Write 3-4 pages double-spaced, connect your object to one of the texts we’ve read thus far for class: a particular poem by Phillis Wheatley, OR Aphra Behn’s
Oroonoko, OR Olaudah Equiano’s
The Interesting Narrative.
· Beginning: Begin with the small: Your description of the object. Possible questions raised by the object. Introduce the text by giving a brief (2-3 sentence) description of the plot, historical/political/cultural context.
· Middle: Create a discourse between object AND text. How does this object enrich a particular passage or verse in your chosen text? Does it illuminate a theme in the text (one that is more specific than “slavery” or “abolitionist”)? Does it support or challenge the narrative of the text? Consider the author of both the object and text. All of these “objects” – those from the archives as well as the texts we are reading in class – have a specific political position in relation to their subject.
o Choose ONE or TWO specific moments from the text (plot points in the narrative, images from the poem) in the form of quotes that would enrich one’s knowledge of this object. (Make sure your quotes adhere to MLA style.) Here is where your close reading of the text goes. What is the significant thread between object and text? What is the narrative that comes to the surface? What is the story that emerges by putting object and text in dialogue with one another? How does one speak to the other?
· End: Are there any lingering questions? Larger-scope implications? What is the answer to the “so what?” question?
· Your final draft should be 3-4 pages double-spaced in length and adhere to the criteria outlined above.
· Include a Works Cited page using MLA style for your object and the primary text (details will be emailed to you on formatting).
· Your paper should have quotes from your primary text though secondary sources are optional and certainly not mandatory (should you see fit).