LITR 4232 American Renaissance UHCL 2006 research proposals

Edgar Allan Poe's writing has a particular quality about it that causes everyone, not just literature aficionados, to immediately recognize his style. The tone and musicality combine with the theme so perfectly that it seems like every reader can correctly identify the author, even if that person has never read that particular work before. This phenomenon, while rare, is not unique. Shakespeare does not fit this identification. Most of his work is famous due to saturation, not stylistic recognition. Roald Dahl does fit this pattern, but has no relation to this class.

On the other hand, Lewis Carroll wrote at approximately the same time as Poe and does fit this pattern. I would like to explore this phenomenon between Poe and Carroll. Using a journal study, I hope to discover information about their popularity while alive and postmortem. I might include some biographical information for literary context and comparison. I hope to include a small survey to test recognition of the two authors, among people that are not literature students or teachers. I would also like to have a comparison of their styles; insomuch as musicality, phrasing and tone is appropriate. Finally, I suspect there will be a note on cultural comparison.

I plan on doing the Research (option 1) for my Research proposal. I have decided to narrow down my research topic to transcendentalism. This topic interests me because of the idea of being one with nature and that nature is divine. I want to begin with a broad overview of transcendentalism and then dive into the subject using text we have read and discussed in class. I would like to discuss the topic of transcendentalism with the help of authors such as Thoreau, Emerson, and Fuller as well as others. Are there any sources that would help me in the path that I am heading?

I am taking a Civil War history class this semester, and the first part of the semester the professor spent some time lecturing about the transformation of America. Some transformations included population growth, urbanization, improvements in transportation, industrialization, improvements in food preservation, westward expansion, and technological and scientific progress. All these changes are exciting for the young America; however there is a darker side to the bright future of America. Examples of the darker side would be slavery, lack of women’s rights, Indian removal, and American identity in terms of multiculturalism and cultural fears. America is a rapidly changing society.

I would like to research how American writers used the gothic form in narrative and representative literature to convey these anxieties using the journal format. For this should I use as many examples of the dark side or should I just pick a few and develop the idea fully? Right now, I am considering slavery, women’s rights, and Indian removal just because I am more familiar with these topics. Multiculturalism and cultural fears is still a bit fuzzy. I would appreciate any input. Thanks.

After reading Marie Brookreson’s Research proposal from 2003, I realized that I too have studied about slavery and bondage in many classes, but shut this world from my mind the second I shut the classroom door. Reading Marie’s entry sparked the thought that I’ve always thought of slavery as something of the past, which is probably why I never thought about it much. But in truth, slavery exists even today. The practice is different but the form is still alive. Millions today work in malnourished, dehumanizing conditions where they are degraded physically, emotionally and morally and treated as a commodity (or as Jacobs and Douglass write in their narratives, “as chattel”). Some of the ways slavery exists today: bonded labor (physical labor demanded as payment of debt), trafficking (exploiting people), child labor and even early and forced marriages (without choice, forced into a life of servitude).

As an educator, I encourage my students to personalize literature and find the thread which connects it to their daily lives. I would like to practice what I teach and would like to compare the effects of slavery today with those of the past. But, more importantly, I would also like to explore what is being done about slavery. In the past, Fuller, Douglass, Emerson, Jacobs and many others stood up against slavery and resisted conforming with the masses. Who is standing up for these slaves today? Also, literature was a powerful medium through which these individuals got support for abolition. Is there literature today which is hoping to make a difference in these dehumanized lives? Lastly, I want to explore the effects of education on slavery. Through our readings of the slave narratives, we know the powerful impact education had on slaves. Do slaves today have the same difficulties in obtaining education? Those that have to good fortune to obtain it, how is it making a difference in their lives?

I think my proposal falls under Option 2 – the Journal option since I am exploring more than one theme and relating the past with the present.

Dr. White, do you think my topic is too broad? I would greatly appreciate if you have any recommendations or comments.

Also, I have found articles and publishings online and at the library a great starting place. Would you have any suggestions as to where else I can look?

For my research project, I have chosen Option 1. The topic that interests me the most within this time period is Edgar Allen Poe. I had never read anything by him until I entered high school. The work that got me into his writing was that of “Annabelle Lee”. This sparked my interest because the girl giving the presentation on him gave his history as well. She said that this was a poem about his cousin whom he loved. This left me with the question, ‘just how much of his life influenced his writing?’.

Also, I adore the flow and sound of his work. The gothic imagery is simply amazing. For this reason, I would also like to look at “The Raven” as well. If there are any other works that may point at his life, I would be appreciative if you would point them out to me. Because, I have also heard that he was a carrier of Tuberculosis, causing the deaths of his partners in life. Would this be a sufficient paper topic?

I plan on doing option 1 the research essay. I have decided to narrow my research to the slave texts in our books. I am basically going to compare and contrast each story. When reading Frederick Douglass I really got into what his life was like and how it was different even from Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin. What would be one of the best stories to use out of the book for my main point?

I have been mulling over many readings from our class and realized the impression that Poe made on me. I really enjoy his writings and the interesting life he lead which in turn made an impression on his writings. I think option #1 would work best for the type of research I want to explore. I am going to explore the romanticism, as well as, the more well known Gothic aspects of Poe's writings. Because I am not exploring many topics I think option #1 would work better . Do you think the topic is too broad? I can look at only one or two stories and narrow the genre to only short stories or poems.

I think I've decided to choose Option 1 on the research project. Maybe because I like the idea of a traditional analytic/research essay and also because I want to focus it one subject other than a broader one. I would like to do it on Emily Dickinson. I've been reading about her in a few articles and think that her hidden poetry life is interesting. Also I think she wrote good poetry, meaning the elements and forms of it. I also started reading her poetry from the website you posted.

However, I am not sure or completely decided on Option 1. If I chose Option 2, then I could possibly do it on Emily, and some other poets or writers, comparing their works, lives, styles of writing, maybe relating them to romanticism.....I am not sure what Option 2 could have in store for me but I would like to do research on Emily. You know I like Poe though too. I like mysterious poets with interesting backgrounds who express it through their poetry. I like poetry the best, and maybe short stories secondly.

So that's why I thought of Option 2...maybe. Or I could just focus on Dickinson for Option 1. Of course my proposal will be set in stone by the 14th, just needed a little feedback. Thanks and see you tomorrow in class.

I would like to do the journal option and concentrate on the sublime. I am mostly interested in the broad appeal of the idea of the sublime. When you first explained the idea in class I had an immediate understanding of it as something I had experienced and seen in novels and films, but just didn't have a name for.

I want to talk about how it is a universal idea, and is used not only in the literature we are reading but also in popular culture today. I would include Poe, Emerson, Thoreau, and Irving. I would include movies like Pride and Prejudice, American Beauty, Saving Private Ryan, and Ghost. Is this too broad or narrowed? I might include other texts or movies depending on research. I am also concerned that this may be hard to research.

I want to do either an essay or a journal about the way gothic has both changed and remained the same over the years. I want to look at how the same gothic elements that Poe utilizes in his story, The House of Usher, are different or the same as modern-day works. I will review both films and novels/stories written in the present, and compare and contrast the use of gothic to that of Poe. I’m thinking of including the film “House on Haunted Hill,” but I was wondering if you had any suggestions of other movies or literature of today that I can use in my comparison. I would like to do a journal, so would it be plausible to start off by pointing out how Poe utilizes the gothic element, and then go into how other authors/writers have developed their own style? I’m thinking, if I did this sort of journal, then every entry would be a different piece of literature/film. Is this topic too wide?

I finally figured out what I would like to do for my research project. I would like to do a journal entry on Poe - concentrating on the sublime - under Option 2. I know that when one thinks of Poe, one thinks of the Gothic - which will obviously be included in the journal research - but I want to concentrate on the sublime elements in a variety of his work. Is this too vague? I know he has so much work published, so I think I would like to mainly concentrate on his short stories. Will this be okay? Or do I also need to include his poetry? I would appreciate any insight you could give me on this.

After reading many proposals of former students, I drew inspiration from Linsey Allnatt's 2004 proposal contrasting Hawthorne and Poe. However, I would like to focus an essay solely on the allegorical aspects of the gothic in Hawthorne and Poe in three specific stories: "Young Goodman Brown", "The Minister's Black Veil", and "The Masque of The Red Death." I could, perhaps, tie this in with aspects of the psychological as well. This seems to suit option 1 best because it is focused on such a specific theme. Still, do you think it is too narrow or too broad a topic? Do you think I will have any trouble finding adequate information? Any comments or suggestions are most welcome.

I am sad to say that I do not recall learning much of the slave history of the United States during my years in public junior high or high school. Perhaps such topics were not discussed at that time for fear of uncomfortable situations. Regardless, the limited contact I have had with the slave narratives in our class has had a tremendous impact on me. I had the privilege of reading Toni Morrison’s Beloved in another class, and my eyes were opened to the horrors of slavery, but even more to the solace individual slaves found in things of a spiritual nature. I witnessed similar forms of escape in the slave narratives I read for this class, which leads me to the topic I would like to attempt for my Research Proposal.

I would like to write an essay and attempt to point out the spiritual sublime moments in representative literature as the “soul” motivating factor in the survival of slaves. I have skimmed through Weiskell’s Romantic Sublime, and I believe it will be of great assistance to me as a background source.

Do you think this topic is too broad or narrow to accomplish an essay of this nature?

I would like to choose option 1, the essay, because I feel that, the material I want to cover is more of exploring old roots than digging up new ones. In my research paper, I would like to compare and contrast the romantic and sublime themes in mostly gothic-considered works, including The Last of the Mohicans, Rip Van Winkle , and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. I truly enjoyed reading Mohicans and found that the romanticism is not fully acknowledged except towards the end of the novel while the gothic is interposed throughout the novel. In contrast, I feel that Rip Van Winkle and Legend of Sleepy Hollow both hold heavier gothic themes with underlying sublime and romantic aspects. I would like to find out why these works are not considered romantic and why they are only presented in a mythical light instead of showing the complex situations that arise in these stories. I would also like to look into the background of the authors and find out where their gothic nature came from, whether it attributed to their character or community.

I think my topic is still too broad; is there any way that I should narrow this down to present the essay better? Should I look at something specific like women characters or the leading characters or the setting? I am not sure if this is what you are looking for but I will keep working at it until I get it right. Thank you for your time.

Given the political and social conditions today, Thoreau's words have consequences for the modern reader that Thoreau seemed to have anticipated. I would like to explore Thoreau's writings in greater depths, including essays NOT included within our readings, and contemplate these issues within the context of modern America, and the “War on Terror”. Frederick Douglass might also be incorporated within these contemplations as examples of the power of social influence determining the accuracy of an individuals “moral compass”, both in the writers' time period, i.e. Slavery, and issues that effect society, and more importantly, the individual, today. “Windows” of opportunity to allow for other authors to be incorporated into these contemplations will most certainly be open for the possibility, as they appear.

I would like to do Option 2 (journal). I am interested in examining the concept of correspondence ! and how it relates to the various authors we are studying in class. For example, I would look at Poe's descriptions and how they relate to his character's moods. I would also like to examine Hawthorne and Melville. I am unsure where my research will lead me, so I do not want to limit myself to any particular author. Instead, I hope that as I research my topic more possibilities will become available and a cohesive journal will emerge.

After reading a few journal assignments, I noticed that some were written in the first person. I have a few question: First, I have never done a journal assignment before and I am not sure if my topic is journal material or research paper material. Please let me know if you think it is more research than journal. Second, are we allowed to write in the first person in the journal assignment? I was taught to always write in the third person when doing a formal paper. Since the journal assignment is something new I want to make sure I am doing it correctly.

I would like to write my research topic in a journal format on the genre of gothic and sublime. I would include books as The Last of the Mohicans, Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Rip Van Winkle. I would like to expand on the sublime aspect to understand what it means. I would like to add other texts ( not sure which yet) that relate to these stories and read up on the whole gothic/sublime category. Where can I find more information about this topic to incorporate it into this paper to make a good paper?

I would really love to focus on the development of Transcendentalism for my research project. As you can tell from my mid-term answer, I am quite captivated by the entire movement and look forward to learning as much as possible about it. I think I might want to focus on themes and/or ideas that served as influence for the formation of the Transcendental school of thought (such as Eastern religion and mysticism and/or traditional Judeo/Christian ideology).

I am not certain if this would make a great journal topic; it would probably work better as a traditional research paper. I am willing to approach it from either direction and I have already completed some preliminary research and found that there is no shortage of material on the subject. I would appreciate any feedback you have.