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Why do research in literature courses?
Instructors assign research papers to help you see the larger contexts a work of
literature fits into and to give you a chance to learn and practice the kinds of
investigation and interpretation that scholars in the field regularly do. The research
paper is a lot of work, but it can bring a feeling of real satisfaction and
accomplishment when you do it well. Often you'll learn more and remember more
from your research projects than from any other part of the course.
Your research can lead you to several kinds of new knowledge about the literary work
or author you focus on.
Historical and cultural backgrounds
Some research assignments ask you to explore the historical situation from which
the work of literature arose. Issues of political, social, and economic history all
inspire authors to write, and often a fuller knowledge of what was happening
around the time the work was written can help readers understand more fully what
the work means. Cultural issues—such as the role of women, the customs of
religious practice, or the dominant class or racial beliefs of the day—also
influence the production and purposes of literature, and learning more about these
matters can affect the way we read a work.
Click here for an example
Intellectual and artistic contexts
Other kinds of research assignments invite you to explore what the author was
thinking, whose ideas influenced the work, or what artistic influences came to
bear on the writing. These assignments ask you to recognize that even though
artistic creation is original, it does not occur in a vacuum. An author's influences
can be traced to other thinkers and artists to help us gain a fuller understanding of
the work.
Click here for an example
The Reception History of a Work
A third category of assignments asks you to place your own interpretation of a
work in the context of what previous readers and critics have said. By examining
the published record of criticism, in books, articles, and internet sites, you can
gain insight to what others readers of the work have seen and argued, and you can
situate your own interpretation in this published conversation. Sometimes you
can also explore how a work has been translated into film or stage versions, or
how it has influenced painters or musicians.
Click here for an example
In the box below, brainstorm about which of these main approaches to literary research
interests you the most, and why. These jottings may be useful to you later in
conversation with your instructor or classmates, and they may nudge you into clarifying
your own initial ideas for this project.
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