Victorian Novel 4122/5122

The purpose of this assignment is to have each of you explore the lives and interests of different figures, ideas, and events in Victorian Period. What I'd like you to prepare is a 1 1/2 - 2 page paper that outlines the life of the topic you've been assigned and that contextualizes the person or the event within the themes of this class. In other words, I don't want you to provide a dry and unreflective biography gleaned (or copied) from various encyclopedias. Rather, consider the issues, the themes, the historical circumstances and the cultural forces that you believe may have shaped your topic and helped make it significant. (E.G. consider why you think your classmates should know more about your topic!).

Imagine that you are writing a entry for a handbook about Victorian culture that will eventually be distributed to English Majors at UNC Charlotte who have an interest in the literature and social culture of the 19th Century. Your "entry" should help the reader understand social issues as well as the specific details of your topic's influence in the period. Don't be afraid of taking a reflective view or of suggesting thoughts and/or ideas that you feel might not "fit" in a traditional handbook.

Don't forget to cite your sources. If you have problems finding materials, let me know. You'll have to turn in your topic on the NEW due date and be prepared to given a 5 minute presentation about your topic on the date you've been assigned. (Your assigned date is also the date in the 2nd column of Discussions Topics.)

                                          DUE: Thurs. Feb. 5th, 2004

On the day that you have been assigned a "Discussion Topic," bring in at least 3 questions or concerns about the text that we're currently reading. One of the 3 questions can be about a point of fact (e.g. What's a Guinea?), but the others should be substantive. That is your questions should investigate structure, stylistics, plot direction, historical/social context, etc. and thus should have sufficient meaningful consequences for other students to prompt interest and discussion. In the subsequent class (from your "Discussion Topic" day), you should bring in a typed list of your topics and a brief summary of how you think they fared in discussion. (e.g. The discussion elicited by your topic took off in a direction you didn't anticipate... explaining why.) This assignment should be no more than a single page.