Ex 3: Research Project
Find three peer-reviewed academic articles that present different critical approaches to the same text or author. Write a coherent essay (2-3 pages) that analyzes the arguments made by the three academic authors you chose.
Note -- I am not asking you to make your own argument, and I am certainly not asking you to summarize the academic articles you have found.
Instead, I would like you to demonstrate your ability to identify the components of the argument the authors make.
What evidence do they use? What different kinds of sources do they use? What opposing or alternative voices do they introduce? After you have written your own informal responses to each separate academic work, please come up with a thesis about the process of literary criticism, that you defend by quoting from the academic sources you have found.
For instance, you may look at a marxist reading, a feminist reading, and a new historical reading of Huck Finn. You might not find three academic articles that all discuss the same Emily Dickinson poem, but that's okay. In this paper, I'm asking you to talk about the method of argument, not about the argument itself, and not about the literary works being discussed. You are welcome to think of this paper as advanced research for your next big paper, but you are also free to change your topic later if you like. Some helpful starting points:
What evidence do they use? What different kinds of sources do they use? What opposing or alternative voices do they introduce? After you have written your own informal responses to each separate academic work, please come up with a thesis about the process of literary criticism, that you defend by quoting from the academic sources you have found.
For instance, you may look at a marxist reading, a feminist reading, and a new historical reading of Huck Finn. You might not find three academic articles that all discuss the same Emily Dickinson poem, but that's okay. In this paper, I'm asking you to talk about the method of argument, not about the argument itself, and not about the literary works being discussed. You are welcome to think of this paper as advanced research for your next big paper, but you are also free to change your topic later if you like. Some helpful starting points:
- Wikipedia on Literary Criticism
- Foster, Chapter 16
- Foster, Appendix A
This does not have to pertaint to Huck Finn, right?
Pertain, and no, I found my answer.
No, you can choose any readings on the syllabus. You don't have to pick Huck Finn.
I'm also asking that you not choose any of the works that are included in the Huck Finn textbook -- this exercise is supposed to help me assess your ability to find sources on your own.
There is no link on Turn It In, should we just bring a copy to class?
Thanks for letting me know about the missing link... there is now a Turnitin.com slot, so please do upload it there.