Final Project/Footsteps

English 608                                                                                         Klimasmith

FINAL PROJECT

(Footsteps Project plus Field Statement)

Due December 16

Selection and Rationale for Footsteps Essay due October 21

Long list of resources for Field Statement Bibliography due October 28

Annotated Bibliography due November 11

Footsteps Essay due November 24

Field Statement Presentations: December 4 and 11

FOOTSTEPS PROJECT (Proposal plus Footsteps Essay)

The aim of this project is to follow in the footsteps of a scholar whose work you admire in a field of interest to you.  This offers you the chance to study a tiny slice of English Studies scholarship in DEPTH. 

Proposal: Choose your favorite scholarly article (at least 20 pages) on your own research topic or text.  You will trace 
the author’s research exhaustively in this project, so be sure you choose a good article.  It should be 
interesting and well written, but most importantly, it should give you a solid
 foundation for your own writing. 

By Tuesday, October 21, please submit via email a short (1-2 page) proposal that includes a brief overview of the essay and a rationale for your choice.  I will email comments to you.

Footsteps Essay: Once you have selected your article,
 locate every single source the author cites.  Use whatever library resources you need (if you have not obtained a Consortium Card by now, you shouldn’t wait any longer), including the Healey Library, ILL, the Virtual Library, and 
the Healey Librarians.  You need to examine a physical copy of
 everything your author had, and to read as much of it as you can.   Because this will include scholarly monographs, you will need to allow adequate time to find/receive the books. This is why the Footsteps Project is interwoven with the Field Statement.

Once you have 
traced out the author’s research, re-read her article.  Write an essay (5-7 pages) that describes your experience of finding the resources and discusses your 
author’s choices. What did she leave out?  What did she emphasize?  What did 
she notice that you would have overlooked?  Now that you know what she was
 working with, what might you do differently with the same materials?





Footsteps Essay: 5-7 pages.  Due via email by 9 am Monday, Nov 24. I will email comments and a preliminary grade to you.

FIELD STATEMENT

The Field Statement portion of the final project aims to help you develop an overview of your field of interest—it allows you to develop some BREADTH in your chosen field. 

Long List Bibliography: First, generate a long list of 30-40
 scholarly articles and monographs in your field of interest.  Please limit yourself to peer-reviewed journals and scholarly book titles. Find as many
 useful sources as you can, using GOOGLE Print, JSTOR, Project Muse, and
 consultations with reference librarians and members of the UMass faculty.  Before you submit your list, make an appointment to meet with a faculty member in your field so that they can look at it and see what you might be missing. 

Long List Bibliography for Field Statement due October 28 via email.  Please use MLA format.

Annotated Bibliography: Once you have generated this long list, look over as many sources as you can, as 
quickly as you can—don’t read carefully; just check them out.  Your goal is to 
choose 4-6 texts that are:



1) interesting to you



2) important for your project



3) in conversation with each other

Once you’ve chosen those 4-6 texts, write an Annotated Bibliography following the format of the examples in the Final Project Guide (online via English MA Program Wiki).

Annotated Bibliography due Nov 11 via email. Bring a paper copy to class on November 13. 

Field Statement: This is a ten page essay describing the
 conversation among your key texts (aim for five) through which an overview of your field emerges.  You will explain what the essays say, discuss the broader conversation(s) in which they take part, and show why they fit 
together for you.

  If you need a model for this kind of writing, you can find review essays in many scholarly journals.  Please submit the Field Statement with a full bibliography (not annotated) that lists all of
 the titles you considered in your research.  You will give a short presentation on your research as part of a conference panel in class on December 4 or 11.

Field Statement. 10-15 pages.  Due December 16 along with revised Footsteps Essay.