We decided to have the final drafts of your research papers finished by last Friday to allow the final three weeks for work on our adaptations. While Boreas has meddled with our class schedule, your research papers should be nearly completed. I will look through the documents tomorrow (Tuesday). If you have finished, please send me an email with the document attached. ((To do this from Docs: open your document, go to File, then Download As… and choose “Word.” Open the document, make sure the formatting is correct, and attach it to an email to me.))

If you find yourself stuck or want me to review your work, send me an email and be sure your work is shared with me through a Google Document.

…and Adaptations

Your next step is to tell an original story using either the “Verbubble” or the moral of a myth. ((While you do not need to adapt the myth you wrote over, your familiarity might help you.)) You have spent the last several weeks discovering and analyzing examples of this for your paper, but to be clear: your final story should not be a simple re-telling of the myth, but a new work that carries the message or structure further, thereby extending the line of influence you have traced in your research.

Past stories have been told through musical compositions, poetry (both epic and limerick), comics and longer graphic works, prose, and (once) an interpretive dance. The medium is up to you. Again, email me with any questions that arise.

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.