English 217 American
Literature 1865-present
Dr. Filas
You
have your choice of writing a scholarly research paper, or a creative
interpretation/forgery of the material. A quick summary:
Research paper: 8
pages (2000-2400 words; must discuss at least one post-midterm text; minimum
four sources beyond the primary text(s).
Creative paper: 9-10
pages (2250-3000 words).
For
both options the most important thing is your thoughtful, original argument. A
well-crafted argument can be presented in any number of forms, but you must
have something you are trying to prove, to say about the books or poems weÕve
read. That argument must be specific, original, impassioned and well defended. No
late papers will be accepted, nor will late development work be accepted for
credit. Specific requirements for each option are described below. The deadlines for all papers and
development work are:
Tue., April 12: Bring
two theses ideas, and writing strategies for final paper—typed (pitchathon)
Tue., April 26: Bring
two copies of final paper for peer review.
Th., April 28: Bring two copies of typed peer reviews, one for me, one for peer; have peer review meetings.
Th., May 5: Final paper due. No late papers.
Required reading for all
options:
.
Literature: Howl, Democracy, An American Dream, Yezierska,
Williams, Hughes, or Cather (Norton authors may require additional readings of
primary texts).
You
must have a thesis statement, an original argument or observation you are
making about one of the underlined texts, the primary materials, the literature. Your paper may also include discussion of other
material read since midterm. You have a better chance of succeeding if you seek
depth over breadth when forming your argument. The principles of SOID will
apply as the measure for assessing theses.
Research Paper: A research paper allows for
broader reading in any number of areas, including but not limited to American
history, critical theory, philosophy, popular culture (including film, TV, art
and music), and literary criticism.
Requirements:
¬ 8 pages (2,000-2,400 words),
double-spaced;
¬ Discuss at least one primary
text listed above, you can discuss more;
¬ Must cite at least 4
additional sources beyond the primary text:
¤ Historical sources, i.e.
read a chapter from a historical text by Howard Zinn
(A PeopleÕs History of the United States, The Twentieth Century),
or William H. Chafe (The Unfinished Journey);
¤ Contextual materials, for
example an article on Vietnam war protests and the Beat movement in a
discussion of Howl; an article on shock therapy in relation to Howl,
an article on the fall of Saigon in relation to Democracy;
¤ AT LEAST ONE MUST BE: Secondary materials: literary criticism,
biographies, and letters: specific materials for each of the writers studied
are available in Ely Library (note that
secondary materials do not include Cliff/Spark notes or similar summary or
overview information obtained online);
¤ AND ANOTHER MUST BE SECONDARY MATERIALS (ABOVE BULLET) OR: Theoretical sources, i.e.
read a section of a philosophy, sociology, political or critical theory text
and apply it to primary material. A good source of many essays on literary
theory is:
Lenricchia, Frank and Thomas
McLaughlin, eds.
Critical Terms for Literary Study. Chicago: U of Chicago P, 1990. Call Number PN81.C84 1990.
¬ You may cite additional source(s) from cultural
contexts such as media, film (including adaptations), song lyrics, television
shows, news items, visual art, additional fiction or poetry by a particular
author.
Format Requirement for
Research Paper:
¬ Gibaldi, Joseph. MLA Handbook for Writers of Research
Papers. 5th ed. New York:
MLA, 1999.
Creative Paper: Who should choose a creative
paper? If you enjoy creative writing and want to push yourself to learn about
purposeful, committed creative writing, then this is the best choice for you. You
will learn the importance of matching
form to meaning, and to attending to specific formal elements of the novels
or poems you are interrogating through the act of imitation or modification of
the literary elements—vocabulary, sentence patterns, characterization,
settings, symbolism, dialog, etc. This option requires research in formal
strategies, and a willingness to explore the creative process until you have
invented something original and purposeful.
Requirements:
¬ 9-10 pages (2,250-3,000
words), double-spaced;
¬ Directly or indirectly
comment at least one of the literary texts listed above;
¬ There is one rule for the
creative option: each paper must be a careful forgery of the style of one
author, with precise attention paid to vocabulary, sentence length, dialog,
plot type, imagery, and characterization. Beyond this forgery requirement, no
creative boundaries are set, but some example approaches are:
¤ Place a character from one
book into a situation in a different book, swap secondary characters around;
¤ Change the gender of a
protagonist and rewrite a key scene to illustrate the importance of sexual
politics;
¤ Take a specific important symbol
from one books/poems and write a creative text in which it means the opposite,
thus changing the meaning of the text;
¤ Appropriate the form,
situation, dialog, or plot sequence from a novel or poem and rehash it in a way
that comments on the original, for example, write a Democracy style
account about one of the other texts, such as a character from An American
Dream; write a new ending to An American Dream;
¤ Mix and match, such as: How
would Ginsberg, as a character, change the life of Rojak
if they were to meet? If YezierskaÕs narrator narrator met Jack Lovett? What details would be different, what
outcomes? If you take this approach you have to write in the prose style of one
of our authors only and keep the interloper character true to her or his
original manner and style of speaking.
¤ You get the idea, anything
goes—but it has to be purposeful, you have to have a point you are trying
to make that reflects thoughtfully and in a purposeful way on the literature.
Always remember the important of Defending your
argument, which is implied through a true and close forgery of style and
replication of character authenticity.
¤ Do not be fooled! The
creative option is difficult—to write an effective forgery requires
attention to your prose in terms not just of character consistency and plot
pacing and thematic emphases, but also to the surface of the language,
vocabulary, dialect, innuendo, and rhythm. Revision is important to get the
forgery exact. A hasty forgery crashes hard.