The Final Paper or Project

The final assignment in this course is of your choosing: it could be an 8-to-10-page final paper, a 20-to-30-minute in-class presentation, or a web information/research site. It's your call--not just in terms of the format of the final paper or project, but also in terms of what topic or issue you choose to focus on--so think carefully about which texts, questions, and modes of analysis have been most interesting to you and feel free to invent your own line of inquiry. You should either stop by my office during the last two weeks of classes or drop me a line over e-mail so I can give feedback on your ideas.

Papers and websites are due by the close of the academic day on Friday, May 12, in the envelope outside my office door. NO LATE PAPERS WILL BE ACCEPTED; if you don't complete your paper or website by this date, you will automatically get an incomplete as a final course grade. If you choose the presentation option, you will need to schedule a presentation date; the most sensible time for a presentation would be Friday, May 12, at 1:30 pm, as that is the time our class is scheduled for its final examination.

Possible topics (meant to be illustrative, not prescriptive!) for your final paper or project include:

• choosing a topic from the first or second critical response paper assignment sheets, or from the group project page, that you didn't already address in your previous course work, and writing a paper or giving a presentation on it;
• writing a paper in which you analyze one of the works from the last third of the course on its own, in historical context, or in relation to one of the works from earlier in the course, or in which you focus on the development of autobiographical writing in the colonies;
• writing a paper in which you analyze a literary work from a later period of American literature in relation to one of the theories of the "routes to American literature" we considered during the semester (or in relation to one of the works from the colonial period that we read in the course)
• writing a paper or giving a presentation in which you compare and contrast the Jehlen/Warner anthology we used with the Norton or Heath anthologies on reserve;
• writing a paper or giving a presentation on how you'd organize a high school class period devoted to one of the works we read in the course and the reasons for developing that structure;
• creating a web information/research site devoted to a specific author, genre, event, or issue (see the links page for an introduction to what's out there, and to help you figure out what needs to be done);
• writing a paper in which you describe an installation, event, or exhibit you'd organize on a topic/subject related to the course, and give a rationale for your projected plans.

As you can see, the possibilities are endless. Don't forget to run your initial idea by me, and take advantage of exam week to seek feedback on your project!