ENGLISH 338 - Oral Literature

Possibilities for Final Projects

* Synthesis piece - what is oral literature, what are it’s formal characteristics, how would you explain the audience elements, what is the relationship between voice and text in literature today? etc. (Write an 8-10pp. piece that begins with a set of simulated exam questions, and then answers them, drawing widely on course readings.

* Critical Performance Essay, 8-10 pp (discussing a performance, issue, or concept relevant to the class. E.g. “Slam Ritual: Identifying Continuities Between Performance Poetry and Traditional Healing Chants of Maria Sabina”; or “Fronting the Self: Toast Performance and the Fashioning of Ethnic Identity”

* Critical Text Essay 8-10pp. (drawing on course readings) that identifies oral /performance features in a text/voice from the past.

* Creative Work and Commentary: produce a performance score and recording, framing it with an in-depth (min 4 pp) explanation of characteristic oral elements/ performance keys, discussion of scoring and performance choices, and statement of self-reflection.

* Audio Essay - carefully select and edit a thoughtful cluster of spoken word pieces; intercut with your voice, as narrator, explaining, commenting, and analyzing.