Microsoft Powerpoint; and I can reserve a dvd if you need one. Presentations will be 20 minutes long and followed by a five-ten minute question and answer period.

5. Group Project Timeline

Week 7	Groups assigned on Thursday, 10-9
Week 8	Choose text for group project by Thursday, 10-16.
Week 9	Read, analyze, discuss text.
Week 10	Libranian demonstrates research methods on Tuesday, 10-28. Begin collecting research; continue discussing text.
Week 11	Continue discussing text; continue researching.
Week 12	In-Class demonstration on website building on Thursday, 11-13. Discuss plans for website and presentation.
Week 13	Work on website and presentation. Lab time for group projects given in class.
Week 14	In-Class demonstration on Powerpoint on Tuesday, 11-25. Work on website and presentation. Lab time for group projects given in class.
Week 15	Group Presentations on Tuesday, 12-2 and Thursday, 12-4 (Websites due on day of presentation).

Paper 1

We have discussed Keats, Daitch, Chopin, and Miller's works at length in class. We have even discussed various scholars' interpretations of Chopin and Miller. And you have written on these works, but only informally and tentatively. Now is your opportunity to rigorously analyze a work of literature. For the first formal paper, write an essay built around the most important passage in one of the works of literature that we have read so far. In your studied opinion, what is the most important passage? Why is it central to the core conflicts, character, and meaning of the story? What issues does it embody? In other words, using this key passage, you should write a paper that 1) interprets the meaning of the work via 2) explicating the fundamental conflicts and basic concerns of the text.

• Length: 500-750 words or 2-3 pages (aspire toward the higher end)
• Format: MLA style in a Word or WordPerfect file
  • Here are MLA styles templates for Microsoft Word and Corel WordPerfect.
• Due Dates
  • Draft 1 is due to me and your peer response group via Blackboard Group Pages on Tuesday, 9-30.
  • Peer Responses are due to me and your peer response group via Blackboard Group Pages on Thursday, 10-9.
  • Draft 2 is due to me only via Blackboard Paper 1, Draft 2 by Thursday, 10-16.

Paper 2

We have discussed Keats, Daitch, Chopin, Miller, Proyas, and Kinnell's works at length in class; and we have read critics' debates on Chopin, Miller, Proyas, and Kinnell. For the first formal paper, you analyzed the core conflicts and meaning of a work by looking at a significant passage. For the second formal paper, enter into the critical debate with the critics; write an essay that analyzes an issue that scholars (and our class) continue to debate. Present the different interpretations, then argue for your side, your reading. For instance, does Edna commit suicide? Is Willy a tragic character? Is the ending of Dark City "happy"? You may use any work we've read in class, but it must not be the same work on which you wrote your first formal paper.

• Length: 1000-1250 words or 4-5 pages (aspire toward the higher end)
• Format: MLA style in a Word or WordPerfect file
  • Here are MLA styles templates for Microsoft Word and Corel WordPerfect.
• Due Dates
  • Draft 1 is due to me and your peer response group via Blackboard Group Pages on Tuesday, 11-4.
  • Peer Responses are due to me and your peer response group via Blackboard Group Pages on Tuesday, 11-11.
  • Draft 2 is due to me only via Blackboard Paper 2, Draft 2 by Tuesday, 11-18.

Paper 3

In the first two formal papers, you first analyzed a particular passage and second debated the meaning of a work that we have read in class. For the third and final paper, select a work of literature not discussed in class (it may, however, be the work you did your group project on), and, after clearing it with me, write an in depth analysis and interpretation using 3-5 works of scholarly criticism to provide support or counterargument. The primary emphasis of this paper is your thoughtful, rigorous analysis of a work of literature; use the secondary sources only inasmuch as they aid your argument.

Thesis and Sources: When we meet individually to discuss your paper, you should turn in a paragraph or outline describing your tentative thesis for your third paper. Also, provide a list of 10 works of scholarly criticism (approximately half books and half journal articles) you plan to use to help yourself develop, expand, or support your argument.

• Length: 1500-2000 words or 6-8 pages (aspire toward the higher end)
• Format: MLA style in a Word or WordPerfect file
  • Here are MLA styles templates for Microsoft Word and Corel WordPerfect.
• Due Date: The one and only draft is due to me only via Blackboard > Paper 3 by Thursday, 12-11 at 5:30PM.