English
601
English
Studies: Content, Methods, and Bibliography
Spring
2003
Nancy
Myers Office:
110 McIver
Phone:
334-5484 Office
Hours: M 1-5, W 2-5
Mailbox:
133 McIver or
by appointment
E-mail:
nancymyers@uncg.edu
Focus: This course offers an introduction to the
discipline and profession. It provides
strategies and resources for research, practice in critical methodologies, and
an overview of the profession and the disciplines of English. The content,
methods, and bibliography of English Studies are examined at both the local and
global levels.
Learning
Goals:
Through
the readings, assignments, and class activities in this course, you will
A.
learn about the multidisciplinary and institutional
histories of English Studies;
B.
conduct extensive, systematic, and thorough research on topics related to
English Studies;
C.
analyze and critique bibliographic resources and
reference texts;
D.
be able to inform high school and undergraduate college
students about useful research materials for English studies;
E.
establish practical, systematic, and creative approaches to learning about
literary theories that will serve you as critics, teachers, and scholars and
that can lead you to more specialized studies of literary theory; and
F.
reflect on and locate yourself and others as professionals in specific fields
of English Studies.
Besides
the four required texts, we will be engaging in extensive research and
supplementing the following texts with those on reserve. (The reserve list is attached.)
Joseph
Gibaldi. MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. 5th ed. NY: MLA, 1999.
Gerald
Graff. Professing
Literature: An Institutional History.
Donald
Keesey. Contexts for Criticism. 3rd ed.
William
Shakespeare. The
Tempest.
(or a copy of The Tempest with act, scene, and line
numbers on each page)
Graded Work
for This Course
The
Profession Project 20%
faculty profile and
article report
The
Bibliographic Puzzle Project (done in teams) 20%
4
research investigations, creating a problem, and solving another’s
Teaching
the Text (done in groups of 3-4 persons) 20%
presentation
and annotated bibliography
Researching
and Writing about Your Interests 20%
annotated
bibliography, conference paper,
thesis/dissertation proposal, or
high school curriculum
Handouts on each assignment to follow.
Attendance: Since this course is based on collaboration
and community and since your course grade will be influenced by your class
participation and your preparedness, regular attendance seems the most logical
approach. If you cannot be here, let me
know.
Schedule for
English 601: English Studies
Finding Our
Way in and across the Profession, the Institution, and the Disciplines
15 January: The Profession, This Course, and
You
22 January: Designing Research Questions and
Interpreting Text—A Beginning
Library
Instruction #1: Meet Electronic Citi in Jackson
Library at
Read
course materials and write a response exploring the question: What is English
Studies?
Set
faculty assignments and interviewing strategies
Set
teams for research activities and Puzzle Project
Go
over Bibliographic Puzzle Project and Researching and Writing about Your
Interests
Bibliographic
problem and solution strategies
29 January: The Scope and Breadth of English
Studies
Five-minute
talks over Article Report and disperse copies of write up
Contexts
for Criticism pp.1-8
Go
over Teaching the Text assignment and set up groups for critical frameworks
5 February: Making Sense of Our Histories
Library
Instruction #2: Meet Electronic Citi in Jackson
Library at
12 February: Perspectives on Investigating and
Researching
Paired
Research Activity #1 due
Proposal
for individual projects due
19 February: Globalizing and Localizing the
Profession
Library
Instruction #3: Meet Electronic Citi in Jackson
Library at
Paired
Research Activity #2 due
1.
Katherine Adams’ “Teaching Creative Writing” pp. 70-99 (on reserve)
2.
D. G. Myers, one chapter from The Elephants Teach: Creative Writing Since
1880 (on reserve)
Bring
Graff, and
Response:
How have the other histories reinforced or altered your perspective of Graff's
history?
26 February: Ways of
Five-minute
talks on profiles and profiles due
Critical
frameworks groups meet
5 March: Ways of
Paired
Research Activity #3 due
Individual
Project groups meet and report
12 March: Spring Break
19 March: Designing and
Planning—Research and Teaching Meet
Meeting
time for critical framework groups (I’m at CCCC in
Three-page
reading response over group section in Contexts for Criticism due to me
by email attachment or in my mailbox (McIver 133)
26 March: Designing and Planning—Posing
Problems and Setting Agendas
Paired
Research Activity #4 due
Set
presentation dates, reading assignments, and audio-visual needs for Critical
Frameworks
Puzzle
Teams meet
2 April: Forging Ahead—Research
and Plans Take Shape
Puzzle
Problems due and swap
Individual
Project groups meet and report
Critical
Framework groups meet
9 April: Critical Frameworks #1
and 2
Group
1:
Group
2:
Response
to cover both reading assignments
16 April: Critical Framework #3
Group
3:
Puzzle
solutions due
23 April: Critical Framework #4 and
5
Group
4:
Group
5:
Response
to cover both reading assignments
30 April: Presenting Your Research
and Discoveries
Drafts of individual projects due for group meeting and class share.
Last
response due: Locating yourself in the profession, the institution, and the
discipline.
Course
evaluations and discussion
7 May: New Directions in
Research and Teaching (Reading Day)
Rewrites
of individual projects due in my mailbox (McIver 133) or in my office (McIver
110)
14 May: Personalizing the
Profession—Dinner Party
Response and Research
Notebook (20% of the course grade):
The
notebook consists of reading and learning responses. For each of your reading
assignments, you need to bring to class a one-page (or more), single-spaced,
word-processed response that includes your reactions and interactions with the
assigned texts. These should be no less than 400 words each. We will use these
responses to start the discussions; then I will collect them and respond in
writing. The responses are noted on the schedule, but two are unusual. The one
due on 19 March is three pages and is a response to all of the readings in the
section of Contexts for Criticism that you chose for your group teaching
segment. The final response due on 30 April is your reflection on your work,
learning, and interests over the course of the semester and on directions you
want to pursue next semester. On each response include your name, date, and the
reading assignment.
The Profession Project (20%
of the course grade):
Article Report. During the first class period, you will
submit three choices of articles that you would like to read from Introduction
to Scholarship and you will leave class with your article assignment. Once
you know your article, you need to draft a one-page single-spaced summary of
and critique/response to the article with the appropriate MLA bibliographic
citation as the title. On 29 January, you should bring 17 copies of this report
and be prepared to talk no longer than five-minutes about the scope and breadth
of the discipline/field or issue discussed in the article.
Faculty Profile. On 22 January you need to bring in three
names of UNCG English faculty you might like to interview. After you know your
faculty member, you need to do background research on that person, schedule a
one-hour interview, and ask questions about his or her professional life in
English. Once you have compiled all of your data, you will write a 2-4 page
profile (single-spaced) of that faculty member. On 26 February you will offer a
five-minute overview of your research and the faculty member and turn in
one-copy of your profile. We will discuss specifics of this assignment,
strategies for research, types of questions, and the content of the profile in
class. Note: no more than two people will have the same faculty member. If you share
a faculty member with another classmate, you should do a joint interview.
Teaching the Text (20% of
course grade)
In
groups of 3-4, you will do background research and teach one section of the
third edition of Contexts for Criticism between 9 and 23 April. You will
have up to, but no more than, 75 minutes to help us
better understand your critical framework. This 75-minute segment should
include interactive activities or discussions. Each member of the group should
have some teaching responsibility in that time. Each member of the group is
responsible for seven sources for the annotated bibliography, of which only one
per person may be a website, a media source, and/or a lecture/class notes or
materials. In other words, at least four sources out of each seven need to be
texts from various electronic or print publications and books. Any of you may
always go over seven, but you do not need to. The audience members for each
teaching segment are responsible for reading the assigned material and writing
a one-page response, which they will bring to class.
Your Responsibilities
*
Meet with group members to plan, research, prepare, and generate an interactive
teaching segment.
*
Completely read and respond to your section of Contexts for Criticism.
*
Decide on the reading assignment for the segment (no more than 50 pages).
*
Research and compile your portion of the annotated bibliography.
*
Schedule audio-visual equipment or computer labs in advance through me.
*
Present me with an outline and a statement of purpose and rationale for the
teaching segment that explains who is doing what, what you are doing and its
order, and what you believe we will learn from this approach.
*
Make photocopies of the handouts, activity sheets, and annotated bibliography
for everyone (18 copies—I get 2)
*
Set up the room, equipment, and materials as you feel will be most effective
for our learning.
Dates of Interest
29
January—go over Teaching of Text assignment, annotated bibliography
information, critical framework groups set
26
February—groups meet for 30 minutes, plan, and set calendar
19
March—groups meet to plan and prepare, and the three-page reading responses are
due to me over group section of Contexts for Criticism
26
March—set dates for teaching the segments, set reading assignments in syllabus,
and request audio-visual equipment
2
April— groups meet for 30 minutes to finalize plans
9-23
April—critical framework teaching segments
4 Research Activities and
Puzzle Project (20% of course grade)
Part I: Puzzling Research
Questions and Issues
The
point of these activities is for you to distinguish among the types of
information available in research guides, reference books, bibliographies, and
indexes (and websites) and to find relevance and value in knowing which
information is needed for specific research projects. These are set up as
paired activities because the conversations about your research will be as
valuable as the research itself. Your written results may take the form of a
dialogue between the two of you addressing the issues and questions, may be a series
of focused emails back and forth, may be a collaboratively written statement as
an essay/critique or in question-answer form, or another form that you choose.
Note: The Harner source and page numbers are based on
the third edition and may vary with the fourth.
Paired
Research Activity #1 (Due 12 February)
In Harner, read about ABELL:
Annual Bibliography of English Language and Literature (#340), Humanities Index (#385), Arts and Humanities Citation Index
(#365), and MLA International
Bibliography (#335). Then examine both the online databases and the print
bibliographies of each. As a team, respond to the following questions: How
recent and how far back is the information? What do you see as the strengths
and drawbacks of each index whether online or in print? What are the
differences in approach to researching in the print sources from the electronic
ones? Form one research question (test it and offer results) that could only be
answered by one index and not by the other three. Example: Which online index
provides reviews of the first edition of George Lyman Kittredge's
Complete Works of Shakespeare within
five years of its publication? (Answer: ABELL—book published
1936; lists 5 reviews of the work between 1936-1939). Or instead of the
research question, research your individual project topics in these sources and
report your findings.
Paired
Research Activity #2 (Due 19 February)
Often
women and people of color published anonymously, with pseudonyms, or with
multiple monikers, making it difficult to trace them. However, several types of
resources are available that can help in tracing and finding out about these
writers. Refer to Harner's sections on
"Biographical Sources" (pp. 75-84) and "Anonymous and
Pseudonymous Works" (pp. 564-566). At the turn of the last century, Rosamund Ball published anonymously and under several
names. How many names did she use and what were they? When and what did she
write and/or publish? Provide a bibliography of sources that provide
biographical information on this writer and a list of Ball's published works.
Or if your individual project topics tie to specific people, research them and
report your findings.
Paired
Research Activity #3 (Due 5 March)
The
chasm between popular culture and high or elite culture widened in
Paired
Research Activity #4 (Due 26 March)
Using
the guidelines that Nancy Fogarty gave us, examine and evaluate 4-6 websites on
Sappho of Lesbos. What
types of information did you find on her, her poetry, her life, and her
influence? Did you find conflicting information? If so, explain those
differences. Which sites were the least credible and why? Which sites would be
appropriate for public high school English students to use as resources and
why? Which sites offer information more suited for college research and why?
Provide a bibliography of the websites you examined. Or research your individual
project topics on the Internet, report what you found and answer the
credibility and appropriateness questions.
Part II: Puzzle Project
All
aspects of research in English Studies revolve around articulated questions
that someone wants answered. In textual
research, these questions evolve from the origination, reproductions, or
appropriations of a text and from a text’s relationships to people, times,
places, and other texts. Whether a
definitive truth can be discerned from the investigation into the question or
not, the quest or search for an answer—derived from bits and pieces of facts
and data arranged as a jigsaw puzzle—employs a method that establishes and
tests, what Richard Altick in The Art of Literary
Research calls, a “conjectural explanation for certain observed or recorded
phenomena” (137).
For
example, when I did research for a Victorian scholar, we discovered that a late
nineteenth-century woman poet and journalist published anonymously and with at
least three different names; moreover, she was known by other names across her
lifetime. Have you ever tried to make a
thorough listing of works done by an obscure poet who may or may not sign her
work and who has multiple names? What if
you don’t even know all of the names?
How do you trace or find her work?
Another
example, what does it mean that the most recent film version of Little Women
pulls not so much from the nineteenth-century novel but from Louisa May
Alcott’s actual life and times? What
does it mean that radically different film versions of Little Women were
produced at three different times during the twentieth century—the 1930s, the
1950s, and the 1990s?
A
third, what is
A
more current example, how does one find the most recent scholarly
reviews of Lee Smith’s Oral History?
The
assignment is simple, but the task is not that easy. In pairs, design a research puzzle question
that you must research to answer. Then
provide a written response that shows the research tools you employed that
provided you with information/data/clues which led you to some kind of
conclusion with proof or support for it.
On
2 April, you will swap puzzles with another pair and turn in your research
strategies and findings to me. On 16 April, you will provide a collaboratively
researched and written document that shows the research tools you tried, what
data you have gathered, and what conclusions or answers you can offer. On that
evening, we will compare notes about processes, procedures, and the
never-ending web of inquiry that arises from research.
On
22 January, we will discuss strategies for designing problems and solving them.
English 601:
English Studies
Spring
2003—Individual Project
Researching and Writing
about Your Interests (20% of course grade)
For
this project, you should pick the approach that will most benefit your work
both in your program and in your chosen specialty and profession. All three
options may be modified by you in consultation with me. You may do an extensive
annotated bibliography, a conference paper with proposal abstract and handouts,
or a thesis/dissertation prospectus. Or, you may design your own project, see "Other Options" below.
The Extensive Annotated
Bibliography
will provide you with a range of research on a topic that you either want to
know more about or that you are currently working on for a paper, thesis, or
dissertation. The bibliography should have at least 30 sources, no more than 5
may be websites. It should include a relevant title, an introduction, and the
citations and annotations should be arranged in categories. Each category may be arranged alphabetically or
chronologically depending on your topic and needs. Most annotated bibliographies are set up as
documents, but for those of you interested in pedagogical topics, you might
want to arrange this as a resource notebook.
If you choose to do so, at least 20 of the entries need to pertain to
the theoretical foundations of the practices and classroom activities you are
including. A notebook would also have an
introduction and be organized by sections. See attached handouts for more
information on annotated bibliographies.
The Conference Paper with
Proposal Abstract will offer you the chance to take an already written seminar paper
that you want to pursue, do the next level of research necessary for a solid
twenty-minute conference paper, and allow you to resee
and rewrite your argument or interpretation with a specific conference and
audience in mind. The abstract should be
approximately 250-400 words, the conference paper should be approximately 8-10
pages, the research should add at least 10 additional sources to your thinking
if not your text, and a handout should be created if it is warranted or
helpful. A modification of this for
classroom teachers would be to plan a ninety-minute workshop for NCTE, IRA,
TESOL, or CCCC, write the proposal, outline the activities, create the
handouts, and provide a short introduction of 4-5 pages with bibliography that
explains the theory-practice relationships of your activities.
The Thesis/Dissertation
Prospectus
will provide you with a working plan for your thesis or dissertation. This document should be approximately 8-10
pages with an extensive bibliography (not annotated). The attached handouts from the MLA Style
Manual provide the specifics of content and arrangement.
Other Options: You might do the research for and draft a
grant proposal, a program or district philosophy and policy handbook on the
teaching of (you
fill in the blank), a website on an author or aspect of some issue/topic of
English Studies, or something you think of.
If you choose one of these or plan to modify one of the three above
beyond my suggestions, plan to meet with me soon.
Individual Project 2
On
12 February, I would like a short letter or email from you that states your
approach, your topic, and any concerns you have about researching, planning, or
writing your individual project. We will share these topics and approaches
during class.
On
5 March, you need to provide the following information about your project:
How
have you narrowed/focused your topic?
Why
did you choose this topic and focus?
What
did you already know about this topic?
What
questions did you want your research to answer?
How
did you search for these answers? Where
did you look? What did you find?
How
are you organizing or arranging your materials?
What
problems or concerns do you have at this time that I might help you with?
On
2 April, you need to bring a written progress report on your research and
analysis.
On
30 April, bring drafts of all parts of your project.
On
7 May turn in revised and completed projects.
Your projects, my response, and course grade will be returned either to
your English Department mailbox or to you at the dinner party on Wednesday, 14
May.