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ENGL 2332 | Dual Credit

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Framed Tale Visual Research Project (1 Major Grade)  

In groups of 3, you will conduct research over a particular topic pertaining to a Framed Tale. You will choose one of the tales listed below, then create a question over your topic that will allow you to explore how it is presented in the tale as well as its importance in the culture.

You should explore the historical context of your topic and describe the way this context manifests in either A Thousand and One Nights or The Canterbury Tales. You should use this as a background for a discussion on the importance of your chosen topic and not just what it reveals about the text but about the society as well.

Tales to choose from: (No more than 2 groups per portion of the text - first come, first serve)

  • The Thousand and One Nights - Framed Tale - pp
  • The Thousand and One Nights - Tales (all or specific ones) - pp
  • “The General Prologue” - pp
  • “The Miller’s Tale” - PDF
  • “The Nun’s Priest’s Tale” - PDF
  • “The Prioress’ Tale” - PDF
  • “The Wife of Bath’s Tale” - pp 1152-1160

Consider the historical/cultural, sociological, or gender perspectives as you create your question and begin your research: science; the humours (significance of colors); political and religious climates; roles of men/women; class systems; feudalism; literacy and education; characteristics and events of the time period (Medieval time period aka the Dark Ages); impact on the future (literature and historically); the poet’s/author’s background, etc.

Possible Topics (You are not limited to this list.) 

  • Power of Storytelling

  • Hospitality 

  • Greed

  • Social commentary

  • Lies and deception

  • Romance 

  • Gender 

  • Social Class 

  • Religion (beliefs, depiction, etc.)

  • Stereotypes

In conjunction with your topic, you can explore the setting of the story, the characters, type of story they tell, theme, conflict, symbolism, allusions, literary devices, satire, and any variety of literary elements that appear in the stories. Consider formal, psychological, archetypal, and/or reader's response perspectives.

Sample Research Question & Thesis 

How does the Mesopatamian people’s view of death and the afterlife manifest in Gilgamesh?

Thesis: Gilgamesh’s quest for immortality highlights the Mesopatamian people’s belief of an afterlife where people exist as powerless ghosts in order to emphasize the lack of hope prevalent in their religion.

With this question, the writer would need to research the Mesopatmians religious belief, particularly in connection with death and the afterlife, then look at the poem. So, the fact that Mesopatamians believed in an afterlife where the deceased are powerless ghosts, it could have spurred Gilgamesh’s quest for immortality.

Project Requirements 

You will bring your findings together to present this project to the class in the form of a visual essay that may either be recorded or presented live. A visual essay uses minimal words in the visual part of the assignment, but you will elaborate on the essay in your spoken presentation. You will also be required to write a script of your presentation that will be submitted on the same day your project is due to Turnitin on Canvas.

You may use the following tools: Infographic, GoogleSlides, Prezi, AdobeSpark, or any other tool to create and present your project.

Requirements:

  • Presentation: 6-8 minutes in length
  • 3 sources minimum - you may use more, but they must be clearly documented
  • Script with correct MLA Works Cited
  • Include your question in the presentation
  • Clear Thesis Statement written out in the presentation
  • Logical organization
  • In-text citations
  • Correct grammar, spelling, and punctuation
  • Minimal words on visual product; Use text, images, graphics, color, music (Your thesis and any direct quotes are not included in the “minimal words” requirement.)
  • Sign up for a day to present and post the link to project on Google Doc
  • One person in your group will submit the script and Project to Canvas

Though the visual part of your assignment will provide minimal words, you will still need to structure your presentation like an essay with an introduction that introduces your topic, a thesis statement, and a conclusion that summarizes the main points in your visual essay

Video Tutorials

Below are video tutorials to help you navigate some of the library resources.

Reference Databases

The following resource will provide you some resources for background information. Doing background research will not only help you narrow your focus, but will also help you identify keywords to use when searching the databases for scholarly articles. 

Video Tutorials

Below are video tutorials to show you tools for searching in the databases. 

Boolean Operators 

Using Boolean operators in a database is highly recommended, as this approach usually generates the most useful results.  Databases are not "intuitive" like search engines (e.g., Google) - they must be "told" how to process a search query.  Boolean operators let you "tell" the database what you want to see in your results.  

AND

Use AND to connect KEYWORDS - Retrieves sources with both/all terms [refines search]

Example: diabetes AND adult AND self-management 

OR

Use OR to connect SYNONYMS & LIKE CONCEPTS - Retrieves sources with either/any term(s) [broadens search]

Example: heart attack AND (female OR women) AND symptoms

NOT

Use NOT to EXCLUDE word(s) - Eliminates sources with the word(s) following NOT 

Example: Omega-3 fatty acids NOT fish oils 

Identifying Keywords

When you are conducting your background research on your topic, consider the who, what, when, where and why of what you are reading, and highlight or write the main points down. You can use those as keywords in the databases!


Who, what, when, where and why

Reference Databases

Databases

eBooks