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Write a research essay on a topic related to literary representations of the modern that performs an analysis of one or more literary texts of your choice.
The research essay allows you to explore an issue raised in the module in greater depth. You're given greater freedom here than in many modules to devise a topic, and for this reason you need to start planning and researching your essay earlier in the semester. For that reason, the assignment has been split into two parts. You will first write a proposal outlining your initial ideas for your essay, and receive feedback from your tutor on it. Following the feedback, you may then continue to write the essay, consulting with me when and if necessary. Note that by the end of Unit 1 many of the substantive issues in the module will have been raised.
Texts. You may choose Asian or other literary text(s) which deal with the issue of modernity yourself. If you want to work on any of the texts we will cover later in the module you may, although in this case you should address at least one further text we will not be reading together. For instance, you might want to compare the treatment of women and modernity in The Heart of Redness and a further novel by Zakes Mda.
Note that it's probably best to restrict yourself to one or two substantial literary texts, as most essays of this length in the discipline do. If you attempt to look at too many it is likely that you may spread yourself too thin.
Literary genres we will examine in the module include prose fiction, drama and poetry. Other alternatives could include film or other cultural texts, perhaps even including performances such as acts of public remembrance or institutions such as museums: the text is whether these texts are read using the techniques of literary studies: i.e, they are in part considered for their formal and aesthetic qualities, not simply mined for historical or sociological content as though their strategies of representation were transparent to the reader. If you are unsure about this, please contact me.
Issues. Some of the issues you might wish to consider can be easily adapted from those discussed in unit 1 of the module, and others may emerge on the way. While you do not have to use any of the critical or theoretical material in the readings you have done each week, you are welcome to use it as a starting point: remeber that a graduate essay needs to be critically and theoretically informed.
You are strongly discouraged from changing your topic radically after the proposal unless your tutor recommends it. It is best to put a fair bit of work into getting the right proposal. In order to see if you would like to work on a book we will discuss later in the semester, skim-read the upcoming reading, and then read any work you find interesting closely.
You should not substantially repeat material covered in the "found objects" paper and I'd also encourage you not to "recycle" texts from other modules you are taking, unless you're taking a radically different approach to them.
Due Date: Wednesday 12 March--upload to the IVLE Workbin
Note that if you do not submit your proposal on time you risk a delay in receiving feedback and lower marks on the final assignment.
Suggested Length: 400-500 words
The purpose in presenting your proposal is for you to get feedback from your tutor that your project is focused, and to obtain suggestions regarding how to proceed further in your research. Each proposal should therefore contain:
1. Proposed Title
2. Two to three paragraph description of research topic in which you mention the topic. Format this as a letter to your tutor, and include the following information:
3. Brief research bibliography--probably ten items, including the text you will be studying. Avoid "padding" this with the titles of articles or books which are only peripheral to your study.
4. You should use proper scholastic conventions in the proposal: title, MLA style, with parenthetical citations if you quote, and the bibliography should be properly formatted. For a detailed account of MLA style, the best overview I know is found at the OWL (Online Writing Laboratory) at Purdue University. See their MLA Formatting and Style Guide. NUS Library also maintains a useful guide for formatting the Works Cite List as part of the LION site.
I'll give you detailed written feedback on your proposal, and we'll also meet to discuss it the week after it is submitted.
Due Monday 17 April---upload to the IVLE Workbin
Suggested Length: 3,000--4,000 Words
Take as your model a short article publishable in an international refereed literary or postcolonial studies journal such as Jouvert or Postcolonial Text. I don't expect you to reach this standard yet, but it is worth aiming for. Many published articles have the following features, although note that writers with a particular rationale for not following expectations may well choose to adapt, or even depart from them.
1. Use of well-chosen and well-integrated secondary and primary material you have found in your own research.
2. Thorough application of and interrogation of critical and historical material.
3. A sense of individual voice and distinctiveness in the paper.
4. A clear research question, and a clear argumentative structure.
5. Smooth and integrated use of well-chosen quotation.
6. Use of proper scholastic conventions: title, MLA style, with parenthetical citations, presence of a "Works Cited" list listing at least the literary work itself. For a detailed account of MLA style, the best overview I know is found at the OWL (Online Writing Laboratory) at Purdue University. See their MLA Formatting and Style Guide. NUS Library also maintains a useful guide for formatting the Works Cite List as part of the LION site.
Last updated: 12 July, 2009