Glad you made it to the site okay. Today was a bit of a whirlwind, but we have a lot to do.

Homework:

• Please go to the page above entitled “Tell Me About Yourself” and fill out the form. This will save me much time when I need to get in contact with you or your parents (I email them good things as well as bad, so don’t worry about negative messages).
• Sign up for an RSS feed or email messages under the “Feeds” page above.
• Sign into WinsomeWiki with a username that clearly identifies you.

To find the latest information on your class on this site, go to “Categories” above, then “Courses.”

Some of you asked about materials for my classes, which I seem to have overlooked in the syllabus. Here’s what you’ll always need:

• The book we are reading as a class (or a personal book if we’re not in a novel at the moment).
• Something to write on, preferably a small bound notebook of some sort, for taking notes as you read.
• Post-its, highlighters, your favorite pen, something to write in your book with.
• Loose paper or a notebook with removable pages, and a pen.
• Any work in progress—this is important; even if the paper or essay is not due that day, I may ask to see how it is coming along. It also helps me answer any questions you may have about the assignment.

As always, send me an email if you or your parents have any questions.

We will culminate this year with creative projects based on your chosen archetype. So far, you have discovered many examples (at least 50) of your archetype in literature ancient and modern, in music, in film, and in television. You created a visual representation of this archetype, combining elements from all of these sources in an attempt to discover the “essence” or most basic characteristics. The papers you have just completed not only further illustrated the ubiquity of your archetype, but also showed that the way an archetype changes over time can also reflect changes in cultures (father and damsel archetypes after WWII is an excellent example of this).

Your final job in this project is to continue the story of your archetype. You have seen where they’ve been, you have seen how they are being portrayed; now it’s time to continue the story. The parameters of this part of the project are broad, so I will be working with each of you closely in the next week to guide your progress. The only requirement that applies to all projects is that you must tell a complete story that reflects your archetype. That’s it.

Some thoughts to get you started:

You may choose your medium (play to your strengths). Short story, fable, song (with lyrics), visual art (must tell a story; that is, it must be more than one “panel” long), movie script, television show pitch… The possibilities are endless.

As far as ideas go, you should look back at how your archetype has been/is being portrayed. Do you like it? If not, change it! The power to control your archetype’s fate is in your hands as the author. Want to take her back to her roots? Do it. Want to completely re-interpret it? You can.

Have another idea? Post it in the comments area; you may inspire others.

Find something like this on the Interwebs, on youTube, etc? Post a comment for the same reason.

I’m excited. We’re finishing strong.

Do remember that you must have your final paper in to me by Friday at three. I will not grade it without a Works Cited page, so be sure to include one. If you’ve forgotten the structure, go here for instructions. For specific citation instructions, go to the links at the bottom of the page.

Email with questions.

but we got so close!

If you have kept track, we have gone three (almost four) weeks according to the calendar set up at the beginning of this unit. New Stallings class record. Woot.

Of course, I screwed it up.

Here’s the plan to keep us on schedule:

Today you should email (or scan; more on that in class) a copy of your rough draft to me. I’ll make the necessary remarks, etc. and get it back to you within the hour (hopefully). If you have already emailed a copy to me (one of you so far), check your inbox. If you haven’t, do it during class or talk to the sub about scanning it to me.

Your final papers are still due Wednesday. [What’s that groaning noise?]

You guys have been so awesome in this unit; I can’t wait to see your ideas.

Keep in touch.

I’ve had a few questions regarding this phase of the project. To clarify, there are two goals I want to achieve and two parameters I wish you to follow.

Goals:

• Achieve an understanding what your archetype is, on an essential level (which you should be discovering as you find your 50 examples)
• Represent that essence visually using an original image of the medium of your choice (from photography to Photoshop or ink to paint; it doesn’t matter).

Parameters of project:

• Must include the image described above
• Must incorporate (either through text or smaller images) the fifty examples you have found.

If you create your project on the computer, do not worry about printing it. Simply email the file to me, burn it to a disk, stick it on a flash drive, or upload it to MediaFire or another hosting service.

If you create your project by hand, it may be letter-sized.

Email any questions.