ENG 416 – Eighteenth-Century British Literature 

Fall 2002

Dr. Berglund

Oral Presentations on Eighteenth-Century British Culture

The presentations are intended to introduce the class to aspects of eighteenth-century British culture and thus to improve your comprehension and enjoyment of the texts we read this semester.  Each group should work together to develop a well-organized and illustrated presentation that reviews the social history and importance of your topic.  You also must use your research to discuss one or more of the texts we're reading (I will assign each group specific texts).  You will be graded on both the quality of the research and the quality of the presentation itself.

Responsibilities of the speakers: research and preparation

 

Consult the books on reserve for this class for an introduction to your topic.

Investigate other sources of information.  Remember to look in bibliographies for possible leads and to consider various terms when searching computer databases  (e.g., such synonyms as "clothing," "costume," "dress"; “coffeehouses,” “clubs,” etc.).   Also, bear in mind that you will need extra time if you are ordering books through interlibrary loan.

Don't forget to consider music or visual resources.  If you wish to have slides made up (for example, from art books), you must provide the material to me at least two weeks in advance.  If you want to make transparencies, see me at least three days in advance.

In general, the University of Buffalo Library is a much better source of eighteenth century historical and critical material than is our library.

Some useful online resources are:

·        "Eighteenth-Century Resources" at http://www.c18.org/li/index.html

·        "Norton Topics Online: Restoration and Eighteenth Century" at http://www.wwnorton.com/nael/nto/18thCfrm.htm

·        “Art of William Hogarth” at http://www.haleysteele.com/hogarth/toc.html

·        “William Hogarth and 18th Century Print Culture” at http://www.library.northwestern.edu/spec/hogarth/main.html

When researching online, be very cautious about which sources you use.  Increasing numbers of college classes put material on the web, and their quality varies widely.  A “refereed” site (such as the c18.org site listed above) is usually more reliable even than a site sponsored by an individual college class or professor. Jack Lynch (of “Eighteenth-Century Resources”) generally offers a useful evaluation of the sites he lists.

Focus your research on one or two aspects of the topic that interest you; you are not responsible for its every eighteenth-century manifestation.  Decide among yourselves how to divide up the responsibilities for further research, collecting materials, and making the presentation itself.

Don't limit your research to books, articles or websites on the eighteenth century; your topic may have attracted a body of critical or theoretical study apart from strictly historical reportage. 

Once you have done initial research, but no less than one week before your presentation, meet with me to discuss your work-in-progress.  Come to this meeting prepared to ask about possible strategies, and to give me a clear sense of what you intend to do in class. The entire group may come see me, or you may appoint one or two representatives.

Consider what kind of material to present to the class, and how.  You may read prepared remarks or speak from notes.  Consider supplying handout material that you won't discuss in class.  Bear in mind that you should not simply provide information; rather, you must give the class a context for why the information is important, what it tells us about c18 culture.  For example, don’t just report that wigs and hoopskirts went out of fashion in the late c18/early c19—explain (or speculate about) why this change is important, and what it tells us about shifting cultural values, ways of looking gender, social class, and so on.

Think about ways to diversify and enliven the talk.  For example, you might show slides or transparencies, play music, bring in props, prepare a short dramatic scene, stage a debate, dress up in costume, etc.  As long as you educate us, the format of the presentation is your choice.  Consider whether you will need to rearrange the classroom, or even meet somewhere else.  Bear in mind that integrating different media into a presentation requires careful preparation and rehearsal; failure is a risk but the payoff can also be great!  Of course, some topics offer more scope for dramatic or visual presentation than do others; I will take that into account when evaluating your work.

 

The presentation itself

All members of the group must participate in the presentation.  The presentation must last at least 25 minutes and no more than 40 minutes, and will be followed by a question and discussion period. It is important to practice in advance so you know how long your report will take. If the presentation runs too long I will be obliged to call a halt, with possibly unfortunate consequences for the overall success of the presentation.

You must provide each member of the class with an outline of your major points and an annotated bibliography of at least five works—books, articles, web-pages, etc.—that you found useful, not including works on the syllabus.  The annotation should describe the source and explain you found helpful (or not helpful) about it.

 

After the presentation

Each of you should keep a journal or notes of your work.  At the class after your presentation, you must each hand in a two-page review of your project, evaluating your own role and that of the other members of your group.  This review will not be graded but must be handed in for you and the other members of your group to receive a grade on the presentation. 

In grading the presentation, I will evaluate:

·        Your research.  Is the material you present accurate?  Relevant?    Do you relate it effectively to the literature?  Did you focus on a manageable aspect of the topic?  Did you use reliable and authoritative sources?

·        The mechanics of the presentation.  Is it well organized?  Did you keep within the time limits?  Did you use supplementary material well?  Did the members of the group share equally in researching and presenting the material?  Did you engage and maintain the interest of your audience?  How did you handle the follow-up discussion?

Your grade will be determined thus: 30% quality of research; 45% individual contribution; 25% overall group presentation.  Part of the grade for your individual contribution will be based on the review of your co-presenters and part on my own observation of your work.

                    

Responsibilities of the audience:

·        Listen attentively and plan to ask questions.

·        Retain all handouts.  You will be expected to incorporate some of what you learn from the presentations into your final exam essay.

·        After each presentation, some of you will be assigned to commence the question and discussion period.  Your role here will count significantly toward your class participation grade.