Seminar Project:

Every work needs a necessity, a nature, a material already existing for motive to the poet and credence to the people.  –Ralph Waldo Emerson, journal 1845 (JMN 9: 344)

As you read about various critical theories relevant to the study and interpretation of literature, and explore research methods and critical models throughout the semester, you will also put theory into practice with a semester-long project. Think of this as practicing the building blocks for your SCE project on the horizon. The seminar project will culminate in a proposal for a longer paper that could eventually serve as the foundation for one or more of the following things: a robust SCE proposal (due at the end of your junior year); the SCE itself (due in your last semester); a conference paper delivered in graduate school; an article or essay published at some future point, perhaps in New Literary History or The New Yorker; your first book; a podcast or documentary film.

Steps of the Project (dates provided on the Weekly Schedule)

1. Annotation
2. Abstract (Initial + Revised)
3. Literature Review (Draft + Revised)
4. Proposal and Presentation (Draft + Revision)