Introduction to Literature Research Projects 2020
STEP 1. CHOOSE A TOPIC
STEP 2. FIND INFORMATION
STEP 3. STATE YOUR THESIS
STEP 4. MAKE A TENTATIVE OUTLINE
STEP 5. ORGANIZE YOUR NOTES
STEP 6. CONSTRUCT YOUR FIRST DRAFT
STEP 7. REVISE YOUR OUTLINE AND DRAFT
PROJECT DESCRIPTION:
The research project for our class will be in the form of a Power Point Presentation. You
will gather information based on one of the following research based choices and
organize the information to create one comprehensive presentation that you will present
to the class via Discussion Board Post.
For the purposes of this course, you will use Power Point, which is free to you with
BMCC’s enrollment. You can download Office 365 when you register for your BMCC
email account. You will follow the link to do so there. This is important because you
need Microsoft Word to upload papers for this course as well.
PROJECT REQUIREMENTS: Complete a Power Point with the following
components. Be creative how you include your work. Make it engaging to an
audience.
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A minimum of 7 slides.
Introduce yourself in video (Specific directions on how to do this below.) You
can do this by making an unlisted video in YouTube and embedding it in your
Power Point. See below for instructions.
At least one famous quote.
At 2 quotes from one of the short stories we have read in class.
At least one media source (You Tube video (other than your own), News Agency,
Music Video, Interview, etc.).
Images.
Voice/Sound.
Important Statistics. (when needed)
At least two credible outside sources (Academic journals, newspapers, books, etc.
Wikipedia is not a credible source). At least one quote from each outside source.
MLA Formatted Works Cited Page and in text citations.
REFLECTING AND BRAINSTORMING:
So far we have read and analyzed several short stories with varying themes. For this
research project, you will be asked to dig deeper, think critically, and form arguments
based on one or more of those themes. This project should be thesis driven, so make sure
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you come up with an argument that your presentation sets out to prove. It should be
declarative, not passive and should have sufficient support to legitimize your claims.
PRESENTATION:
Construct a project that seeks to explore your own thoughts and ideas in connection to
and based on one of the following topics.
Option One) Love and Oppression
Research the idea of love as a method of oppression.
In “Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin, the protagonist, Louis Mallard, mentions that her
husband, “. . . had never looked save with love upon her” (Chopin Par. 10). She clearly
recognizes that her husband loved her, yet she feels freedom in his demise. Is love used
as a method of oppression? Create a PowerPoint that meets the above project
requirements by taking a position and exploring it further. Be sure to construct an
argument and provide credible evidence to support it.
Option Two) Utopia
In “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut, we are introduced to a Dystopia in an effort to
create a form of Utopia by exerting total equality. Research a place, culture, society that
is the closest example of Utopia. Explore this idea: Can/Does Utopia exist? Can you
offer your own idea of a Utopian Society and make an argument for what deems it as
such based on evidence? What evidence can you find that suggests Utopia can and/or
does exist is some way, shape, or form. Create a PowerPoint that meets the above project
requirements by taking a position and exploring it further. Be sure to construct an
argument and provide credible evidence to support it.
Option Three) The Double Bind
In “The Thirteenth Night” by Higuchi Ichiyo, Oseki finds herself in what some people
would call a “double bind”. Research the theory of the double bind. Have you ever
faced a double bind? Is it possible that every problem has a solution? Consider modern
day “double binds” in areas of feminism, politics, love or family. Clearly state what you
to believe is the double bind and come up with a particular double bind you want to
explore. Research it. What argument can you make about your impossible scenario and
this theory of a double bind? Create a PowerPoint that meets the above project
requirements by searching for a solution to your double bind. Be sure to construct an
inquiry point (thesis) and provide credible evidence to support that you are actively
looking for a solution to the credible double bind.
Option Four) To Forgive or Not to Forgive; that is the Question!
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“Forgiveness” by Rebecca Brown paints forgiveness as a myth. Research theories
framed around the idea of forgiveness. Isn’t it possible for a culture of resistance to make
recovery from trauma possible? Is it possible that if you truly love someone, you are
helping to make them a better person by not forgiving them? Is forgiveness really a
myth? Or, is forgiveness for the forgiver and a selfish act? Create a PowerPoint that
meets the above project requirements by taking a position and exploring it further. Be
sure to construct an argument and provide credible evidence to support it.
Option Five) Happy Endings
Margaret Atwood, in the short story, “Happy Endings” provides several examples of
multiple plots that all lead to one outcome. She identifies the importance of the how and
why over the series of endless what’s. She claims that the best part of life is the part
where we live, “the what.” Research the idea of happiness. You can narrow this down to
happiness in romantic relationships if you wish. What cultures are the happiest? What
types of marriages work the best? Is there such a thing as a happy ending, or is this a
myth we have created based on fairytales and romantic movies? Create a PowerPoint
that meets the above project requirements by taking a position and exploring it
further. Be sure to construct an argument and provide credible evidence to support
it.
Option Six) Male Brain Patterning vs. Female Brain Patterning
In “Hills Like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemingway, we are introduced to a man and a
woman having drinks while waiting at a train station. During the conversation, the man
is trying to convince the woman to have an abortion, but the woman is undecided. In this
brief exchange we get a glimpse of the different brain patterning in males vs. females.
Research the idea of male and female brain patterning. Is there a difference between the
brain patterning of males vs. females? Males speech patterning and female speech
patterning? Create a PowerPoint that meets the above project requirements by
taking a position and exploring it further. Be sure to construct an argument and
provide credible evidence to support it.
Note: All projects will start with a video introduction.
YOUTUBE INSTRUCTIONS FOR YOUR VIDEO INTRODUCTION:
You began the semester with an introduction where you were instructed to list things that
are true and false about you.
Use that idea to Make a Video to start off your project. To do this, think about your
topic: Love and Oppression, Utopias, Double Binds, Forgiveness, Happy Endings or
Male / Female Brain Patterning and write a short poem, a song (you can sing it if you
like!) or a manifesto (strong declaration) about your topic to read. Make up your own OR
follow this fill in the blank (but develop by telling the truth and the lies about your topic)
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EXAMPLE frame you may use:
Title example: There Is No Way To Every Know the Truth
But I do know this about ______________________. (Your Topic)
(Write a truth about your topic you think is not debatable.)
and (Write a truth about your topic you think is debatable.)
Every says, “(a lie about the topic everyone says).”
But I know (Write what you believe that differs from the common thought).
My family says (Write what your family says about your topic).
My friends all (Write what your friends say or do based on their beliefs on your topic).
My (city, country or the world/ pick one or all) claims (Write what your city claims about
your topic.)
(But or And) I know ______________________________.(Write a truth about your
topic.)
So don’t tell me _______________________, ____________________,
_____________________________. (Write three to five lies about your topic).
____________________(Your topic) is ____________________________(claim a truth
about your topic that answers the prompt you are doing your research on.
Example:
There Is No Way To Every Know the Truth
But I do know this about equality. (Your Topic)
Being equal it a double bind, impossible like freedom.
and unlike freedom, equality is defined by the law.
Every says, “Be first among equals.”
But I know there is no first if things are equal.
My family says “Be without equal!”
My friends all define themselves by their greatness, but claim to not be biased. Then
why is your mom’s cooking better than her?
My World claims things cannot be separate but equal.
And I know we separate ourselves to feel equal when so much depends on how we
think we compare.
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So don’t tell me before God we are equal (which God are you referring?), or nobody
can give you equality (I give myself that everyday), or that you are fighting for the
equality of every (hu)man (who can know what is in the heart of (hu)man and what
rights they can embody?).
Equality is a double bind. Equality is not sameness, it is not opportunity, it is not
possible. In order to be granted it, you must have given it away.
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Read: "Story of an Hour," by Kate Chopin
Read: "Happy Endings," by Margaret Atwood
Read: "Forgiveness," by Rebecca Brown
Read: "The Thirteenth Night," by Higuchi Ichiyo
Read: Harrison Bergeron, by Kurt Vonnegut
Part A
Answer the following in a short answer form. Use the question to organize your work, and
number your work. Still, don't rely on the questions to explain your answer. Use complete
sentences. First state your idea clearly (take a position). Secondly, use a direct quote(s) and MLA
to offer proof. Third, follow up with a paraphrasing of the quote, and fourth-- further analyze
your work in a conclusion sentence. You should have 4 sentences or more in total for each
answer.
1) What is the significance of the titles of the short stories we have read so far? Give specific
examples from the text to back your theory.
2) Think about the similarities and differences between Isamu and Roku. What do you
think Oseki learns from her run in with Roku? What is the significance of their meeting?
3) What narration is being used in "Happy Endings" by Margaret Atwood? Some say this short
story is "Post Modern." What do you think they mean by this? Explain and use examples after
looking up Post Modern as a literary term.
4) In "Forgiveness" by Rebecca Brown, the Antagonist makes a claim, that ". . . it is not our acts,
but our intentions that make us who we are"(Brown 3). What does she mean by this statement?
Do you agree/disagree? Why?
5) Explore one symbol in one of the works we read. For example, X=Y, the apple= original sin.
Give an example or look at examples of where the X=Y.
6) "Harrison Bergeron" by Kurt Vonnegut can be described as a utopia or a dystopia. This short
story was written in 1961. How does the question of Utopian and Dystopian Society parallel the
time period it was written in?
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