Comparative Analysis of American Romanticism: A Radical Approach - Prof. Patrick Erben, Study Guides, Projects, Research of English Language

Download Comparative Analysis of American Romanticism: A Radical Approach - Prof. Patrick Erben and more Study Guides, Projects, Research English Language in PDF only on Docsity! Engl 4140-01W: American Romanticism RADICAL ROMANTICISMS DR. PATRICK M. ERBEN _______________________________________ FINAL PROJECT DESCRIPTION (total: 40% of grade) NB: ALL DEADLINES IN THIS HANDOUT SUPERSEDE DATES GIVEN IN THE SYLLABUS! 1) WHAT YOU NEED A portfolio folder to assemble all successive portions of this assignment. Please put your name on the outside of the folder! 2) DESCRIPTION Generally, your final project should follow the basic research paper format you have learned and practiced in English 1102, Practical Criticism, and other upper-level literature courses. Thus, I expect you to formulate an interesting, focused, significant, and original thesis/argument; use appropriate evidence to support your claims and answer your questions; use logical development, literary interpretation and analysis (especially “close reading”), and theoretical/critical support to evaluate the primary materials. Here comes the small “twist”: I want you to compare a text (an author, movement, set of writers, etc.) from American Romanticism with a more recent “text”(broadly speaking, i.e. including film, art, popular culture, politics, advertisements, etc.) that it may have influenced and present the findings in a well-written, intellectually stimulating, and formally impeccable essay. The essay should include close readings and comparisons of both texts, analyses of the ways in which each text(s) and/or author(s) challenged his/her social and intellectual contexts and their contemporaries, and your personal and argumentative evaluation of the relevance of the “Romantic” author for successive times. This assignment will require research in order to locate a text/author for comparison and to comprehend the socio- cultural context which that author/text speaks to or challenges. In order to find a topic, you might study the reading schedule for this class, identify topics that interest you, skim through the reading assignments, re-read your journal, and begin with the arguments and questions raised in the secondary source you reviewed. Then, try to find any kind of “text” (incl. literature, film, painting, etc.) or cultural production that may have been influenced by (directly or indirectly) any of the authors/texts covered in this course or others associated with American Romanticism. “Influence” may constitute a direct acknowledgement (such Martin Luther King, Jr., crediting Thoreau’s influence directly) or similarities and parallels that you will detect and interpret. “Influence” also includes writers or texts that consciously deviated from, parodied, criticized, or debunked writers/texts associated with American Romanticism. In your choice (and ultimately your paper), you should think as creatively as possible, make fascinating connections, suggest new ways of thinking about literary and cultural influences, and surprise me! In short, demonstrate that you are “Men/Women Thinking”! The obvious example of the kind of work I’m looking for, of course, is our discussion of Fight Club. This film/book allows us to think about and analyze the ways in which core ideas of 1 American (and European) Romanticism are relevant for our current moment, how they inform, for example, certain approaches to continuing forces of technological and industrial change, what they say about the role of the individual in society, and so forth. But, methodologically, you don’t have to start by identifying two texts to compare. You could begin with a contemporary issue (such as our discussion about the role of technology in interpersonal communication and the development of a “public sphere” that is less and less dependent on actual interaction) and ask how the Romantics spoke to such issues—now and then. Eventually, however, you should be able to identify certain “texts” that allow you to anchor your comparison (even if they’re visual texts, music, etc.). Also, be careful to avoid essentializing the age of Romanticism as some kind of ideal from which we or later ages deviated, i.e. assuming that our time represents a “fall” from a simpler past encapsulated in Romantic ideals. On the other hand, also resist the temptation to assume a priori (i.e. from the start, before considering any evidence), that the age of Romanticism is exactly like our own, i.e. sharing all the same problems, questions, and so forth, and that one is simply a template for the other. To conclude this long rant: be mindful of differences and similarities, and think about ways in which your comparison can tease out both. 3) STAGES OF THE PROJECT A) Research Proposal (5%; graded) You should present a fully articulated but still preliminary argument/thesis or specific research question(s), talk about how you want to go about researching your topic, what kind of primary texts you will use (including films, images, and other non-printed materials), what kind of analysis you will do (i.e. your methodology), and what kind of secondary/critical support you may use. The point of this portion of the final project is to formulate a concise idea of your preliminary argument/claims and explain how you will go about proving it. In other words, articulate what the point and significance of your work is, whether it is feasible, and why anyone should care! Since this portion is due along with the annotated bibliography, you don’t need to include specific and detailed descriptions of the secondary sources. The proposal represents the first step toward your comparative essay (or main class project). It is your chance to think out loud, speculate, or dream about a potential paper topic! In other words, your proposal should merely state the direction of your research/writing; you do not yet have to present any results. Nevertheless, try to be as specific as possible in your ideas. The main purpose of this proposal is really for you to start thinking about a potential topic and for us to start a conversation about your interests (see: Mandatory Conferences). Due date: Wednesday, 4/8, in front of my office by 5pm (note deviation from syllabus!) Length: Circa 200-250 words. Format: MLA Format, including page formatting, double-spaced, 12-point font. Please write complete sentences and edit your prose for clarity and correctness! Way of Submission: Hardcopy only; in your portfolio folder! 2