ENGLISH 2307 LIBRARY RESEARCH ASSIGNMENT: 2 APRIL 2013
(5% of STUDENT’S FINAL GRADE)
(5% of STUDENT’S FINAL GRADE)
For class on Tuesday, 2 April 2013, students will be spending the scheduled classroom time of 90 minutes at the Texas Tech University Main Library for an independent research day rather than in the classroom.
Students need to choose one topic from the topics listed below and, instead of going to the classroom, they need to go straight to the Main Library for their class. At the library, students will conduct independent research on that chosen topic for the entire class period. The student, while researching, must be attempting to make explicit connections between the research material and the classroom course content.
Please note that students need to obtain information that will allow them to create a five-minute oral presentation. Please note that the student must also consult a minimum of three library sources and document all library sources used in a complete Bibliography (formatted according to MLA formatting guidelines).
***NOTE: The research will be presented in the coming weeks of class, and when the student presents will depend on which topic the student chose to research. A PowerPoint is not necessary unless the student wishes to do one. No essay is required; the student will gather information and notes during the research day and organize the material/notes into a five-minute (at most) talk for the other students. The presentations will follow in the weeks to come, and the Bibliography will be turned in then to the instructor.
Instructor’s Grading Guidelines for the Student Library Assignment
Content / Research: Was the information insightful, thoughtful? Was there evidence of details, of depth of thinking, of grasping of concepts, and grappling with the chosen topic? Was the information obtained relevant?
Organization: Was the information organized? Did the student obtain enough information for a five-minute oral presentation?
Research Methods: Was the bibliography put together according to MLA guidelines? Were there at least three library sources consulted from the university library’s collections?
Language / Delivery: Was the information presented in an articulate, comprehensible manner? Was the style of address (the manner of delivery) or format of the information appropriate to the material presented?
Synthesis: Was the research material gained applied appropriately to the class material? Were explicit connections made between the research topic and the course content of English 2307?
LIST OF RESEARCH TOPICS
LITERARY
The Southern Gothic genre
First Captivity Narratives written in the USA
Anti-colonial / Post-colonial literature
American Modernist literature
Postmodern literature
Magical Realism
Trauma Theory in Literary Studies
The Genre of The Western Novel and The Conventions of The Western
Eco-criticism in Literary Studies
The literary biography and importance of any one of the writers on the reading list of our course material.
HISTORICAL
American Indian Movement (AIM)
Feminism (First, Second, Third Waves)
The murder of Emmitt Till.
Colonel MacKenzie and the Comanche Peoples in the Lubbock area
The story of Cynthia Ann Parker and Quanah Parker
American Indian Boarding Schools, Colonel Pratt, and Canadian Residential Schools
The Importance and Use of the American Bison to the Blackfeet Indians
The Historical Person of Tecumseh
Hitler’s “Final Solution”
Overview of the Vietnam War
CULTURAL and PHILOSOPHICAL
Current Decolonization and Repatriation Movements around the World
Recent Truth and Reconciliation Movements around the World
Current Social Issues and Economic Conditions on Native American Reservations
Frederick Jackson Turner’s “Frontier Thesis”
The Figure of Elijah, the Prophet
Current success rates of American education as compared to other developed nations.
ENVIRONMENTAL & HEALTH
Sixth Massive Period of Species Extinction and endangered species
Climate change
Desertification of the Midwest in the US and the potential loss of the Oglalla Aquifer
Current health of American rivers
Plastics in the Oceans
Peak Oil