Paper

Thesis statement due: Feb. 14, 2005
Final draft due: Mar. 14, 2005
Length: 6–8 pages
Percentage of grade: 25%

You may write about any text(s) written by a woman after 1775, whether on the course or not. If you are counting this as an Area C course, you must write on (a) 19thc text(s). Focus closely on the text(s) and work outwards. Following are some very general possibilities:

• Discuss how a writer negotiates the constrictions of her chosen genre and/or subject matter.
• Discuss how a writer reworks traditional material, and to what end.
• Discuss how the ways in which a writer negotiates the literary marketplace are reflected in her work(s).
• Discuss the interactions between two different writers or texts.
• Discuss a text or writer in terms of their relationship to a larger community.

Web page/presentation

Web page due: Jan. 31, 2005
Presentation due: on the day we discuss your chosen writer or topic
Percentage of grade: 15% for webpage + 10% for presentation = 25%

1) Each student is expected to put together a web page¹ displaying research on a topic of their choosing. Resources will be made available for those who are less experienced. Since this is not a web design course, my focus, when evaluating your work, will be on content rather than presentation. These pages will be linked to the course blog.

Web pages can include links, visuals, attached documents (bibliographies, articles, etc.), and written text. They should be a combination of concrete information and links for further research. Any bibliographical material is expected to follow MLA format.

If you are doing a page on a writer:
• Find at least one portrait of your subject.
• Include biographical material (keep the focus on your subject as a writer).
• List/include information on her works.
• Have something more substantial about the work that we will read in class.

If you are doing a page on a literary subgenre:
• Include a useful definition,
• a brief history,
• examples, and
• a section that focuses on our course text(s).

If you are doing a page on some historical background:
• Include a brief overview, then focus on material pertinent to our course texts and/or authors.
• Note any tie-ins to literary culture.

Everyone:
• Include a print bibliography of pertinent contemporary books and articles.
• Make an effort to list all the important sites about your subject, if there are many, and all the sites, if there are few.
• You are encouraged to link to each other, where appropriate.
• Give me a short written report telling me at least one thing that your page does that none other does.

You can either
• give me the material electronically or on disk (RTF format preferred), for me to format and post,
• give me the HTML file electronically or on disk, for me to directly post, or
• give me the URL to your own site, for me to link to the course site.

Web Pages will be evaluated on:
i) breadth, depth and quality of research;
ii) inclusion of both concrete information, and resources for further research;
iii) organization of materials;
iv) accessibility/user-friendliness; and
v) presentation.

¹ Please note: If you really don't want to do this assignment, you may hand in an annotated bibliography on your subject (electronically or on disk, preferably, so I can post it online).

2) Each student will make a brief presentation (15-20 minutes) at the beginning of the class in which their chosen topic is being discussed, focusing on the text(s) we have read. At the end of each presentation, the presenter will have some questions to initiate class discussion. Give me a hard copy of your outline and/or handout; handouts to the class are welcome but optional.
(*Note:* please give the instructor any a/v requests at least a week before.)

Presentations will be evaluated on:
i) focus;
ii) organization;
iii) appropriateness of material; links to course texts and/or discussions;
iv) quality of research;
v) effectiveness of questions; and
vi) presentation.

Blogs

Length: At least one substantial entry per week
Due: Throughout the term (I will be reading!)
Percentage of grade: 25%

Each student is expected either to initiate and maintain, or to significantly contribute to, a blog (a weblog)¹ about the readings, class discussions, and related matters (such as other texts you are reading or have read).

Resources will be made available for those who are less experienced. There are a multude of links on my links page. As this is not a computer design class, emphasis is on content.

You may choose to blog alone, or to set up a blog with a partner or small group. Or, the class may choose to maintain a single class blog, as long as individual contributions are clearly attributed. Whatever you choose, you are expected to read and comment on others' blogs/posts. This is an interactive exercise.

Blogs/posts will be evaluated on:
i) quality and quantity;
ii) thoughtful engagement with course texts and ideas;
iii) respectful yet incisive commentary on others' postings;
iv) quality of the outside links you find and comment upon;
v) connections between the texts we are reading and larger issues; and
vi) readability/presentation (blog entries are not formal essays, but you are still expected to maintain standards of literacy).

¹ Please note: If you really don't want to do this assignment, you may hand in a series of journal entries throughout the term.

Participation

Percentage of grade: 5%

In class: As this is a senior seminar class, ideally everyone will contribute to the weekly discussions. If you are not comfortable talking in a group, you could decide to write additional blog entries (two short or one substantial entry extra, every two weeks). Please let me know via email if you want to choose this option.

Online: Your blogs constitute a separate assignment, but I will consider your level of participation in our blogging community when determining your participation mark.

Attendance is crucial in a class with relatively few meetings.