FINAL PROJECT 1

LIT 500 Final Project One Guidelines and Rubric

Overview At the core of all scholarly work in literary studies is the extent to which your research and writing contributes to the conversation. The goal of literary studies is to increase the understanding of literature through theoretical analysis and to apply core concepts of the major theoretical schools to the development of your own original interpretations. Literary theory provides us a defined and comprehensive framework from which to approach literary works and present new insights into them. As a graduate student in the field of literary studies, you will be engaged in this kind of academic research and theoretical analysis in order to both facilitate your mastery of literary theory and prepare you for the analytical writing you will engage in throughout your career. This course has two final projects. In this first one, you will analyze seminal literary theories with the goal of proposing how you will use two of them to interpret a piece of literature. This project prepares you for the second project (an essay) because it grounds you in the theories and directs you in how you propose to interpret a piece of literature through two specific theoretical lenses. It gives you the background and allows you the thinking time to decide how to pair a theory with the literature. For this project, there is one milestone, which will be submitted in Module Two. The final project will be submitted in Module Four. In this assignment, you will demonstrate your mastery of the following course outcomes:

 LIT-500-01: Analyze seminal theories of literary criticism for their impacts to historical and modern interpretations of literature

 LIT-500-02: Analyze existing assumptions for building a theoretical foundation for informed critical application

Prompt In this assessment, you will investigate literary theories discussed throughout this course. In Milestone One, you will select a novel from the following options:

 Atwood, Margaret. The Handmaid’s Tale. New York: Anchor, 1998. Print.

 DeLillo, Don. White Noise. 1986. New York: Penguin, 2009. Print.

 Faulkner, William. As I Lay Dying. New York: Vintage, 1991. Print.

 Huxley, Aldous. Brave New World. New York: Harper Perennial Modern Classics, 2006. Print.

 Morrison, Toni. Beloved. 2000. New York: Vintage, 2004. Print.

 Orwell, George. 1984. New York: Signet, 1950. Print. Note that if you do not already own a copy of your chosen book, you will need to purchase a copy through SNHU’s online bookstore, Amazon, or another source.

Once your selection has been approved by the instructor, analyze existing critical scholarship relating to the novel. Then, from this analysis, write a brief proposal of how you will interpret the novel through two specific theoretical lenses. This assessment will be the foundation for Final Project Two, a critical essay. Specifically, the following critical elements must be addressed:

I. Provide an overview of seminal literary theories. A. Explain the salient points of the theories we have discussed in class. Be sure your overview is concise. The following questions may help you

compose this part of your proposal: Is there relevant historical background? How do these different lenses influence literary interpretation? Are there any basic similarities or differences that help differentiate and explain these approaches? [LIT-500-01]

B. Explain your what you find most intriguing about your chosen theories and why. Be sure you back up your personal opinions with examples and definitions from class or other accepted sources. The following questions may help you compose this part of your proposal: Why do you find these particular lenses efficacious for interpreting literature? Which theories produce the sorts of insights you find illuminating? What is it about each theory that you believe helps produce these insights? [LIT-500-01]

II. Analyze existing applications of your chosen theories. A. Analyze how your chosen theories have been applied by recognized scholars. You may use examples from class or from other accepted sources.

Be sure you analyze examples that allow you to both exemplify the theory and illuminate the literature. The following questions may help you compose this part of your proposal: What excellent examples of applying this theory help explain the theory? How does the theory help explain the literature? If the same piece of literature has been interpreted through two different lenses, how has that influenced the interpretations? [LIT-500-02]

B. Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the existing theory applications you analyzed above. Be sure you focus on how each theory does or does not provide insight into the literature for you. The following questions may help you compose this part of your proposal: In your above examples, which interpretations seem to be particularly illuminating to you? Which do not? Why do you think that is? What conclusions can you draw about the use of this theory? [LIT-500-01]

III. Interpret a specific piece of literature through a critical lens. A. Choose a piece of literature that speaks to you from a provided list and analyze the existing critical scholarship. Be sure you explain the personal

and theoretical reasons you have chosen this piece. The following questions may help you compose this part of your proposal: Why did you choose this particular literary work? What lenses have been applied, and what have they illuminated about the work? What is it about the work that intrigues you in light of its existing critical scholarship? Have the interpretations changed historically? How have these interpretations impacted your experience with the work? [LIT-500-02]

B. Propose your own interpretation of the work. This is a concise explanation of the argument you will pursue in your critical essay for Final Project Two. Be sure you make clear here what lenses you will interpret the novel through and what you hope to learn from your analysis. There are several ways you might choose to approach this. For instance, will you apply a different lens than what you studied? Will you draw conclusions from comparing and contrasting existing interpretations? Will you discuss strengths and weaknesses of existing scholarship to identify what still needs to be addressed? Will you apply theories that have been previously applied to the work, but come up with a different interpretation? [LIT-500-02]

Milestones Milestone One: Book Selection In Module Two, you will choose one book from the following options: The Handmaid’s Tale, White Noise, As I Lay Dying, Brave New World, Beloved, and 1984. It is a good idea to select your book early since no more than four students may work on the same novel. You will submit your book choice in the discussion topic. The novel you have chosen will be the basis of your final essay. Once you have selected a novel and it has been approved by the instructor, you will discuss with your peers based upon your selection. This milestone will be graded on a pass/fail basis. Final Submission: The Proposal In Module Four, you will submit Final Project One. It should be a complete, polished artifact containing all of the critical elements of the final product. It should reflect the incorporation of feedback gained throughout the course. This submission will be graded with the Final Project One Rubric.

Final Project One Rubric Guidelines for Submission: Your proposal should be two to three pages in length and should use 12-point Times New Roman font, double spacing, and one-inch margins. Follow MLA guidelines for citations.

Critical Elements Exemplary (100%) Proficient (90%) Needs Improvement (70%) Not Evident (0%) Value

Overview: Salient Points

[LIT-500-01]

Meets “Proficient” criteria, and discussion is supported with examples

Concisely and accurately explains the salient points of the theories

Explains salient points of the theories but is not concise, or there are inaccuracies

Does not explain the salient points of the theories

15

Overview: Theory [LIT-500-01]

Meets “Proficient” criteria, and explanation demonstrates a nuanced understanding of theories

Explains what is most intriguing about the chosen theories and defends response

Explains what is most intriguing about the chosen theories, but does not defend response

Does not explain what is most intriguing about the chosen theories

15

Existing Applications: Recognized Scholars

[LIT-500-02]

Meets “Proficient” criteria, and analysis cites scholarly resources to support examples

Accurately analyzes how the chosen theories have been applied by recognized scholars, and supports claims with examples

Analyzes how the chosen theories have been applied by recognized scholars, but does not support analysis with examples or is cursory or inaccurate

Does not analyze how the chosen theories have been applied by recognized scholars

15

Existing Applications: Strengths and Weaknesses [LIT-500-01]

Meets “Proficient” criteria and is well qualified with specific examples

Evaluates the strengths and weaknesses of existing theory applications and discusses how each theory does or does not provide insight into the literature

Discusses the strengths and weaknesses of existing theory applications but does not discuss how each theory does or does not provide insight into the literature, or there are gaps in the evaluation

Does not evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of existing theory applications

15

Interpret Literature: Existing Critical

Scholarship [LIT-500-02]

Meets “Proficient” criteria, and analysis of existing scholarship offers insight around common themes of existing scholarship

Identifies a piece of literature and analyzes existing critical scholarship

Identifies a piece of literature, but analysis is not supported or is cursory or inaccurate

Does not identify a piece of literature

15

Interpret Literature: Propose Your Own

[LIT-500-02]

Meets “Proficient” criteria, and proposal is well supported

Proposes a logical, original interpretation of the work and explains what lenses will be used

Proposes an interpretation of the work, but the proposal is not reasonable, not original, or does not explain what lenses will be used

Does not propose an interpretation of the work

15

Articulation of Response

Submission is free of errors related to citations, grammar, spelling, syntax, and organization and is presented in a professional and easy to read format

Submission has no major errors related to citations, grammar, spelling, syntax, or organization

Submission has major errors related to citations, grammar, spelling, syntax, or organization that negatively impact readability and articulation of main ideas

Submission has critical errors related to citations, grammar, spelling, syntax, or organization that prevent understanding of ideas

10

Earned Total 100%