The Literary Criticism Web

Appalachian College Association
Application for 1999 Student/Faculty Research Grant

"Teaching Literary Criticism with the New Media"
Dr. Tom Fish, Cumberland College
23 November 1998

Description of Project

This project will develop a website containing an archive of materials and interactive resources in support of teaching critical theory and practice to undergraduate English majors and minors. This website will have three major "hubs": 1) an overview of critical theory; 2) an overview of documentation and the use of critical resources; and 3) an online writer's workshop of exercises on critical theory and practice.

An Overview of Critical Theory

This hub of the website will include introductory summaries and notes on at least eight critical approaches to literature commonly practiced today:

For each critical mode, illustrative samples will be included that have been written specifically for this project. Also included will be an archive of evaluative summaries of some seminal works on various critical theories, thumbnail biographies of important individuals in the evolution of literary criticism, a glossary of terms and concepts related to literary criticism, and (to the extent allowed under the "fair use" exemption of copyright regulations) a selection of excerpted passages of professional writing. An archive of samples of student writing will also be initiated, as well as a bibliography of books, articles, and web resources on literary criticism.

All of these materials will be woven together with hypertext links enabling a user to jump from a theoretical overview to its historical background, to a glossary entry, to an illustration of its practical application. For instance, a user could move from a general introduction to the concept of "sign-systems" in literature, to a glossary definition of "binary opposition," to a discussion of the juxtaposition of Marlow and Kurtz in Heart of Darkness.

An Overview of Documentation and the Use of Critical Resources

This hub of the website will provide a general description of the proper procedures outlined by the Modern Language Association for documenting the use of resources in writing. Samples of proper bibliographic citation and in-text documentation will be provided for both traditional printed resources as well as contemporary electronic media. Guidelines will be introduced for evaluating the authority and legitimacy of both print and new media sources. An overview will also be provided for strategies in making quotations and writing summary or paraphrase. Additional guidelines will be generated and samples given for the smooth integration of references to primary and secondary sources into a writer's independent argument. In addition, this hub will also include a bibliography of other resources, both in print and online, concerning documentation and research methods.

Online Writer's Workshop

The third major hub of the website will consist of a series of online exercises over the materials provided in the other two hubs. Using online testing software (such as "Quiz Please"), exercises will be generated that test the user's familiarity with the concepts, procedures, and logical structure associated with various critical approaches. Other exercises will also test the user's ability to apply proper quotation and documentation procedures, as well as to recognize and correct problems with proper use of summary and paraphrase.

Preparation and Expertise

I have the technical and professional background and expertise to successfully complete this project:

1. I have been teaching literary criticism to undergraduates for nearly fifteen years. I am well acquainted with the critical theories to be covered and with the resources to be drawn upon.
   
2. I have much experience in using computers in the classroom and in developing websites. This past summer with a Technology Grant from Cumberland College I developed a website in support of ENGL 331: English Literature through 1660. This project included developing a number of online assignments for students. I have also developed three other websites on campus, including Cumberland's AWACS site providing cyberspace resources for writers and also a rudimentary class site for ENGL 230: Literary Criticism. This later site will provide the skeleton for the proposed project.
   
3. The student-colleague I have recruited is one of the top majors currently enrolled in ENGL 230. She is also a workstudy student employed in the English Department's computer lab with solid basic abilities in using computer resources. With her English credentials, her computing aptitude and her intellectual curiosity, she seems an ideal partner on this project.

Evaluation of Resources and Benefits

This project offers me a number of opportunities to grow as a professional and to continue to develop an area of the English curriculum to which I am committed. The major tasks in the project, I believe, will come in generating the materials to be included in the "critical overview" hub of the website. Although this section will undoubtedly be an ongoing task, particularly in the gathering of professional and student samples, the framework and basic content of the hub can be completed in the summer term of this project. The materials of the "Documentation" hub are relatively limited in scope and offer no major obstacles in content or format to complete. Developing the materials for the third hub, the "online workshop," will take some care, but the primary challenges to this section are technical. However, I intend to draw upon one of my colleague's considerable experience with online testing software--particularly with a software package called "Quiz Please." This is the software which I currently intend to acquire for the project.

This project will provide valuable resources to both me and my students in ENGL 230: Literary Criticism. The major assignment in the course requires students to generate a critical casebook on a specific literary work. The proposed website will provide a coherent and felicitous means of assisting students in the intellectual and logistical tasks of this assignment. One of my long-term goals in the course is to provide students an opportunity to produce their casebooks online. While such a product is not explicitly a part of this project, the proposed website of resources will provide a pedagogical stepping stone toward this goal. More generally, the proposed literary criticism web will provide student-scholars of literature new avenues to learning the craft of literary criticism, as well as the opportunity to develop both the technical and intellectual expertise to use the new media as a research tool. Finally, this project will provide me and my student-colleague an excellent collaborative learning experience. We will be going "where no one has gone before"--at least at Cumberland College!

updated 07/29/99