Great Works I
Final Project: Commonplace blog
Deadlines:
Informal presentations (in class): May 14th
**Final deadline: May 21st by 5:30PM
(This is our final exam slot,
so there can be no late submissions.)
Tech support contact:
Laurie Hurson ()
Optional drop-in hours for tech support:
May 4 and 11, 3-4:30PM, Center for Teaching and Learning (in the library building)
In Renaissance England, around the time Shakespeare was writing, a popular way to remember one’s reading and to think through connections between texts was to create what was called a commonplace book. A commonplace book might contain written out passages from texts, jotted-down thoughts, images, clippings, and notes. These quotations and ideas might be organized by theme so that their creators could more easily find things later. This way of organizing and remembering ideas was both popular and formally taught: students were trained in the best way to capture their thoughts about texts on the page. Historians of technology and media have suggested that blogging is the modern form of the commonplace book.
For your final project, you’ll create a commonplace bloginspired by this Renaissance method of record keeping. Your blog will be focused on your reading of our final text: Shakespeare’s Othello. Using the blogs@Baruch platform that we’ve been using all semester, you’ll create your own blog, which will feature entries that capture your experience of reading this play.
Your commonplace blog must include 8 entries (more is fine, but you should focus on quality, not quantity). You must include one each of the entry types listed on the back of this page, but beyond that the entries are up to you. That is, once you’ve included the required entries, you can have multiples of some entry types or you could come up with other kinds of entries. Feel free to look back over your previous blog posts for class to come up with ideas for posts. You may also reuse your own writing as long as you build on it to fit the new entry. You may build on the ideas of others, including classmates, as long as you give credit by citing them.(Plagiarism will result in a failing grade for the assignment.)
Creative entries (including, but not limited to, original poetry, videos of your own performance, visual art, music, etc.) are welcome but must be accompanied by a thoughtful written explanation of the work and its connection to the play.
Each blog entry must by tied to a quotation from the play and must include some kind of visual element—an image, a gif, a video, etc.—though this can include, for example, a picture of text, like of your annotations in your book. All quotations should be cited. All references to Othello should be cited by act number and line number(s).
Required Entries:
Your blog must include one of each of the following entries. The others (for a total of at least 8) are up to you. Multiples of one type are okay, as are types of entries not listed here. Feel free to run ideas by me if you’re unsure. Entry lengths may vary, but the standard length we’ve been using for class posts (300-500 words) is a good rule of thumb.
1)Analysis of a passage
This entry should focus on the careful analysis of a single passage from the play. Before writing, be sure to read the passage several times and annotate it carefully. In your analysis, highlight choices in the passage that are not easily paraphrased, that resist easy explanation. Building on your observations about those choices, what makes this passage significant to our reading of the play?
2)Analysis of an adaptation or performance
Respond to a single performance or adaptation of Othello (you may choose the performance we see together on 5/1 or the film we watch together for class or another version—as long as you clearly explain what that version is). Your response should focus specifically on a choice that was made in adapting the play. Remember that adaptation and performance are always grounded in interpretation. What interpretation does this choice suggest? Based on your reading of the play, is that interpretation a solid one? If you disagree with it, explain why (with evidence).
3)Analysis of an image
Find an image that, for you, particularly resonates with Othello. This may be an illustration of the play itself, an image from the Renaissance that is not specifically based on the play, or an unrelated image in which you see a connection. The image may be from an online database or from a local museum. Be sure to include both the image and full citation information for the image. This entry should include both a close analysis of the image itself and an explanation of how you see its connection to the play.
4)Analysis of a connection
For this entry, think back over the texts we’ve read this semester and explain a connection between Othello and one of our previous texts. The connection may compare (locate a similarity) or contrast (reveal a distinction), but it should be grounded in textual evidence.
A word of advice:
Commonplace books were originally for personal use only, but yours will be shared, so take some care when thinking about what it looks like. You have many choices available to you when you create your own blog, so take those choices seriously. Think about design, about the order of your entries, and about the name of your blog. (It shouldn’t just be “Commonplace Blog” or “Final Project” but should show some reflection and ownership of your ideas.) These entries should feature your very best work. This means, first, that your thinking in them should be bold and well-supported by textual evidence. It also means your entries should be carefully proofread and professionally presented.