English 113BProf Overman
PROJECT TEXT
“Here’s the problem, today, the description of the world is always reduced to yes or no, black or white. Superficial stories. Superhero stories. One side is the good one. The other one is evil. But I’m not a moral lesson giver. It’s not for me to say what is right or wrong. I describe situations as honestly as possible. The way I saw it. That’s why I use my own life as material. I’ve seen these things myself, and now I’m telling it to you. Because the world is not about Batman and Robin fighting the Joker; things are more complicated than that. And nothing is scarier than the people who try to find easy answers to complicated questions.”
-- Marjane Satrapi, in an interview with Believer magazine, August 2006
Project Text asks that you interpret a major text through close reading and research. Our “text” is the memoir, Persepolis,by Marjane Satrapi. We’ll approach this text through a number of critical resources, classroom discussions and activities, individual student essays and group projects.
Writing Task: you will be writing a 4-5 page text-based essay. In this essay you are to rhetorically analyze a specific aspect of the memoir that interested you or was discussed in class. You will be expected to demonstrate an ability to use the tools for literary analysis that we used in class. In your essay, you will want to briefly summarize the event(s) that you will be analyzing. Then, you need to present your analysis in such a way as to acknowledge the author's ideas but also express your opinion and interpretation as distinct from the author's. Use quotations from the text to support your interpretation/analysis.
Requirements:
You will form groups of 4/5 and each group will be in charge of certain chapters in the memoir during class throughout the unit.
February 23 during class: Project Text Presentation Groups will interpret Persepolis though a close reading incorporating research (use website links on our syllabus and/or Convergences) to establish a collaborative interpretation of the text. The presentation should use new media technologies (e.g. PowerPoint, Google presentation,prezi.com, blogs, website).
- Group leaders are expected to effectively present their findings for at least 15 minutes and pose questions to the class that will encourage further thinking.
- Presentations will be assessed by me per the presentation rubric.
- Each group member will be assessed by fellow members for participation and contribution per the participation rubric. Each member will write up their assessment on their fellow members, giving each member a letter grade for their participation and contribution to the group work.
February 12 Sunday 1155PM-Rough drafts (4 pages min.) post on proper Forum see online schedule & Moodle for whole class workshop dates/deadlines for writing responses posts.
February 23 prior to class: Each student will write an essay (approx. 1500 words in length) and upload it on their blog (incorporating new media technologies is highly encouraged). See Below.
Before turning in your essay, complete the following checklist:
______MLA format
______Works Cited page
______4-5 pages (not including the Works Cited page)
______A thesis statement in the introduction
______Topic sentences at the beginning of each paragraph
______Clear transitions between paragraphs
______A conclusion that sums up your main point(s)
______The author's name and title of the memoir
______A brief summary of the memoir
______A brief summary of the event(s) to be discussed
______A minimum of 4-6 quotations from the memoir (documented in MLA style)
______Use of the present tense when discussing the memoir