Length: 8-10 typed, double-spaced pages (about 2,000-2500 words)

Timetable:

• November 10, 2011: E-mail your prospectus by 9 p.m. to campbelld@wsu.edu. Send this in the body of the message, not as an attachment.
• December 1, 2011: Paper 2 (paper version) due in class; upload your electronic version by 9 p.m. if you are turning in an electronic version. If you are doing a web project, you must turn in the rationale at this time.
• December 1-8 . Paper presentations in class.

The second paper presents the opportunity to research a topic based on one or more of the novels we have read. The choice of topics is somewhat open; however, your choice should demonstrate your ability to ask and answer interesting questions about the works, to read carefully, to interpret with skill and insight, to integrate secondary sources effectively, and to write a clear, well-organized paper.

No set number of sources is required, but you should use some sources beyond the novel(s) about which you write. These sources could include another novel not assigned in the course, secondary critical sources, or materials found in the periodicals in which the novel was originally published. If you choose Option II, your paper should show an awareness of critical issues surrounding your topic, including a discussion of secondary sources.

Guidelines

1. For this paper, you will want to use either secondary sources (i.e., literary criticism in the form of books and journal articles) or additional primary sources--stories, poems, plays--beyond the ones we've read in class.

2. Remember, Wikipedia and "student help" sites like Sparknotes, eNotes, pinkmonkey, encyclopedia.com, and the rest are NOT legitimate sources for this paper. The phrase "secondary sources" means "journals and library books," along with some legitimate literature web sites. Ask me if you're not sure whether a site counts as a legitimate source.

3. Web pages are someone's intellectual property and ALL WEB PAGES MUST BE CITED just as journal articles must be. Copying without attribution is plagiarism, and you will receive an F for the paper even if your paper is only partly copied from a source without attribution. See the syllabus for more information on the consequences of plagiarism.

4. Style counts as well as substance, so edit and proofread your paper carefully.

5. Bring your paper to me before it is due if you'd like to discuss it.

6. Check the various guidelines carefully:

Citing Sources http://public.wsu.edu/~campbelld/cited.htm
Formatting Papers: http://public.wsu.edu/~campbelld/format.htm

Requirements

Paper. The paper should be 8-10 typed, double-spaced pages long (about 2,000-2500 words). Use a standard (11-12 point) font and be sure to number each page. Staple the pages together. Do not use paper clips or a plastic report cover. See the Format page for more details: http://public.wsu.edu/~campbelld/format.htm.

Option I. Texts in Context Paper

Examine the periodicals in which one of these novels appeared in serial form (Holland Library has many of these in their original bindings) and read selections from the other works included in the same volume. What was the context within which this work was originally read? What works surrounded it—travel articles, short stories, author profiles, opinion and commentary, or some other form of writing? How do the works of this author compare with those of his or her now-forgotten contemporaries? What made the work become a "classic"?

If you choose this option, you do not need to read additional critical articles on your topic. You’ll probably want to choose 3-4 pieces from the volume and analyze them in detail.

Here are some questions to help you get started. Your paper should be a formal piece of work; it shouldn’t answer each of these questions in turn.

1. What kinds of fiction appear in the same volume with the work we read in class? Do they address similar themes? Do you notice a preponderance of one kind of story or setting (e.g., dialect stories, stories about the West, stories about courtship, and so on)?
2. Does the journal publish travel pieces, jokes, articles on current events, letters to the editor, illustrations, and other kinds of matter in addition to literature? Does any of this relate to the subject of the novel? How might the existence of these features alter the way in which a reader 100 years ago would have read the novel?
3. Judging by the kinds of articles and other materials in the volume, what were the concerns of the original audience? What was the political climate like? Does the journal address or ignore concerns such as racism, woman suffrage, industrialism, imperialism, poverty, inequality, and the rights of labor?
4. What books are reviewed in the periodical? Read through some reviews and figure out what kinds of qualities were valued in books during that period. What were the controversial literary issues of the day?
5. Does the serialized version of the novel include illustrations? If so, how do they enhance or detract from the experience of reading the book?
6. Does the serialized version of the book differ from the novel as finally published? What’s the effect of these changes? Does each serial segment end with a “cliffhanger” ending? How might this have affected the original readers' responses to the book.

Option II: Traditional Critical Analysis Paper. 

Write a research-based analysis of one or more of the novels we’ve read.

1. In what ways does science (and race science in particular) inform novels such as Pudd'nhead Wilson, McTeague, The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man, The Damnation of Theron Ware, and The House of Mirth? Choose any two novels and narrow this topic; you might want to talk about the nature-nurture controversy, social Darwinism,cultural differences (including music or religion), and so on.

2. Examine the role of naturalism in one or two of the novels we've read.

3. Analyze a symbol, image, or theme used in more than one novel (such as gold, violence, the use of writing and literacy) or discuss the ways in which an author uses a particular technique (journalistic techniques, humor, repetition, limited omniscient point of view, and so on) to convey his or her message.

4. The novels we've read for this part of the course have intelligent women in them--even New Women--but intelligence does not seem to translate into a happy ending for any of them. Choosing one or two novels, explore this idea.

5. Your own topic.

Option III.  Annotated Web Version of Text

Texts produced:

Option III asks you to prepare an annotated hypertext (web site) or wiki version of works studied this semester. Your web site or wiki will define words, analyze images and themes, create a coherent interpretation of several pages in length (although this may be broken up into linked paragraphs), and provide a brief bibliography of works consulted. Important: It must be available for viewing on the web when you're done.

If you choose this option, your prospectus will outline your plans for the project.  You may work in a group if you choose this option; all participants will share in the final grade. 

In interpretation level and analytical quality, this should match the kind and length of work you would do for the 8-10 page paper (about 2500 words); the difference is that your analysis will be broken into shorter segments and connected to the text by links. 

Your group will also need to write a 3-4 page essay explaining why you made the choices you did in terms of analysis. Your paper should provide metacommentary on the reasons why you chose what you did, sites you chose (or declined) to link to, conversations you had about interpretation, ideas, insights, responses to the text, and so forth.

Free wiki sites (for setting up a wiki) include www.pbwiki.com. I do not recommend wikihost.org because it has several layers of usernames and is difficult to use.

Paper 2 Presentations

Length: About 5-10 minutes for the presentation. (No additional written work must be turned in for a grade.)

As part of your Paper 2 assignment, you'll be presenting your original research to the class during one of two presentation days at the end of the semester. You may also choose to present your research on a topic unrelated to Paper 2, but most people will probably want to combine the presentation with their Paper 2 research.

Your purpose is to inform the class about some facet of the nineteenth-century American novel. If you've done the "texts in context" paper, for example, you may want to discuss what you've discovered about the periodical or author you focused on for the paper. If you've completed a web project, you may want to show that project on the screen and discuss it with the class. If you've worked with someone else on the project, you can present your research together.

Although this presentation will be based on your final project, you shouldn't simply read your paper to the class, although you can present portions of your paper in your presentation. Instead, you should feel free to bring in film or music clips, use PowerPoint or pictures, ask students questions, and otherwise make your presentation lively and informative for the class. You can also present your research in innovative ways (Pudd'nhead Wilson as detective fiction or as a precursor to shows like CSI? Film versions of a nineteenth-century text?)