World lit final project
ENGL2310: Final Project Assignment due Wednesday, June 24, 23:59 Central
PoCo Contempo UIW Online World Lit Studies
http://uiwworldlitstudies.edublogs.org
For this final project, you will be contributing to PoCo Contempo, the UIW Online University’s ethnographic blog on the topic of postcolonial analysis in the 21st century. Initially, “postcolonial” was applied to literature originating in the waves of independence from previously colonized regions of the world (1950s-1990s). Nonetheless, the effects of those colonial relationships are ongoing. This blog is dedicated to collecting examples of current texts (1990-present) that could benefit from postcolonial analysis. These might be instances of film, television, advertising (i.e. branding), social media, music, video games, and physical spaces, as well as more traditional forms of literature.
A blog (short for weblog) is a hybrid form of writing originally used by journalists, but more
recently adopted by academics to “test drive” some of their theories and experiences. It is a blend of personal reflection and analysis. Blogs act as digital portfolios that showcase work and mastery of concepts and participation in a community of practice. Because of their public nature, they can be shared as writing samples for future career steps as well.
An ethnography is a study of people and cultures. So, for this project, we will be studying the
people of our 21st-century world. As a multimodal form of social media, a blog incorporates elements of visual design, sound, video, and interactivity to invite audience participation and engagement. Think of it as an opportunity to display your acquired knowledge and push the ideas past our discussions of the literature. You’ll find descriptions for the three required components on the following page.
Some Blog Resources and Samples: Take advantage of the links below to get a better idea of how the project could look and what blogs are meant to accomplish. If you’re new to blogs as a form of writing, join the blog early so that you have time to play around with the different possibilities. I’m available to give tips on how to make your project interactive and visually appealing. Don’t wait until the night before to reach out!
Jenna Morgan‘s Final Project Kathleen Colon’s Final Project
Ricardo Esquivel’s Final Project Karyn’s Example Analysis of a Text
Ethnographic Blogging Why I Blog
A Brief History of Postcolonial Literature Postcolonial Digital Humanities
Assessment Rubric Summary
(200 points total)
25
Reflection 40 Application 60 (30 per example) Visual Rhetoric 20 Originality 20 Interactivity 20 Documentation 15
There are three parts that you must include in your Final Project submission:
Summary: Provide a summary of postcolonial theory. What is it? What is it concerned with? How is it a tool for looking at the world today? Why is it important? Consider when and how it emerged as a school of thought and give concrete examples to anchor your explanations. The goal of this section is to demonstrate your command of the theory and reflect on its intended purpose. Reflection: Choose the postcolonial theme that has most resonated with you this term. Discuss yourself and your experiences in relation to that theme. Be specific, taking your reflection beyond general observations. The goal of this section is to demonstrate in what ways the theories have been relevant to your life or have caused you to reflect on your experiences.
Application: Locate two (2) 21st-century texts that you find promising for postcolonial analysis, and perform a succinct analysis of each. Remember that a text is any cultural artifact (see the list on the earlier page). What themes emerge, and what are the messages about those themes? How does the theory illuminate your experience of the text? The goal of this section is to take the theory beyond the texts to identify how the concepts apply to the world around us.
Joining the blog:
I’ll add students to the blog manually at the start of Week 7, but you can also reach out to be given access earlier. You’re encouraged to start putting drafts together and exploring the blog capabilities at any time, but please don’t publish posts way before the due date without checking with me. Save them as unpublished drafts to help avoid confusion. You can find a great visual tutorial on how to create a blog post here.
Final Project Assessment Rubric
Exemplary Proficient Needs Improvement Deficient
Su m
m ar
y
Posts present a clear, concise, and thorough explanation of postcolonial theory, providing useful context and vivid illustrations. 25 22 20
Posts present a solid understanding of postcolonial theory, providing some context and illustrations, though minor thought gaps are apparent.
19 16 13
Posts show rudimentary understanding of postcolonial theory. Key information is explained in vague terms and/or major thought gaps are apparent.
12 11 9
Posts demonstrate a weak understanding of postcolonial theory. Explanations are extremely vague and/or include misunderstandings of key concepts.
7 5 3 1
R e
fl ec
ti o
n
Posts demonstrate deep engagement with the theme via concrete textual examples, in-depth analysis, and thorough explanations. 40 37 34
Engagement with the theme is demonstrated through thorough concrete textual examples, though analysis and explanations remain superficial 31 28 25 22
A theme is discussed quite generally and/ or with very limited concrete examples. There are some thought gaps or misunderstandings of postcolonial theory. 19 16 13
There is no attempt to take the theme beyond general and superficial observations. There are thoughts are disjointed and/ or a complete misunderstandings of theory.
11 9 7 5 3
A p
p lic
at io
n
Posts offer clear and systematic analysis of two selected texts, including specific support for interpretations. Each example is presented with thorough development and analysis. 60 55 50
Posts offer limited textual support for the interpretations, but thoroughly cover the relevant theme. There may be minor lapses in development for one work. 45 42 39 36
Posts include general references to texts with some lapses in development for more than one work. One work may be missing.
30 27 24 21
Posts do not make reference to contemporary texts and/or no explanation is given. 20 17 14 11 9
V is
u al
R h
et o
ri c
Posts are well-written with careful attention to stylistic conventions for online and mobile reading. Posts demonstrate careful consideration for visual appeal including purposeful use of layout, color, images, and text. 20 19 18
Posts are well-written with attention to stylistic conventions for online and mobile reading. Posts demonstrate consideration for visual appeal including purposeful use of layout, color, images, and text
17 16 15
Posts are written with some attention to stylistic conventions for online and mobile reading. Posts attempt visual appeal but are not entirely successful.
14 13 12 11
Posts are written with little attention to stylistic conventions for online and mobile reading. Posts demonstrate no consideration for visual appeal.
8 6 4 2
O ri
gi n
a lit
y
Posts are creative and unexpected, demonstrating remarkable innovation in thought and presentation. 20 19 18
Posts display some originality, in thought and/or presentation but it may not be consistent. 17 16 15
Posts display little originality in thought and/or presentation. Ideas are trite, cliché and/or regurgitate typical postcolonial tropes. 14 13 12 11
Posts reflect limited inventiveness, rarely pushing the ideas and/or presentation beyond traditional postcolonial tropes.
8 6 4 2
In te
ra ct
iv it
y
Posts are multimodal and highly engaging, taking advantage of interactive tools like hyperlinks, keywords, tags, widgets, add-ons, and invitations for audience response. Navigational features are appropriately incorporated for ease of use. 20 19 18
Posts are multimodal and engaging, taking advantage of some interactive tools like hyperlinks, keywords, tags, and invitations for audience response. Navigational features are appropriately incorporated for ease of use. 17 16 15
Posts are somewhat multimodal, taking advantage of interactive tools like hyperlinks and invitations for audience response. Navigational features are attempted for ease of use. 14 13 12 11
Posts are monomodal (completely text-based) and not at all engaging. Navigational features are not used. Audience is not invited to participate. 8 6 4 2
D o
cu m
e n
ta ti
o n
Proper citation format and conventions are consistently upheld throughout posts. All media are appropriately and consistently documented. No evidence of plagiarism and/or copyright issues. 15 14
Proper citation format and conventions are largely upheld throughout posts. Most media are appropriately documented. No evidence of plagiarism and/or copyright issues.
13 12 11
Citation format and conventions are somewhat upheld throughout posts, albeit inconsistently. Some media are appropriately documented. Evidence of plagiarism and/or copyright issues.
10 9 8
No citation format and conventions in posts. Media are not appropriately documented. Evidence of plagiarism and/or copyright issues.
6 4 2