ENGLISH 2308 LIBRARY RESEARCH ASSIGNMENT: 2 APRIL 2013
(5% of STUDENT’S FINAL GRADE)
For class on Tuesday, 2 April 2013, students will be spending the scheduled classroom time of 90 minutes at the Texas Tech University Main Library for an independent research day rather than in the classroom.
Students need to choose one topic from the topics listed below and, instead of going to the classroom, they need to go straight to the Main Library for their class. At the library, students will conduct independent research on that chosen topic for the entire class period. The student, while researching, must be attempting to make explicit connections between the research material and the classroom course content.
Please note that students need to obtain information that will allow them to create a five-minute oral presentation. Please note that the student must also consult a minimum of three library sources and document all library sources used in a complete Bibliography (formatted according to MLA formatting guidelines).
***NOTE: The research will be presented in the coming weeks of class, and when the student presents will depend on which topic the student chose to research. A PowerPoint is not necessary unless the student wishes to do one. No essay is required; the student will gather information and notes during the research day and organize the material/notes into a five-minute (at most) talk for the other students. The presentations will follow in the weeks to come.
Instructor’s Grading Guidelines for the Student Library Assignment
Content / Research: Was the information insightful, thoughtful? Was there evidence of details, of depth of thinking, of grasping of concepts, and grappling with the chosen topic? Was the information obtained relevant?
Organization: Was the information organized? Did the student obtain enough information for a five-minute oral presentation?
Research Methods: Was the bibliography put together according to MLA guidelines? Were there at least three library sources consulted from the university library’s collections?
Language / Delivery: Was the information presented in an articulate, comprehensible manner? Was the style of address (the manner of delivery) or format of the information appropriate to the material presented?
Synthesis: Was the research material gained applied appropriately to the class material? Were explicit connections made between the research topic and the course content of English 2308?
LIST OF RESEARCH TOPICS
LITERARY
The history and importance of satire.
The origin and importance of the “fourth genre” of creative non-fiction.
The literary biography and importance of one of the following writers: Jonathan Swift; Henry David Thoreau; James Baldwin; Gloria Anzaldua; George Orwell; Barry Lopez
HISTORICAL
Human migration and settlements in the Americas.
The Alamo from the Mexican experience.
The Manhattan Project at Los Alamos (to be connected later to Stanley Crawford’s writings)
Colonel MacKenzie and the Comanche Peoples in the Lubbock area.
The civil war in Guatemala (beginning in 1960) and the US involvement in that war.
POLITICAL & ECONOMIC
NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) and its benefits and costs to Mexico
American immigration reform in the past ten years.
Food and Drug Administration and its reforms (or lack of).
Current rates of undocumented workers coming into the US, and the cost/benefit analysis of these workers.
CULTURAL AND PHILOSOPHICAL
Transcendentalism
Locovore movement and the growth of farmer’s markets.
Current success rates of American education as compared to other developed nations.
ENVIRONMENTAL & HEALTH
The beaching of whales.
The pine beetle destruction of North American forests.
Sixth Massive Period of Species Extinction and endangered species
Climate change.
Desertification of the Midwest in the US and the potential loss of the Oglalla Aquifer.
Toxic ingredients in food products.
Toxic ingredients in cosmetic products.
Recent food poisoning and food recalls in the US.
Controversy of GMO products and the issue of labeling them.
Current rates of obesity and diabetes in the US and the cost of these diseases to the nation.
(5% of STUDENT’S FINAL GRADE)
For class on Tuesday, 2 April 2013, students will be spending the scheduled classroom time of 90 minutes at the Texas Tech University Main Library for an independent research day rather than in the classroom.
Students need to choose one topic from the topics listed below and, instead of going to the classroom, they need to go straight to the Main Library for their class. At the library, students will conduct independent research on that chosen topic for the entire class period. The student, while researching, must be attempting to make explicit connections between the research material and the classroom course content.
Please note that students need to obtain information that will allow them to create a five-minute oral presentation. Please note that the student must also consult a minimum of three library sources and document all library sources used in a complete Bibliography (formatted according to MLA formatting guidelines).
***NOTE: The research will be presented in the coming weeks of class, and when the student presents will depend on which topic the student chose to research. A PowerPoint is not necessary unless the student wishes to do one. No essay is required; the student will gather information and notes during the research day and organize the material/notes into a five-minute (at most) talk for the other students. The presentations will follow in the weeks to come.
Instructor’s Grading Guidelines for the Student Library Assignment
Content / Research: Was the information insightful, thoughtful? Was there evidence of details, of depth of thinking, of grasping of concepts, and grappling with the chosen topic? Was the information obtained relevant?
Organization: Was the information organized? Did the student obtain enough information for a five-minute oral presentation?
Research Methods: Was the bibliography put together according to MLA guidelines? Were there at least three library sources consulted from the university library’s collections?
Language / Delivery: Was the information presented in an articulate, comprehensible manner? Was the style of address (the manner of delivery) or format of the information appropriate to the material presented?
Synthesis: Was the research material gained applied appropriately to the class material? Were explicit connections made between the research topic and the course content of English 2308?
LIST OF RESEARCH TOPICS
LITERARY
The history and importance of satire.
The origin and importance of the “fourth genre” of creative non-fiction.
The literary biography and importance of one of the following writers: Jonathan Swift; Henry David Thoreau; James Baldwin; Gloria Anzaldua; George Orwell; Barry Lopez
HISTORICAL
Human migration and settlements in the Americas.
The Alamo from the Mexican experience.
The Manhattan Project at Los Alamos (to be connected later to Stanley Crawford’s writings)
Colonel MacKenzie and the Comanche Peoples in the Lubbock area.
The civil war in Guatemala (beginning in 1960) and the US involvement in that war.
POLITICAL & ECONOMIC
NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) and its benefits and costs to Mexico
American immigration reform in the past ten years.
Food and Drug Administration and its reforms (or lack of).
Current rates of undocumented workers coming into the US, and the cost/benefit analysis of these workers.
CULTURAL AND PHILOSOPHICAL
Transcendentalism
Locovore movement and the growth of farmer’s markets.
Current success rates of American education as compared to other developed nations.
ENVIRONMENTAL & HEALTH
The beaching of whales.
The pine beetle destruction of North American forests.
Sixth Massive Period of Species Extinction and endangered species
Climate change.
Desertification of the Midwest in the US and the potential loss of the Oglalla Aquifer.
Toxic ingredients in food products.
Toxic ingredients in cosmetic products.
Recent food poisoning and food recalls in the US.
Controversy of GMO products and the issue of labeling them.
Current rates of obesity and diabetes in the US and the cost of these diseases to the nation.