Assignments & Evaluation

Transatlantic Digital Moonstone Project (35%)

Wilkie Collins’s bestseller The Moonstone was published simultaneously in the UK in All the Year Round and in the U.S. in Harper’s Magazine. Through this digital class project, we will investigate the question of what difference the original publishing context makes to the meaning of the bestseller. How do advertisements, illustrations, other stories, and even the page layout affect our reading of a novel? Can the U.S. Moonstone
and the U.K. Moonstone still be considered the same novel? Each student will be responsible for one serial number of the novel. Students will choose and annotate half a dozen images from the two serials in order to make an argument about their similarities and differences.

Creative Project (15%)

In groups of around three students, we will work to produce creative adaptations of one of the Victorian bestsellers on our course. You may choose to present the story as a YouTube Video, a board game or a card game, a graphic novel or any other format you as a group propose. To take part in this group project, you must be in class in weeks twelve and thirteen. Groups will submit their project with a two page (500 to 750 word) critical explanation on D2L, and will present their work to the class on Tuesday April 10th.

If you cannot attend due to extenuating circumstances, email me in advance to make alternate arrangements.

Reading Quizzes (10%)

Throughout the semester, we will have five to seven reading quizzes, which I will announce in-class beforehand. I will drop the lowest assignment to account for missed classes; there will be no make-up assignments unless you make other arrangements with me due to serious illness or other personal matters.

Twitter (5%)

The social networking site Twitter has gained tremendous currency over the past few years as a place where academics and professionals can learn and share ideas. To spark our class conversations and keep them going throughout the week, everyone in the class will tweet a minimum of six times a week (with at least one tweet before each class). We will use the hashtag #ENGL519 to keep track of the tweets. The only guidelines are that your tweets must be respectful and relevant to the class. Your tweets could include 1) a question or an observation about the reading 2) a quotation from the reading 3) a response to a tweet 4) a link to a relevant resource (scholarly article, film adaptation etc.). Because Twitter is public, I encourage you to put your best, most professional foot forward in your tweets. You can follow your classmates and me @kbourrier, but I also encourage you to follow people in your future career path. It will be easiest for everyone in the class to link Twitter identities with classroom identities if you are comfortable using your name and a picture of yourself as part of your Twitter handle, but this is not required. If you choose to be anonymous, let me know what your Twitter handle is so that I can give you credit for participation. Students who complete the six tweets a week, and whose tweets show engagement with the texts can expect to receive an A- (4/5), with an A+ (5/5) being reserved for exceptional engagement.

Final Exam (35%)

The registrar-scheduled final exam will include passage identification and one essay question. The exam date is not yet up. Students must be available for examinations up to the last day of the examination period. Late and Missed Assignments Graded assignments will be penalized by one-third of a letter grade for each day they are late, including weekends. All our assignments will be submitted online. There are no extra credit assignments in this class. Students must pass all components of the course, including participation, to receive a passing grade in the class. Grading system In this course, all essays, exams, and short assignments will receive a numerical grade. Your final numerical grade will be converted using the following scale: 2 of 6
90+% 85–89 % 80–84 % 77–79 % 74–76 % 70–73 % 67–69 % 64–66 % 60–63 % 55–59 % 50–54 % 0 – 49 % F0 A+ 4.0 A 4.0 A– 3.7 B+ 3.3 B 3.0 B– 2.7 C+ 2.3 C 2.0 C– 1.7 D+ 1.3 D 1.0 Please note that, according to the University Calendar (F.1), instructors may use their discretion when rounding upwards or downwards when the average of term work and exams is between two letter grades. Although the A+ is solely an honorific that entails no additional points in the 4-point system, the course instructor will employ this mark to distinguish superlative work that exceeds expectations in style, correctness, intellectual depth and breadth, sophistication, and originality.