Research Journal:

Purpose: Students will extend their range of knowledge or familiarity with American Romanticism, its authors, and / or its constituent styles or genres. In brief, the journal might answer the question, "What do I want to know about this field of study, and in what types of sources or references do I find this knowledge most accessible?"

Length: Approximately 7-10 pages.

Content: Specific suggestions are given below, but overall the journal should demonstrate that you have, however briefly or tentatively, initiated research in one or more areas of American Romanticism.

Quality: Though time pressures will be considered, you should be careful not to let the label of "journal" make you lazy. All your writings should be readable and interesting, and none should look like first drafts.

Coherence: A journal provides opportunities for variety in learning, but students should look for opportunities to organize their diverse sources into larger themes according to the purposes of the assignment. The final grade will be determined largely on the “whole reading experience” of your journal for the instructor, who is reading your journal not as a reference work but from beginning to end. Therefore you need to emphasize continuity or transitions between parts, sharing a larger insight or convergence of knowledge with your reader. The introduction and conclusion provide the primary foci at which you should generalize on your learning, but connections, comparisons, and contrasts between the parts of your journal are also expected.

Due: by email, by either Wednesday, 3 July, or Friday, 5 July, depending on which of these days you turn in the final exam.

Nature of research: Given the course's time constraints, much if not most research may be "background"--i. e., encyclopedias, handbooks, other reference works, web sites.

Possible Topics:

Elements from the course objectives should be your first consideration:

Literary or stylistic subjects: romance, gothic, sublime, Romantic lyric poetry, Romantic nature

Historical or cultural subjects: When was Romanticism? Abolition, Romantic feminism, slave narratives, the Harlem Renaissance

Author studies: If you go this route, try to have a particular focus or sub-topic of interest rather than an “all-about” approach.

Research Journal--suggested contents: (page suggestions are for double-spaced print)

(Aside from the introduction and conclusion, all the numbers and items below are variable according to your interests and findings.)

·        Introduction (required): rationale: what you wanted to learn and how; preview contents, general themes, choices (1-1 & 1/2 pages)

Optional elements:

·        Overview of subject digested from several background sources. (2-5 pages)

·        Review of two student papers from previous course on webpage. (2-3 paragraphs each)

·        1-3 reviews of a scholarly book or books on your subject (2-3 paragraphs each)

·        Review of 2-3 websites (1-2 paragraphs on each site?)

·        You may suggest other possible items for inclusion in your journal.

·        Conclusion (required): In terms either of variety, priority, or unity, what have you learned from the gathering of your journal? Where might this knowledge take your studies or your teaching? What new issues have been introduced that you might like to study next? (2-3 pages)