Presentation Guidelines

Objective: Identify many of the key critical works on a chosen work of American literature.

Date: You will be presenting on the date indicated on the syllabus for discussion of the chosen critical work:

16 February	Faulkner's As I Lay Dying
4 March	Hurston's Mules and Men
25 March	Dickey's Deliverance
6 April	Carver's What We Talk about When We Talk about Love
20 April	Haruf's Plainsong
23 April	Silko's Ceremony

Procedure:

• Choose one of the works on the syllabus—and then identify ten critical works that address it or a topic related to it (some of the works on the syllabus have yet to generate significant critical attention, so it will be necessary to be creative in identifying relevant works). It is not necessary that this be the work that you are writing about for your research paper.

• Sign up to present on that critical work (first come/first served—maximum of two presenters per work). If there are two presenters, you will need to work as a team to avoid presenting redundant information.

• In five to ten minutes, provide your classmates with an overview of the literary works "critical landscape."

  • Which critics get the most mention in works addressing the text?
  • Which time period represents the high point of attention to this text?
  • Which parts of the primary text tend to receive the most critical attention?
  • Which critical approaches tend to dominate the discussion?
  • Which aspect of the primary text tends to generate the strongest disagreements, and what are those disagreements?

• Explain which critical work among the ten you find the most promising or persuasive as you work to interpret the primary text.

• Answer questions from classmates about the critical work that you have presented.

You are welcome to use visual aids such as PowerPoint or images on the board to illustrate any points you wish to make.

Grading standards:

Presentations will receive A-F grades based on the following criteria:

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Adherence to topic guidelines.

Coverage of relevant critical works.

Contextualization of patterns and disagreements within the criticism.