Reference text for literary criticism: Abrams’s Glossary of Literary Terms ( https://mthoyibi.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/a-glossary-of-literary-terms-7th-ed_m-h-abrams-1999.pdf )
Readings for the research project:
Theme 1: Slavery and the fight for freedom
Slave narratives (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/search/?query=slave+narratives&submit_search=Go%21) are the journals and letters of enslaved people, and freed slaves.
Slave novel( https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/59834 )
Course Notes:
Types of literary criticism:
Close textual analysis (New Criticism): this is the process of looking directly at the text of a piece of literature for the symbols, actions, characters and philosophy of the author. If the actions, words and symbols do not indicate an evaluation is true, then there is no support for the idea in the text. This is always the first step in evaluating a text; decide what the author’s intended meaning and truth were for his or her audience. You are not the audience of a literary text from the past; the author likely did not expect his text to last so far into the future.
Psychoanalytical criticism: this is when the literary critic or student evaluates the psychology of the characters or the author based on the actions and symbols in the text.
New Historicism: this is evaluating the historical context of the actions, characters, words, and philosophy of a text. The true meaning of a text is from the perspective of the writer in the writer’s time and environment, not what we may bring to a text from our perspective. Our perspective from our time will distort the intended meaning.
Philosophy of literature: this is when the literary critic evaluates the core philosophy of a piece. We look at what the layer of philosophy is in the text, what the writer wants to say about the sphere of the Divine, the politics of his or her environment, or the culture of the writer as applied to ethics or acting for the greater good, for example. Philosophy of literature also applies to evaluating the core belief system of a culture; this is especially important when we are evaluating a culture other than our own or one with which we are familiar.
Feminist Criticism (Women’s Studies): this is when we evaluate the role of women in the literature, and what the author is saying about the sphere of women, their role in the culture and the society of the author, and/or the setting of the piece.
Important: Associated readings and course notes are in the Readings and Learning Materials
Requirements:
1300-1600 words of actual text—not including the references page
6+ credible sources must be cited—referred to in-text and in the references page
No more than 20% direct quotations—“”
Documentation styles: APA or MLA format
In-text citations and references page required; the reference page must be the last page of the paper, not on a different file.
All language is in third person, academic language is appropriate for the topic
The paper is developed with well-chosen evidence as support; this includes primary evidence from the texts you are discussing. Cite all secondary sources when you paraphrase.
The paper is edited and proofread carefully
Practice your literary critical skills by evaluating the theme and texts you choose from the various critical perspectives (see readings.)
Paragraph and section the paper based on your thesis.
Suggested structure:
Section 1: Begin the paper with a close textual analysis of the readings associated with the theme you have chosen. End this section with your thesis, your main points about the theme.
Section 2: Discuss the historical and cultural perspective of the author. What is the author trying to show readers about his or her time period through the actions and textual symbolism of the text?
Section 3: What can we learn from the psychology of the characters through the themes, words and actions in the text?
Section 4: Discuss the core philosophies of the piece; evaluate the main points about the Divine, about the weaknesses of mankind, about the corruption of the government, depending on the content and primary themes of the literature.
