literary analysis 32

For this assignment, per departmental regulations, you must critically and closely interpret a piece of literature or text. This can be anything from a TV show to a film to a song to a book etc.*(see below) It cannot be a large, abstract cultural movement, however: you need to demonstrate your ability to write a literary analysis, so please be aware of this distinction and talk to me ASAP if you think there will be a problem.

Assignment Objectives

The objective of this assignment is to provide students with opportunities to:

1. Use concepts and terms in literary studies to analyze the aesthetic features of a text.
2. Discuss and interpret a broad variety of writers, their works, and connections among works.
3. Analyze cultural and historical features of literary texts with attention to human diversity.
4. Demonstrate the ability to construct a clear, coherent, sustained argument. Demonstrate the ability to articulate differing positions on critical issues within literary studies.
5. Skillfully communicate meaning in a variety of written and spoken formats with clarity and fluency in language appropriate to the audience.
6. Experiment with distinctive technologies of reading, exploring scribal practices, computational tools, archival resources, or digital databases.

Assignment Requirements

This assignment will include the following:

1. Draft of Literary Analysis
2. Peer Review of draft
3. Instructor feedback on draft
4. 1,000-1,200 word Final Literary Analysis

Assignment Description

This assignment should be uploaded and assessed on MyReviewers and/or Canvas, including a draft, final draft, and peer review. The assignment will require students to think critically about a text, to make an argument based on their interpretations and ideas, and to support their claims with evidence from the text. Students may pick a critical approach to give a useful perspective for thinking and writing critically. For instance, they may analyze a text in terms of the author’s context (Biographical Criticism) or in terms of historical context (Historical Criticism) or in terms of a cultural context (Cultural Criticism).

*You can write literally about anything we came across this semester as long as you haven’t written about it before. To remind you: Adichie, Wallace, The Martian, Bradbury, The Martian (movie), female oppression (in art), Her, Ex Machina, AI (in art), The Social Network, Eighth Grade, Aaron Sorkin (plays), Aaron Sorkin (career), All Their Painted Faces, Erasure Poetry, Google Poetics, etc.