Paper #1

Read the assigned section in your Victorian Literature anthology. Take notes on the readings in order to comprehend their content and how they relate to the issue you are exploring (gender and sexuality; travel and empire etc.) Your job is to discern how these texts establish and comment upon the issue you are researching. Your findings will be presented in two forms.

A) On the day designated for your topic, you will give a 10-15 minute presentation that introduces the class to the writers and ideas in your section. This presentation should be a synthesis of what you learned, but it should also draw some conclusion about the Victorian position on the topic you are exploring. These presentations need not have elaborate audio/visual components, but if you would like to use MS Power Point, please contact me in advance so that I can arrange for equipment. An alternative would be a one or two page handout that provides the class with the skeleton of your ideas. You should also be prepared to answer any questions the class asks about the material you present.

B) On the Monday following the presentation, a five-page paper (1250 words) is due at the beginning of the class. This essay, like the presentation, should synthesize what you learned from your reading. However, it should also have a strong thesis that states your conclusions about ideas you encountered in your reading. For example, your might make an observation about how non-English individuals are characterized in Victorian travel narratives. It is permissible to make a narrower argument in your paper than in your presentation. Support your thesis with accurate paraphrases of and brief quotations from the reading. Document all paraphrases, summaries and quotations parenthetically by author and page numbers. Since we’ll all be referring to the same text, you need not provide a bibliography.

Note: For both the presentation and paper, you need not cite or report upon all of the selections. However, you’ll need to demonstrate that you’ve considered all the material closely.

Please feel free to discuss this project with me at any time. I will also be available to read drafts.