Oral Component:
Based on ONE of the following topics advance an argument that specifically explains/accounts for that topic through the analysis of one or two appropriate passages. The purpose of the seminar assignment is to give you the opportunity to lead the rest of the class in a critical analysis of ONE of the course texts. You may work or your own, or in groups of two or three (maximum of three). Ideally, you will engage the class in an analysis of one or two select passages from the text. The analysis of the text must be based upon your own specific thesis about the topic. All topics are purposefully broad to allow you to explore your own interests within them. In short, you should perform a close, detailed analysis of a small section of the text, and then explain the significance of your analysis and argument to the text as a whole.
Written Component:
You are required to submit a written analysis to accompany your oral seminar. The written analysis should be 500 words in length (double-spaced, 12-point font), and it should be a carefully polished analysis of the same passages you discuss in your seminar. While the analysis need not be a formal essay, it must be grammatically correct, written in full sentences and arranged into appropriate paragraphs. Your argument around which your analysis is built should be very clear. You must submit the analysis on the day you conduct your seminar.
Seminar Topics:
- The Power of Words in Charlotte's Web
- Gender in Charlotte's Web
- The Seasons in Charlotte's Web
- Dr. Dorian in Charlotte's Web
- Templeton in Charlotte's Web
- Life, Death, and Rebirth in Charlotte's Web
- Photographs in Hana's Suitcase
- Music and Games in Hana's Suitcase
- Drawings in Hana's Suitcase
- Setting in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
- The Queen/White Witch in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
- Food and Eating in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
- Violence in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
- The Wardrobe in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
- Homes and Living Spaces in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
- The fantasy genre in any text we have read
- Anthropomorphism in any text we have read
- The influence of Fairy Tales in any text we have real