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English4140
American Romanticism
Spring 2010
Dr. Patrick Erben
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ORAL PRESENTATION and SCHOLARLY ARTICLE REVIEW
Goal of the assignment: This assignment is designed to familiarize you with paradigms,
questions, and arguments in literary criticism or historiography specifically with respect
to American Romanticism. While similar to reviews published in scholarly journals,
your assignment does not require an evaluation of the work in light of existing
scholarship (thus, you don’t have to read everything else published on the topic).
However, you should emphasize how the work under review illuminates our discussion
of a specific text we read this semester. You should specifically look for an article in a
scholarly journal that opens up new arguments, avenues for interpreting texts, reading
texts in cultural or historical contexts, and opening up ideas for linking the texts to
present-day issues (e.g. what does Thoreau’s chapter “Economy” say about our current
economic woes?). Most importantly, I want you to select an article that might help
you move toward a paper topic for our final project.
How do choose an article for review/analysis and your presentation: Most
importantly, you must choose an article from a peer-reviewed, scholarly journal in
American literary studies (or generally in literary criticism). Please use no article older than
circa 20 years to insure that your work reflects more recent insights and developments in literary
history and literary criticism. When in doubt, please ask me! In searching for an article, you
should first determine your area of interest. Ask yourself, which texts, discussions, questions,
authors, etc. you would like to investigate more thoroughly, and where you might potentially find
a larger research topic. Keep in mind that the focus of our final research paper will be to make
connection between issues challenged by the Romantics and issues we face today. Excellent
library databases to utilize for your search are MLA International Bibliography, Project Muse,
JSTOR, Worldcat, etc. Electronic articles must correspond to a printed, peer-reviewed
journal (thus, it is always best to look for links to PDF files in the respective databases).
Oral Presentation and Handout:
Please assemble a 1-page (SINGLE-SPACED), bulleted list roughly corresponding to the
questions below (you still have to decide which might work or not work for your essay).
For your presentation, the primary approach should be to summarize the argument, give
one or two examples for the evidence used in the article, and give your own brief
assessment of the ways in which the piece enlightened (or didn’t enlighten) your
understanding of the primary text/author, period, critical question, etc. Importantly,
explain how the essay allows a new perspective (something we haven’t discussed before)
and how it may inform a potential research project. After your presentation, I will open
the floor for questions from your peers and from me.
DUE DATES: You must give your presentation on the date you signed up for on the
pre-circulated list. Oral presentations will be scheduled for 3/29, 4/5, 4/7, and 4/12.
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Your “handout” will be due on the date you give the presentation. Please do not
make paper handouts, but rather make your handout available electronically, i.e.
you should project it during your presentation and send me a copy by email, which I
will post on our webpage. Please email me a copy ahead of time AND bring one on a
flashdrive!
Sign-up list: On March 8, I will ask you to determine your SPECIFIC ARTICLE TITLE
AND AUTHOR and enter it on the presentation schedule. PLEASE LET ME KNOW
IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR PROBLEMS FINDING AN ARTICLE!
BUT, DO NOT WAIT UNTIL THE LAST MOMENT!
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Key questions for analyzing a scholarly article:
- What is the argument or thesis of the article?
- What is the methodology?
- What kind of evidence does the article use? Especially, what kind of
research does the article rely on? (primary, archival research vs.
derivative, secondary research?)
- If applicable, how does the article influence or change our
reading/understanding of a text/author?
- Where do you agree or disagree with the article’s argument or
methodology?
- How effective is the argument, methodology, and presentation?
- How does the text connect internal, literary, and formal elements (of a
primary source) and external, i.e. sociological, cultural, political,
historical contexts?
- What are the pay-offs of the argument and research?
- How would you position the article in disciplinary terms? Does it
follow a strict literary approach? Does it use interdisciplinary tools,
e.g. by drawing from history, American studies, sociology, art history,
anthropology, women’s studies, etc.?
- What kind of an audience is the article addressed to? Is it effective in
appealing to that audience?
- What should/would be the article’s primary application or use?
(scholars, K-12 teachers, undergrads, grad students, general public?)
- What are the article’s limitations and drawbacks?
- How does the article change our/your understanding of a certain
author, work, question, or even the whole Romantic movement?
- Does the text in any way allow us to connect paradigms of
American Romanticism to our own time? How? (it’s not a
deficiency in the scholarship if it doesn’t…)
- What kind of research or research topics does the article suggest
for you (or even the whole discipline)?