This library course guide will introduce you to the Library's resources which will inform and support your research project in Professor Pennino's class.
You may elect to do this assignment as a podcast, a documentary film, or TED Talk. If you choose one of these options, you may elect to do the work solo or as a collaborative effort. Please see below for specifics.
LITERATURE REVIEW: (50 points) due on April 15
For this assignment, you need to choose one of the major works we have read in class. You have a great deal of leeway in choosing your topic, but this work must be at the center of your paper. You can be a bit imaginative here. For instance, you could choose Merchant of Venice or Othello and write a paper that explores race, ethnicity, or “otherness” in the early modern era as reflected in the play. You could explore a play and its performance history. You could discuss how your chosen play is currently being performed and received in the past twenty years. You could follow the journey of Romeo and Juliet to West Side Story. You need, however, to clear your topic with me via the literature review. There is one possible topic I am going to forbid right from the jump: a comparative examination of Twelfth Night and the film She's the Man (all past papers have been absolute disasters).
SOURCES
For any option, you must have a minimum of eight sources. The work you choose counts as one source. Three of your sources must be peer-reviewed sources (for instance, journals that can be found on JSTOR or Academic Search Premier or academic monographs). Of the remaining four sources, another work from the class, other works by the author you have chosen, criticism of the work, etc.
If you choose to write the paper, you should have a minimum of 3,000 words. Your title page and work cited page do not count toward this total. Your work cited page should include your pledge and word count. Papers should be uploaded onto Canvas in a pdf format.
If you choose one of the other options, your project should be a minimum of 20 minutes. If it is a team of two, it should be a minimum of 25 minutes. If it is a team of three, it should be a minimum of 30 minutes. (No team should have more than 3 members.) When you submit your assignment, you will also need to include an annotated bibliography.
CITATIONS
Works Cited page and all citations must be in MLA or Chicago format. Be careful to cite properly all of your work. It goes without saying – but I will mention it anyway – that you should avoid plagiarism. If you have questions about how to cite properly, ASK. It is always better to err on the side of caution. Cases of suspected plagiarism will be reported to the Honor Board.
If you have any questions about how to cite a source or review your Works CIted, please feel free to make an appointment with me under the Need More Help? page.
