COMP 390: Capstone in English: Urban Fantasy
MWF 12:00-12:50, SCHU 112 (CRN 493)

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Assignments

Your grade will be based on the following assignments. Each assignment’s weight is indicated in parentheses. The primary assignments for this class will all revolve around a single research topic that you will choose at the start of the semester. Each major out-of-class writing that you submit, starting with the prospectus, will show the development of your research on that topic.

Topic Parameters: Because the topic of this class is Urban Fantasy, you will be required to research some aspect of that topic for your project. How you choose to focus your research is up to you, and I encourage you to be creative in your topic. Make sure you choose something you’re interested in because you will be reading and writing about it for the whole semester. There are many different ways in which you can focus your research:

• Choose a single urban fantasy text and analyze it from a specific critical lens (e.g. psychological, postmodern, structuralist, political, etc.).
• Choose an urban fantasy series and explore it through a critical lens.
• Choose two or more urban fantasy texts and compare them.
• Choose a text that is marginally urban fantasy and examine it—you could argue that it is urban fantasy or analyze how the urban or how fantasy affects it.
• Try to establish your own definition of urban fantasy using a variety of texts and resources.
• Choose an author you like and explore how urban fantasy is evident in his/her works. (Or compare different works by the same author that fit different genres—e.g. Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files vs. his Codex Alera series.)

You may, if you choose, write about film and/or written texts (including graphic novels and comic books). You are also welcome to examine the texts we’re reading in class further. Children’s, young adult, and adult literature are all acceptable for your research. The culminating writing for this project is an argumentative research paper, and you will need to do significant amounts of research to write the paper. Throughout the semester you will also be required to meet with me one-on-one to discuss you project. If you are having difficulty coming up with a topic, you should see me by 21 September so that we can discuss possibilities for you.

Prospectus (10%): Your first major writing assignment is your prospectus. This paper acts as your research topic proposal. In the paper, you will present a general overview of your topic followed by a list of research questions and a preliminary list of sources (a minimum of 5; only one can be a web site). You will have had the opportunity to visit the library by the time the paper is due to find out what kinds of sources are available to you. Though I will not expect you to have read all of the sources you find by the time you write this paper, you should have started examining them so that your information is informed. I also do not expect (or want) you to know what you will be arguing for the final paper yet. Instead, you should have questions that you want to explore, and the answers to the questions should help to shape your final argument. The prospectus should be 2-4 pages long and is due Friday, 28 September by 5. You should submit the paper as a Word or PDF attachment via the dropbox I create on Blackboard.

Preliminary Bibliography (10%): The second major writing is your preliminary bibliography. This bibliography needs to be a collection of both primary and secondary sources. You must have a minimum of 20 sources on your bibliography, and only 3 may be web sites. Your bibliography, which must be in MLA citation format, will be divided into two sections: annotated sources and additional sources. The first part, the annotated sources, will be 5 sources, each of which will have a 1-2 page annotation that summarizes and analyzes the source. You may only annotate one primary source. The second section will be an alphabetized list of at least 15 other sources that you plan to examine for your project. The preliminary bibliography is due Monday, 22 October by 5. You should submit the paper as a Word or PDF attachment via the dropbox I create on Blackboard.

Review of Literature (15%): Your third major writing will later be incorporated, at least in part, in your final paper. For this paper, you will give an overview of your secondary sources and what different authors say about your topic. You will not be arguing in favor of one position or another. Instead, your goal is to review the literature that you’ve read and show that you understand what is being said. The review may cover analyses of specific texts and/or authors you’re reading, theories about the literature, and/or analyses of specific themes related to your primary sources. The rough draft is due in class on Friday 2 November. This paper, which should be 7-10 pages long, is due Monday, 12 November by 5. You should submit the paper as a Word or PDF attachment via the dropbox I create on Blackboard.

Research Paper and Abstract (35%): Your final paper for this class will be a seminar paper—a long argumentative research paper—about your chosen topic. Within the paper, you must include, at least in part, your review of literature. You must also make some argumentative claim about your topic and present your argument using your research as support and/or a contrast to your point of view. I am looking for an original argument, not a rehashing of what your sources say. The final paper should be 20-30 pages long. Your rough draft is due Friday, 30 November by 5, submitted via the dropbox I create on Blackboard. You will work in a group with 1 to 2 others to peer revise the essay. The final draft of the paper with its abstract is due Monday, 6 May by 5. You should submit the paper as a Word or PDF attachment via the dropbox I create on Blackboard.

Blackboard and Miscellaneous (15%): For the six assigned texts, you will be required to write an original post analyzing an aspect of the text on Blackboard, as well as a response to a classmate’s post (see syllabus for due dates). Some things to consider discussing about all of the books include character analyses, thematic elements, imagery/symbolism, and other aspects of literary analysis that you have learned in other classes. You may respond to something we said in class, though if you do, you must offer additional insight to the topic. You are welcome to compare the book to others we’ve read (or to others with which you are familiar). Do not give plot summaries.

I’m looking for a solid paragraph or two of concrete, specific analysis, and I encourage you to reference specific passages in the texts in your analyses. Choose only a single aspect of the text to discuss or your post will be too broad. Use standard academic English (i.e. no emoticons or internet/chat abbreviations) in your posts.

In addition to writing original posts, each week during which an original post is due, you must also respond to someone else’s post by 5 on the assigned date (see syllabus). You may not write both posts on the same day, so make sure that you return to the posts each week to write your response. Your response to the post should engage with the specific topic discussed by the original author. Though you do not have to write as much in your responses as you do in your original posts, you should do more than indicate agreement or disagreement with a point being made. The goal of this assignment is to begin a conversation about the texts.

Posts will be graded on a scale of 0 to 10: 0 = no post; 1-5 = E; 6 = D; 7 = C; 8 = B; 9-10 = A. Flaming posts will earn you an automatic 0 for the post, and a second occurrence of flaming will earn you a 0 for the remainder of this portion of your grade. Grades for the posts will be available on Blackboard. The grammar and mechanics policy will not be applied to the posts; however, excessive errors will have an adverse effect on your post’s grade.

In addition to the Blackboard posting, I may occasionally assign additional in-class writings or give quizzes if I am dissatisfied with the quality of class discussions. These additional works will count as part of this component of your final grade. Your attendance at the library instruction sessions and at conferences with me will also earn you credit in this portion of your grade.

Participation (10%): Discussions will form a heavy part of this course, and I expect everyone to be an active and engaged participant. You will be graded, starting on 5 September, on how often and well you participate in class discussions, both full class and small group. The grading will be calculated on a 5-point scale each day as follows:

• 5 points: You were on time for class and participated several times and/or offered an exceptional observation/query.
• 4 points: You were on time for class and participated once, or you were late for class and participated several times and/or offered an exceptional observation/query. If you have an excused absence, you will earn 4 points for the day.
• 3 points: You were on time for class but did not participate, or you were late for class and participated once.
• 2 points: You were late for class and did not participate.
• 0 points: You were absent.

I do not assign 1 point for this grade. I will update you on your participation average several times during the semester, and you may send me a query about your average any time.

Final Exam (5%): Your final exam, scheduled for Friday, 14 December from 11:00-1:30 will consist of a reflective essay. The specific prompt will be distributed during the final exam period. The exam will be open note, open book.

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