Research Paper　last revised 5/17/11

Your major project for this course (worth 25% of your grade) is to take a question about medieval literature and compare how that question is answered in a literary (or literary critical) work and a modern film work. It might be a question about a theme, a character, or a critical approach—that choice is up to you. Graduate student papers should be 10-12 pages, not including abstract and works cited; undergraduate papers should be 7-9 pages, not including works cited. (SACS requires that we make grad students do more in 500-level courses.) The paper is due June 1 at the beginning of class; no extensions are possible.

You’ll need to start this project now, since you may have to get material on Interlibrary Loan or obtain films through a rental service like Blockbuster or Netflix (both of these have free two-week online subscriptions available through their websites if you choose to use that means of obtaining films). I have copies of some of the books involved and will be glad to loan them out on a first-come, first-served basis. In addition, be aware that the state legislature is planning to cut funding for the PASCAL services at Dacus library, so request any materials you need EARLY—preferably in the first week of the class—so that you get it before the money runs out!　

Your task is to pose (and refine) your question, examine your text and film very carefully, and then create a critical argument (that means you need a thesis beyond "Beowulf is in both of these works") that answers your question. Think of this as a potential conference paper for a literary conference; you will need to use secondary criticism and possibly some theoretical material to back up your thesis for the kinds of audiences who attend such conferences. Use whatever outside sources you need to support your argument; the class website has links to major medieval bibliographies that will save you a great deal of time in getting started. The paper should be doublespaced, perfectly documented in MLA form, and submitted at the beginning of the scheduled class meeting in hard copy as well as uploaded to www.turnitin.com.

I will ask you to e-mail me your question and your chosen comination of works for me by Friday May 20 at Noon. You are not limited to discussing those medieval works and films we have discussed in class, so if your interests take you to Shrek or The Two Towers or Sword of the Valiant or Everyman or Buffy the Vampire Slayer (Dr. Richardson has volunteered to be a reference source for Buffy or Xena papers), feel free to talk about those interests with me as you develop your topics. (I'll try to steer you away from potential pitfalls.) I will warn you that attempts to convince me that First Knight has merit will probably be met with raucous laughter and patent disbelief, so please be prepared for that potential response; if you've seen First Knight, I hope you'll understand my position. On the other hand, if you want to play with King Arthur and Saving Private Ryan, there are some interesting connections to be made, indeed, and if you're a Russell Crowe enthusiast, we may be able to strike a deal. (Last time I taught this course, a spirited write-in campaign pushed for Army of Darkness for all you Sam Raimi fans.) If you choose an off-the-wall or little-known film, I'd like to know enough in advance that I can rent the movie and watch it if I haven't seen it, so that I can grade your work fairly.

Some Possible Ideas for Final Project
  • The representation of a particular figure (e.g. Grendel, Lancelot, Maid Marian)
  • A "political" reading of a film/literature combination (for instance, Malory’s political criticism and Fuqua’s take on Iraq)
  • The importance of a particular medieval image in modern film (e.g. "Camelot," magic swords, dragons, the plucky maiden)
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  • The recasting or reshaping of a medieval work (for instance, King Arthur's claim to be "the truth behind the legend" or Robert Zemeckis' assertion that "I wanted to get rid of the Beowulf you read in high school")
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  • One of Eco's ten kinds of medievalisms and a particular film/lit combination (for instance, "The Middle Ages of National Identities," The Adventures of Robin Hood, and The Gest of Robin Hode)
  •   A way in which modern people rewrite the literature of the Middle Ages (along the lines of Darkon, etc.)
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    You might look at the articles by Ray Thompson, Sherron Lux, David Day, or Hugh Magennis as possible models (though length and depth of these articles does vary).

    I’m very open to a lot of different ways of approaching this paper, and will be happy to meet with you outside of class to discuss the evolution of your ideas. We will have rough draft conferences on May 30 and 31 to discuss your papers; more on these later. I have a rubric that you should consult to see what kinds of development I expect in these papers.