This has been quite the semester! We’re ending it far from where we started, and uncertain what the future holds. I hope that some of the work we have done will stay with you. For the final project for this class, you may pick ONE of the following four options. These are based on some of the journal responses and I hope you will be able to find one that allows you to reflect, in one way or another, on the experiences of the course.
Options for Final Project (due Monday 11 May by 3 pm).
1. A dramatic reading.
Exactly the same format as the first one: please email me a link to the video by the due date. The clip should be 60-75 seconds in length and can be drawn from literature, music, film, etc. Email me if you have any questions.
2. A poem or short piece of prose.
Several of you mentioned that you’d be interested in capturing your current experiences in a poem, a song, or a piece of prose. Here’s your chance to do so: compose a short poem or piece of fiction that reflects your experience of the coronavirus pandemic.
3. A photo essay.
This is another idea that several proposed in their journal entries. Create a photo essay of your quarantine days. You can either embed the photos in a word document, perhaps with some narrative commentary, or you can create a short video montage of different photos. (If you choose the latter, please email me a link to the video by 3 pm on Monday 11 May).
4. A favorite poem or short story from this semester.
For this assignment, please choose a piece from this semester that you think you might remember in 5 years. What is it that you like about this work? What is it that makes you think you will still recall it in a few years? Try to be specific: are there particular images that appeal to you? or is some of the wording striking? (The only work you may not write about is Frankenstein … I’m sure we’ll all remember that novel). Your answer should be approximately 300 words in length.
Please submit your projects by 3 pm on Monday 11 May, either through Blackboard or by emailing me a link. Projects will be graded on much the same basis as the journals: if the work is submitted and it looks like you have put some reasonable thought and effort into it, you well get 5 points. Work that seems slapdash will receive fewer points.
Please let me know if you have any questions. My hope is that this will provide a (relatively) enjoyable way for you to conclude your “Introduction to Literature” experience. It is not meant to produce anxiety – so let me know if you have any concerns … and stay healthy.
Introduction to Literature 