Scene in the New York Library from the Ghostbusters (1984), directed by Ivan Reitman and starring Harold Ramis, Dan Aykroyd, and Bill Murray.

Project One: Monsters in the Archives

Part One:

We will take an expedition into the archives at the USM Special Collections in McCain Library. For this research portion of this first project, I will collaborate with Professor Jennifer Brannock, an archivist, who will assist us in our search for monsters. After you choose your monster from the du Grummond Children’s Collection, you will follow the guidelines for the Save Our Stories: Engaging with Digital Collections Project to craft an analysis paper of 450-550 words. In this essay you will examine a connection between your selected monster and a movie, television show, or a celebrity, and explain how the book promotes reading as well as entertainment. The essay is due February 7, 2016 for this class, however, after you revise the essay, you will submit it to the Save Our Stories: Engaging with Digital Collections Project at https://forms.usm.edu/english/view.php?id=39015 before March 17, 2017.

Getting Started: The goal of Part One: Project One is for you to experience the excitement of examining primary sources within the library archive. You will be locating, describing, and narrating about the archival project, while assisting the collections staff in curating these objects for the public. In order to prepare for the day we go to the archive, you need to research the du Grummond Children’s Collection on the archive website at:

http://www.lib.usm.edu/degrummond/research/manuscripts.html

for an author and text that you want to examine in the archives. Then, on the day we visit the archive, you need to come prepared to describe the archival contents and take a picture of the monster image you want to analyze in your essay.

 Rhetorical Considerations: The audience for your work is anyone who is visiting the archival website, as you will be submitting your revised essay to Save Our Stories: Engaging with Digital Collections at https://forms.usm.edu/english/view.php?id=39015 by March 17, 2017. Your project may be selected for the “Celebrating the Archives” even hosted by A&L Digital Archives Research Group. You will be expected to shape your essay to this rhetorical situation.

Putting It Together: You will want to write your essay using standard, edited English, in an academic format. Your essay should be concise, 450-550 words (you will revise it to 200-500 words before submitting it to the Save Our Stories Project). Don’t forget a unique and attention-grabbing title!  The essay is due 2/7/17.

Part Two:

 For the second part of this project, You will transform your analysis essay from Part One, revise and expand it into a synthesis and analysis essay of 4-6 pages with at least two secondary academic sources and one primary source in addition to Jeffrey Jerome Cohen’s essay “Monster Culture (Seven Theses).” You will utilize your sources in Part 1 to explore the “monster” located in your primary source and identify how it is located within the context of monsters in folklore. Due February 14, 2017.

Getting Started: The goal of Part Two: Project One is for you to synthesize the sources you have gathered, including your primary sources from the archive, Jeffrey Jerome Cohen’s essay “Monster Culture (Seven Theses), and two secondary academic sources to provide evidence for the argument you will present.

Rhetorical Considerations: Your audience is your peers in this class, however, you are expected to write an academic essay that adheres to standard English. At the end of this project, you will present a short paper presentation (5-7) minutes to the class.

Putting It Together: You are expected to submit an essay that uses standard, edited English, in an academic format. Your essay should be concise, 1200-1350 words, Times New Roman font, font size 12 point. Don’t forget an attention-grabbing title!  The essay is due 2/14/17. It MUST be submitted through the Blackboard TurnItIn dropbox