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Your assignment for this weekend is to write your own modest proposal in the style of Swift’s . . . erm, “Modest Proposal.” I want sarcasm; I want irony; I want scathing, acerbic wit. It can be about whatever you like; I know you all hate it when I say this, but this should be a personal reflection.
Requirements (essays will be returned to you if not in this format):
As always, post your questions for the good of the community.
We have decided to read H.G. Wells‘s The War of the Worlds [online text] for our first novel this session. This will be an exciting unit, as we will be covering not only the novel, but the radio presentation of 1938 [download audio file from The Mercury Theatre on the Air] and its subsequent impact on American listeners. We will be discussing the novel on Monday, so you should either buy a copy this weekend or bring your laptop to class to access the online text. I will post a reading schedule in a day or so.
Okay, the project is off to a shaky start, so we need to do a re-organization. Starting with what worked with the final project last semester (Let me know if I missed anything, good or bad):
We started with a list of works (novels) then added to it as needed.
We worked in groups (this worked for about 2/3 of you, so you will have the option to do this this time around.
We had worksheets, a due date, and a presentation plan formed ½ way through the book. (This means you had an idea what you were working with before you planned your project.)
And then what didn’t work:
Some people did all the work for the group, some did none. (Solved by the group-or-solo option.)
We had only two weeks to read and prepare for a presentation. (Actually, for the most part you pulled this off. Well done.)
There were no examples for presentation options. (Again, you pulled this one off, blew me away, and finished the projects exactly as I hoped. Doubly well done.)
Good and bad, we learn, and continue. No worries. Here are the parameters for this project. Your topics should be over something from British History. I know I said we could do “whatever,” but this should not be a problem for most of you. If you have an idea that you cannot connect with Britain, let me know and we can work with it. Here are some topic examples (slyly culled from your own suggestions, modified to fit the new parameter):
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Ancient British warfare/weaponry Modern British Literature British punk/pop music The House of Tudor (if you don’t know, ask. There is a tremendous amount of stuff here.) Post-WWII literature Pre-WWII literature Shakespeare’s plays Shakespeare’s sonnets Who was Shakespeare? Colonialism and its impact British slave trade The American Revolutionary War The Gunpowder Plot Neil Gaiman’s graphic novels Terry Pratchett’s novels C.S. Lewis’s novels Jane Austen’s novels British Graffiti |
Margaret Atwood’s novels British comedies British cinema British film noir Dystopian novels British philosophy The monarchy of Britain Old English literature History of magic/folklore in Britain Modern British society Jack the Ripper Roman Britain Vikings/Anglo Saxons Norman Britain Middle Ages Victorian Britain British Civil War WWI |
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For your final presentation, you must have at least 10 sources:
Two from:
Audio-Radio programs, speeches, podcasts, music, interviews, live broadcasts, etc.
Two from:
Digital-Internet articles, online periodical articles, etc.
Two from:
Print- magazines, newspapers, articles, essays, etc.
Two from:
Books over your topic
Two from:
Visual-Television, movies, diagrams, flow charts, signs, symbols, posters, photographs, etc.
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Our first presentations will be on December 5th and 6th. By this time, you should have found one book and one other source for your topic read and understood. We will discuss how you will be presenting your material later, but keep in mind: You are presenting to teach the class about your topic, not interpret it as we did with the final for last session. Again, come see me and we can brainstorm if you get stuck. The most important thing is for you to have fun and learn about your topic.
If this is your first visit to the site, have a look around. I try to post at least three times per week, but that fluctuates with the class. If there is ever a major concept covered, though, you can be sure to find an explanation posted within a day. Email me, or add a comment to another post if you need more information. Also, if you are able to receive Word documents, I usually have a copy posted here in case you lose yours. Let me know if you need a copy of something I haven’t posted.
Bring a topic or topics to class tomorrow, and a genre you feel comfortable working within.
We will begin looking for works on our topics this week, so if you already know what you want to do (and have run it by me), go ahead and start looking.
Just a reminder for those who missed the announcement today:
All make-up work (missed article analyses, essay re-writes, etc.) is due by Friday. I will not be accepting anything after the 2nd. If you would like to know what your grade is right now, come see me tomorrow. I will be happy to show you any outstanding assignments you may have.