ENGL 4106 – Fall 2012

Final Project

Overview

The fictions in this course fall into three broad genres: gothic, modernist, and postmodernist. There is some overlap here; for example, Carter’s short stories have some gothic elements, and arguably Barth’s story “Lost in the Funhouse” does too. By contrast, you can argue that The Castle of Otranto anticipates trends in postmodernism. But the texts fit most straightforwardly into the following categories:

The Castle of Otranto -- gothic

Orlando -- modernist

Lost in the Funhouse -- postmodernist

The Bloody Chamber -- postmodernist

In the Skin of a Lion -- postmodernist

Each group should take one fictional text you have read here and re-invent it in another genre from the course. You might develop a modernist or postmodernist version of The Castle of Otranto, or a gothic or postmodernist variation on Orlando, or a gothic or modernist version of one of Barth’s stories, etc. (One group has asked whether it would be OK to re-invent several of the texts from the course, and that is fine as well.)

Your reinvention should centre on a narrative, but it may also include audio-visual elements. You can write a short story or story cycle, make a movie, write a poem cycle, write and record a series of songs, produce a graphic novel or more traditionally illustrated book… I will be happy to help you track down resources on campus (both in terms of technological apparatus and in terms of tutorials on how to use the apparatus).

            I am grading based on creativity, sophistication, and professionalism. As such, you should not simply resolve to meet some minimum length. Nevertheless, if you need suggestions about length, a short story or graphic novel might aim for around 10-15 pages; a film might aim for around 15-20 minutes; a cycle of poems or songs might include 5-6 poems/songs.

Grading

I will grade the projects based on 3 criteria:

Central idea – how sophisticated is your approach to this project? How well do you understand your chosen genre? How nuanced is your manipulation of that genre?

Originality – how original and inventive are the artistic elements of the project?

Professionalism – how polished is the project? Think of it as something you would be proud to exhibit publicly. I hope to be able to show these off within the department and beyond.

Individual narrative

Along with the collaborative project, each person should submit an individual narrative of 1-2 pages, typed, double spaced, in MLA format, with university-level grammar. This narrative should explain why you made the artistic decisions that you did and what were the most important contributions that you, personally, made to the project. 30% of your project grade will come from the individual narrative.

Please note that if your personal contributions to the project demonstrate inadequate time/effort in comparison to your fellow group members (in other words, if you did not pull your weight), this will adversely affect your grade on the project as a whole.

Office consultations

I encourage you to drop by during office hours any time you have questions or want to discuss the project, including – but not limited to – any help you may need to increase the project’s depth and sophistication.