Assignments are also listed on the Course Schedule. Unless I state otherwise, submit your work by 11:59pm EST on the given deadline. Links for submission are provided in the description for each assignment.

Formatting: all written work must be double spaced, in 12 pt., Times New Roman font. Include page numbers on the upper right hand corner. Use CMOS (Chicago Manual of Style) citations. Always include your last name in the file title.

Assignments and Due Dates

• Introductory Essay (5%); due August 29.
• Participation (15%); continuous
• Provenance Short Essays; (3 submissions at 5% each: total of 15%); due September 12, October 17, November 7.
• Weekly Reading Notes (10%); due Friday of each week.
• Glossary Blog Posts (3 submissions at 5% each: total of 15%): due September 26, October 24, November 14.
• Final Project (40%, broken into the following parts)
  • Proposal (10%); due October 31.
  • Presentation (10%); dates assigned and TBA.
  • Final Submission (20%); due December 15.

Assignment Guidelines

Introductory Essay (5%)

In a 5-paged essay or 6-minute filmed monologue, tell me the story of how you came to this class. Were you forced to take it? Why do you think you were? Were you secretly excited to take this class since your freshman year? What does ‘analysis’ mean to you, and what is the last thing you analyzed? What is your medium, and how does that impact your understanding of analysis?

Upload your essay or monologue using the following form: Introductory Essay.

Participation (15%)

Think of participation as broken into 3 parts: 1) your presence in class, 2) your preparedness for class, and 3) respect for fellow members of the class.

Part 1: Come to class on time and prepared to work: with a laptop, tablet, or physical notebook and writing implement. Do not come to class with your phone. If you are unable to come prepared, please let me know as soon as possible so I can provide you with paper and a pen.

I take attendance through brief, daily writing exercises. When you come to class, I will have a prompt (labeled “Attendance”) on the white board, and you will have the first 5-7 minutes of class to answer it (i.e. log in your attendance). You may handwrite your response or email it to me.

Part 2: Come to class having completed all reading beforehand. If there was a section of our reading or viewing that you did not understand or did not like, that is perfectly valid! Come to class with the page number or timestamp, and we can work on that section together.

You are required to turn in reading or viewing notes each week of the semester. These are not your class notes. These are the notes you take while working through the syllabus independently. I will always read students’ notes as soon as they are submitted so I can steer our discussion in response.

Part 3: Come to class ready to communicate. Participation can take many forms: you might talk a lot in class, you might make use of my office hours (or other on-campus resources) outside of class, or you might stay in communication with me and your fellow students through notes, assignments, and email. The key is to communicate responsibly. If you are running late, for example, email me as soon as you are able. If you are sick and will not be able to turn in an assignment on time, get in touch with me as soon as you can.

Provenance Reports (3 submissions, 5% each; total of 15%):

A provenance statement provides essential context about Using the assigned source of your choice, prepare a report on this source’s publication, licensing, copyright, and replication history.

Submit your Provenance Reports using the following form: Provenance Report Assignment Form

Hint: If you struggle with finding research topics, sources of inspiration, or secondary sources, this assignment is a great place to workshop! Find a source you might like to use or think about for your final and discuss it here.

Weekly Reading and Viewing Notes (10% total, submitted Monday of each week)

Each week, turn in 2 double spaced pages of notes focused on the assigned reading. These notes must relate to your at-home reading and work – not our class discussions. You have the option of hand-writing, typing, or dictating weekly notes on any/all of our assigned readings or viewings. These notes can be informal (bullet points, question and answer, charts), or take the form of short reflection essays.

You must include: a short form analysis of one or more key scenes, characters, or moments (not a summary); research with at least two secondary sources; definitions of any unfamiliar words, terms, or ideas.

Upload your notes as a .doc, .docx, or .pdf using the following form: Weekly Notes Submission. Label your uploads as “LASTNAME_month”.

Group Glossary (3 submissions, 5% each; total of 15%):

This assignment lets you rely on one another to work your way through various terms, concepts, and vocabulary that will come up throughout the semester. The Group Glossary is a collective, living document: everyone adds to the same document, in the same way, and does so in conscience of one another.

Enter your Glossary Submissions on the shared Group Glossary Document.

• Pick any term, concept, or vocabulary word having to do with the analysis of theatre, drama, and performance.
• Enter that term on the Group Glossary.
• List any synonyms to this term: does it look or sound like something else? have you heard another version of this before?
• Write a 100 word definition of this term. The definition must be in your own words. How would you explain your term to a peer?
• Link 2 examples of your term in action. These examples can be videos, music, photographs, drawings, or visual art.
• Use the term in an example sentence describing one of your examples.

Project Proposal (1 proposal, 10%)

In 3 pages, introduce me to your final project as you currently understand it.

Pages 1-2: What will it look like in final form (film, essay, script, etc.)? How does the project relate to your artistic or research interests; what are you bringing to the table? Which specific performance traditions, creators, historical figures, or scholars inform your project? What are you most excited to think about, and what worries you the most about this undertaking?

Page 3: Write a weekly schedule for the rest of the semester. What are you going to do to prepare, draft, and compose your project? Will you meet with me, a librarian, or another peer?

Submit your proposal by uploading it to the following form: Final Project Proposal.

Final Project Presentations (1 presentation of 10 minutes, 10%).

Think of this 10-minute presentation as a progress report on your final project. The specifics of the presentation are up to you: will you have the class engage in a live reading of your project? will you offer a formal research summary? something else?. The key is to be creative: what is the best way for you to introduce us to your project? what kind of feedback or response do you want to garner?

Final Project Submission (1 project and 1 reflective essay, 20%)

Your final project may take up any variety of media or formats: a research paper, an audio file, a script, a set design, for example.

The project must be accompanied by a 5-6 paged reflective essay. This is informal, journal style writing in which you tell me about your experience working on this project over the last several weeks. What surprised you? Was it easy? Hard? Do you wish you had more or less time? What other resources could have helped you?

Upload the final project and reflective essay using the following form, labelled: Final Project Submission.

Surprise! Extra Credit! I have put several decorative images throughout our course site, all to do (in one way or another) with the analysis of plays and scripts. Pick any one of these images, and create a 250 word history of its distribution: where was it originally produced? was it produced or published in one language and translated to another? where is it exhibited now? did the country or city change? is it clear who the author/artist/creator is? why or why not?

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