Presentation (to be scheduled anytime before Jan. 29 and May 5—except for the days of the midterm) Objectives:
To study a representative work of world literature, analyzing the work in depth OR to provide a useful context for understanding a work or a genre of world literature;
To promote the class' understanding of this work or its context;
To identify and appreciate genre, content, and style;
To develop critical thinking;
To examine the work in relation to its context (literary, social, and historical environment);
To facilitate group discussions of issues pertaining to the work or its context; To investigate secondary sources on the work, applying these to promote further understanding of works from different genres and cultures.
In this project, I will be looking for a well-focused, developed, and organized presentation that adds to our understanding of a literary work and its cultural contexts. This presentation may be a solo presentation; alternately, up to three of you may join together to present on a work, or you may put together a web-only presentation. This may be a good option for those of you who are more introverted because you will be able to write, research, or handle technical and/or administrative duties while your colleagues speak to the class.
However, many groups do run into rough spots along the way, so it’s important to work with people you feel comfortable with and to keep each other on track. It may help to divide up the roles. If you are in the Honors Module, I encourage you to lead a group, and I would like you to explore a specific question. You may focus on a particular work from our reading list, or, if you are in the Honors Module, you may discuss a work outside this list. (In the latter case, you will need to give a quick summary of this work.)
Each solo presenter will have 5-10 minutes. Each group will have 15-20 minutes for the entire presentation. Time and interest permitting, you may go over this limit. If you will be presenting by yourself, choose one aspect that will illuminate your work for us. If you will be working in a group, you may discuss more than one aspect, but be sure that each topic included in your presentation complements the others.
For example, if your group has chosen to discuss Raise the Red Lantern, each person could explain his or her favorite scene. Alternately, one person could give some background on China before its revolution, a second person could talk about women’s roles in that society, and a third person could talk about polygamy there.
However, this presentation need not be on an academic topic. One student demonstrated the game of Go in order to give us another window on Japanese culture. Another student told us about a game played by the Atzecs. Other students gave us guided tours of Dante’s Florence and Shakespeare’s London respectively. Another group of students presented on Chinese holidays, providing us with delicious food and showing us a clip from a TV show shown on New Year’s Day. Then several students presented on the world premiere of Current Nobody, a play that they had seen.
If you have traveled to India, Africa, or Japan, a presentation about your experience might be interesting. Alternately, you may want to present on a contemporary film from one of the cultures that we are studying. Also feel free to bring food, drink, or music that augments your presentation.
Feel free to use the web pages I will be posting as sources for your presentation although these pages are only starting points. You may find that additional library research will be useful. I also encourage you to incorporate audio-visual materials in your presentation. I am able to request a computer with a DVD player if you give me a week’s notice. Interestingly, though, one of the most dynamic presenters ever used the chalkboard for his presentation on Indian culture, and several students during the summer used the good old poster board method.
Half of the grade for this project will be based on your presentation in front of the class; the other half will be based on your preparation for this presentation. Be sure to keep me posted and provide me with your note cards. I am confident in your ability to handle any problems that occur, but if problems occur, I do like to know about them before the day of the presentation. (Moreover, I want to make sure that my presentations and yours don’t overlap.)
Finally, make sure that your presentation fits into the schedule. Everyone is expected to participate in this assignment, but a presentation that discusses The Story of the Stone once we’ve moved on to Mother Courage just won’t work. On the other hand, it may be an excellent idea to review The Story of the Stone before our midterm or our final. (By the way, questions about the presentations will be on each exam, so it will be important for you to attend and take notes. And, of course, everyone deserves a good audience and a lively question & answer session afterwards.)
A-- This presentation will be well-focused, well-developed, and well-organized, with a specific theme. If this is a group presentation, each student’s section will fit smoothly into this theme, and it will be clear that the group works well together. Tasks within the group have been divided fairly, with each student taking on a definite, significant role. Taking advantage of audio-visual support, students will choose topics and approaches that help the class understand the literary work and its contexts more fully. As they look and listen, the audience will recognize that this presentation has been planned out and rehearsed. Clear, concise handouts will be available. There may even be an opportunity for the audience to participate in this presentation. The introduction and conclusion will tie the parts of this presentation together. The audience will be encouraged to ask questions afterwards.
B -- This presentation will be focused, developed, and organized, with a general theme. For the most part, the group’s theme will hold everything together, and all support will be relevant. Tasks within the group have been divided fairly, with each student taking on a role. Students will choose useful topics and approaches, taking advantage of audio-visual support. This presentation will have been planned out and rehearsed beforehand. Handouts will be available. The introduction will be relevant, and the conclusion will tie up all loose ends. The presentation will engage the audience who will be encouraged to ask questions afterwards.
C-- For the most part, this presentation will be focused and organized. There will be a theme, and each student will have a definite role. However, there may be some overlap or gaps. The group will have planned out its presentation. A handout may be available. There will be a clear introduction and conclusion. Most of the presentation will interest the audience.
D--For the most part, this presentation will have some sort of a focus. One or two members of the group may not have been involved in planning this presentation. Some of the presentation will interest the audience. There may be no handouts, or handouts may be irrelevant.
F--This presentation will be sketchy, running under its allotted time. Alternately, this presentation will be digressive and disorganized, its focus changing from time to time. The introduction and conclusion may be missing or irrelevant. I have also posted some of the presentations from the previous semesters on Blackboard so that you can see some good examples and improve on them.
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