225: Papers/Presentations
For the group papers and presentations, each group will research their topic, write a researched paper, and then, using Prezi, present their findings in class on the date indicated on the schedule. Papers are due the day of your group’s presentation; groups will also print out the URL for the Prezi so it may be examined; the Prezi must be made “public” so that it can be viewed it without password access.
Audience : your audience for this assignment is composed of seniors who are majoring in literature and history who are meeting at a conference to hear presentations on the historical contexts of literature of the period in which you are researching. Your group will deliver your paper and present your findings to these people. Think about what they already know and what they need to know; they are fairly informed about the period and its literature(s), but not on the details of what you are covering.
Assignment
Follow these steps in preparing your work:
1) Choose a team of 4 classmates with whom to research (four people, max.; a smaller group must be authorized)
2) Research topic you sign up for.
3) Focus your findings on the following points regarding the work/subject you choose (each person in the group taking one of the areas below): a) an brief but detailed overview of the subject researched; the importance to and the influence your subject had on the period’s literature; its lasting influence into later English literature and/or culture b) the context(s) behind the work (or the works on the period), including discussion of the author(s) (the author(s) concerns, interests, and the contexts and influences upon the work(s) and author(s)). That is, what historical, cultural, economic, political, social (class/gender roles), or religious (or other) contexts give rise to this work and/or subject? (Think, for instance, of what contexts gave rise to Swift’s “Modest
Proposal.”) c) the unique techniques in and conventions of the piece ( how the work or works function as literature) or unique qualities of the person or the event—unique attributes that influence the period, genre, history, or other works of literature. d) an *ANNOTATED* bibliography on the work/author(s)/period: major critical, historical, biographical works that any scholar would use in researching this subject. You will provide a bibliographical entry for an individual work and then describe what is valuable about that work for research purposes. Is it the major literary history of the period? Is it the authoritative literary biography of the author? Discuss its value briefly. You are NOT to use Wikis, encyclopedia articles, or any
“summary” sources here — only thorough works (articles and books) of scholarship. Do not merely use those works used in researching these topics, but look for any major work that someone researching this topic should examine in their own research.
Each person in the group should cover one of the points above in the research, the writing of the paper, and the presentation. If your group has three people in it, one person may cover two related points.

4) Your paper is to be a minimum of 5 pages in length (set margins at .7” on all sides), be in the MLA format with citing in text of all sources used, followed by a corresponding Works Cited page (each source used must have a citation and a Works Cited entry). At the end of the paper, you must include a photocopy of any *page* from a work you used for research, with a highlight on the portion of the page used. Papers submitted without these photocopies are incomplete and will not be graded.
5) Present your research in a Prezi (go to www.prezi.com to set up a free account).
You MUST cite every source used on individual “slides” in your Prezi and, at the end, have a corresponding entry for the source in the Works Cited list (the last “slide”). This includes the video clips, summaries, quotes, as well as any scholarly information on the play/scene being staged and critics' comments on productions.
These presentations should run 15 minutes.
5) You must send me the URL for your group's Prezi and it must be set to “PUBLIC” to be accepted for grading . Make certain you make the Prezi "public" or it cannot be accessed without your account password. Students are responsible for making their Prezi accessible to anyone outside the group.
You will be graded on the following:
 ability to research using authoritative sources (no use of wikis, encyclopedia-type works, or other
“summary” sources like Masterplots, etc. See class notes on choosing strong sources)
 ability to focus your researched writing on your portion of the work, write and present orally and visually the work for your intended audience, and achieve the purposes of the assignment (see rubric for written work)
 ability to use MLA accurately in the paper format, citing, and documentation
 ability to use accurate citing and documentation for the Prezi
 ability to generate a strong visual presentation according to instructions for Prezis (see rubric for group presentations; see also the “Points for Prezis” document on the course page)
 ability to orally present your findings clearly, articulately, and coherently, coordinating visuals during your portion of the oral presentation (see rubric for group presentations)
Look over the topics below and the calendar, considering what topics and dates (multiple ones) you would like to work on for the group paper and presentation. The assignment will be given in detail once groups and topics have been established here.
Note: lines below dates/topics indicate sign up slots for group members. You and your group members will sign up in class for your topic. “Open dates” may be used for proposed topics which have to be presented to me in office hours by your group; these must have to do with central works, authors, contexts of the period into which they fall.
September
8 M Beowulf.
10 W The Historical Arthur.
15 M Open Topic (must be approved in office hours by group)
17 W Gawain.

22 M Chaucer
24 W Gower
31 M Mystery Plays/Pageants/Morality Plays
October
6 M The Tudors
8 W Religious division in 16 th -century England
13 M Women in 16 th -century England
15 W Christopher Marlowe (Shakespeare’s contemporary)
20 M Ben Jonson (Shakespeare’s contemporary)
22 W 16 th -century theatres
November
3 M Women’s roles in or a woman writer of the 17 th C.
5 W Ranters, Levellers, Quakers, Shakers, etc. in 17 th C.
10 M Cromwell as “Lord Protector” and Charles II/Restoration
12 W Samuel Pepys
17 M Samuel Richardson
19 W Jane Austen
Nov. 25-29, Mon.-Fri.- Thanksgiving break, classes recessed
December
1 M Beginnings of Romanticism (with a look towards Germany ...)
3 W English Romanticism