I’ve received lots of email about due dates for the paper, etc.  Assuming we have school on Wednesday, the due date stands.  If you have questions, I am happy to answer them.  Remember, this is not a “final draft” due date, but only a “work in progress” check.  For those who have asked for extensions, you must bring to class a copy of your progress so far; I can’t help you out if I can’t see where you’re going.

You have been warned.

[Bah!  Foiled again!  The best laid plans…]  Ahhh, gotta love random breaks.  I don’t mean to rain on your snow days, but I thought I’d remind you that the project is still due tomorrow Wednesday, weather permitting.  If you have any last-minute questions, send me an email.

Check out the Conservative/Liberals Post for readable instructions.

Please bring a clean, final copy of your argumentative article to class tomorrow.

The projected due date: December 12, 2008.

The task: To take a theme (see image below) from Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and create a new work explore it with an original work.  This work can be visual (painting, drawing, CGI), tactile (dance, sculpture, diorama), auditory (song), or written (poetry, short story, essay, screenplay, comic book).  If I haven’t mentioned a medium you’d like to work within, just post a comment.

The goal:  We’ve discussed the role of fiction in society (to take an aspect of life and magnify it), we’ve discussed what Shelley might be trying to tell us, so now it’s your turn.  Create a work that explains an idea, thought, action, problem, or other aspect of life in a new and interesting way for your audience.

The rules:

• You must include some written accompaniment to your piece (a short artist’s statement or explanation) if you choose a project not under the written category above.
• Your story should not be just a creation story—that’s too broad a topic.  (Also, the scientist-creates-some-technology-that-gets-out-of-control plot has become a bit formulaic by now.  See the Action and Horror sections of Blockbuster for proof.)  Your audience should see some aspect of life in a new light, or gain some insight into life in general.
• You should (if you haven’t already) turn in a page before Saturday outlining:
  

  1) Your idea, briefly

  2) A schedule of when you will finish each part of your project, up to the due date on Friday

  3) All supplies/resources you will need in order to complete your assignment.

Themes:

• Prometheus myth
• Power over nature/God
• Physical differences/reactions
• Relationships (Parents & children, Men & Women)
• Doubles & Alter-egos
• Scientific exploration
• Paradise Lost
• Class differences/racial differences
• Psychological monstrosities
• Isolation
• Nature vs. Nurture

"Monstrous" parakeet: