| Having
looked closely at one written text in the first paper, your next step in
building an interdisciplinary analysis is to locate additional texts and
begin analyzing your texts as a set. This assignment will help you develop
your skills in identifying and explaining links and patterns, gain awareness
of how texts operate as a kind of cultural conversation about important
issues, and learn more about ideas about work in the United States. Note
that this project is not about demonstrating what you know but rather about
learning. Effort and critical thinking are more important than getting
some mythical "right answer." There isn't one, anyway.
The text web project involves
4 tasks:
-
Locate 3 texts that complement
the written text that you used in the first paper. Try to find materials
from the same time period that raise related issues, but you do not need
to find texts that necessarily agree with the ideas you identified in your
text analysis. 1 of your additional texts must be a visual image, and 1
must be an object (tool, piece of clothing, building, etc.). You may use
items that you have at home, or you may want to search the web for them.
If you're going to do a web search, I STRONGLY recommend that you begin
either with the Image Gallery or the Research Resources sections of our
course website, rather than using a general search engine. I think you'll
have much more luck.
-
Analyze the 3 additional texts,
using the intent/use/memory/signs/structure rubric that we've discussed
in class. Your analyses should be written up as notes, but not as papers.
If you produce about 1 page of handwritten notes on each text, you'll probably
have enough insight and information to move on to the next task.
-
Create a graphic that shows the
links between all 4 texts. You could create a grid, a map, a collage, a
storyboard - whatever you think will work. Have fun with this, but also
be sure that it shows your critical thinking. That is, the emphasis should
be on illustrating the patterns and connections you see in the texts, NOT
on artistic qualities or even creativity. Your graphic may include words,
but it should also show the relationships among the 4 texts in either spatial
or imagistic ways.
-
Write a 2-3 page overview that
describes the cultural conversation among these texts. In describing the
conversation, don't just say what each text says. Also identify how what
each text says to the others.
Note that the graphic and the
overview are basically 2 ways of doing the same thing.
Submit your text web in a
folder, including
-
copies or photos of the 3 additional
texts (I'd prefer NOT to get actual objects - a photo would be better)
-
The notes you took in analyzing
each text
-
Your graphic representation of
the relationship between them
-
Your overview of the conversation
among them
Grading
Criteria:
In evaluating these projects,
I will look at the following issues:
-
Completeness - have you
done everything listed above and done it thoughtfully and carefully?
-
Appropriate use of the analysis
rubric - do you consider all 5 parts of the rubric, and does your use
of them show that you understand them well?
-
Effective use of graphic representation
-
Does your graphic representation emphasize the connections, differences,
and patterns among the texts? Does it add to my understanding of your set
of texts? Does it seem to have added to your understanding? NOTE: This
is not a matter of your artistic abilities. A beautiful graphic could offer
no insights, while a very insightful graphic might be messy to look at
or amateurish in artistic terms.
-
Clarify of the Overview
- Do you clearly identify the issues of the cultural conversation and how
the different texts participate in that conversation?
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