Final Project Information

For the final project in this class, you may choose one of two options: 1) a 5 – 8 page paper or 2) something else.

Option 1. A paper. Students choosing the paper option may select a specific text (or a group of texts) representing a narrative form not yet discussed in this course. This need not be a form typically construed as narrativistic, and in fact, the paper’s goal should be to analyze the form using one of the approaches to narrative discussed earlier (e.g. Chatman’s or Ryan’s). A successful paper will discuss the discursive and narratological features of the text in question and deal specifically with those differences which necessitate adapting received narratological models. One useful angle may be to analyze the emergence of this particular form.

Other paper topics are welcome. Here are some suggested alternate topics:

• We've been studying formal properties of narrative; use your understanding of narrative form in the service of literary interpretation or criticism.
• Chatman proposes his theory as an adaptable grid. Propose an alternate adapted "grid" or narrative poetics based on contemporary narrative forms.
• Select a work from the Electronic Literature Collection, v. 1 and perform a close reading

Option 2. Something else. Students choosing an alternative project may select from a number of different options, or propose an additional optio/n. Here are some suggestions:

• Prototype an ARG
• Create a work of hypertext literature
• Program an interactive fiction game (using, Inform, for example)
• Design a videogame in Flash or some other technology

The guiding principle with each of these creative options is that you establish goals for the project which are in some way harmonious with the course topics. For creative works, this will mean, at a minimum, that the work attempts to communicate something.

Accordingly, I must approve your project sometime before April 9. Submit project proposals in the form of a 300 - 500 word abstract outlining your intended project and its objectives, including the nature and amount of original work.

The final project will be due on the assigned final exam date for this course, April 30. All work (including any webpages and/or code) should be submitted in hard copy, and may also include an informal presentation to the class if time permits.

This assignment will be counted as 40% of your final grade.