Projects

Projects Note: All projects should be done in teams of 2-3 people. If you insist on going it alone, email me well before the due date and plead your case.

**Project 1**
Download the passage from GoogleDocs: @https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0B81NxQTX88tNNGYzZDU1ZmYtMjYwMC00ZjU3LWI3NGMtMGI0YjJiODA1NTIz&hl=en_US.

Write a phonetic transcription of the passage in GoogleDocs. (See the GoogleDoc "The IPA GoogleDocs" for help entering IPA characters.) Share the final draft with the instructor (ebranscomb@gmail.com).

Date Due: 10:00, Thursday, September 22, in GoogleDocs. Late papers not accepted; papers emailed or not in GoogleDocs not accepted.

**Project 2**
Due 11:00 a.m., Thursday October 20, in JayCut, Vimeo. TeacherTube or YouTube (other venues by arrangement). If you can do a powerpoint without bullet points, you //may// use Powerpoint or Keynote.


 * Description**: a multimodal (i.e., audio, video, text, and any and all variations and combinations of them) essay, done collaboratively.


 * Topic**: a very limited and focused exploration of some aspect of language change, either diachronic (over time) or synchronic (across geographical and dialectical regions): you choose the specifics. Aim for a video that lasts around 5 minutes. [On a personal note: try to avoid Grimm's Law, Verner's Law, and the Great Vowel Shift as topics. I get three or four of those per year and I am sort of weary of them....]


 * Audience**: ideally, this should be a project you can imagine yourself using with a class you are teaching, or at least publishing professionally on TeacherTube or YouTube or iTunes U or the web.

Formats: powerpoint (note the small "p"), slideshow video essay, podcast, video, something else I haven't thought of. The only medium that I really discourage is the "talking head" video, one in which you sit down in front of a videocam and record yourself delivering a written essay. I sort-of discourage the "multigenre essay," a linear document intended for print but including a good deal of graphical content (photos, images, charts, graphs). Powerpoint-like presentations should stand alone as self-running videos (in "kiosk mode").


 * Possible Tools**:
 * //Sliderocket// (top-of-the-line web-based slideshow creator)
 * //Powerpoint// (Windows/Mac) or //Keynote// (Mac) or //Impress// (from openoffice.org; Mac or Windows). Be careful: No bullet points!!
 * //Audacity// (for recording and editing podcasts or other audio files). Free.
 * //GarageBand// (for recording and editing podcasts, enhanced podcasts, or other audio files). Free with all Macs.
 * //iMovie// (Mac) or //MovieMaker// (Windows)
 * //JayCut// Free web-based collaborative video editor.
 * If you find another that's really useful, let me know.

Note: You can do a Google search to find any of the above: if you can't find one, let me know.


 * Technology workarounds:** if you have a videocam, you have the capability of recording video and/or audio, which can be imported into your computer for editing. Many still-shot digital cameras can also record video and audio snippets. Digital voice recorders can also export to your computer for editing. And at least one web-based podcasting site allows you to phone in your audio, which you can then download and edit in Audacity.


 * Procedures:** This is uncharted territory. Fortunately there are tools coming online to facilitate the collaborative creation of multimodal intellectual projects. For this project, you must set up your own groups of 2-4 people. It may help for people working together to have the same kind of computer (Mac or Windows). Decide on a specific topic, a composing and presentation genre, and a means of collaborating. Once you have decided on a plan of action, I will give you as much specific help as I can, especially in terms of the technology. I will schedule a JayCut tutorial workshop a couple of weeks before the project is due: stay tuned.


 * Plan B**: If you're certain you won't be able to get this to work, you can plead your case with me. I will allow a multi-genre essay done in GoogleDocs.

**Project 3: Literary Passage in its Linguistic Context**
Due 11:00, Thursday, December 1


 * Format:** 1250 words in a multi-genre GoogleDocs document, or the equivalent in a multimedia format (preferred). May be done in teams of 2-3. Emailed or printed papers or media files not accepted.

The changes in the language over the past millennium and a half have made the act of reading literature extra complicated. By not knowing the historical nuances of a particular word or phrase, we may miss some of the writer's meaning or we may ascribe to the writer meanings that he or she could not possibly have intended. Knowing that "kind" in its EModE sense meant something like our ModE. "natural" and that it was a much closer rhyme with "kin" in Shakespeare's time adds new dimensions to our response to Hamlet's "A little more than kin, and less than kind."

For this project, take a short literary passage with an interesting word or phrase (pre-1700 would be best), and explicate it in its historical context, showing how the meaning of the passage is deepened or even changed for those with an awareness of how the language has changed over the centuries. [Another way of looking at it: if you hadn't taken this course, how would you have misread your passage?]

Trace the history of the word from its Indo-European roots to present day. You must use both the OED (the Oxford English Dictionary) and some guide to Indo-European roots. (Note: the word or phrase in question MUST have Indo-European roots). If one of your team members has access to the American Heritage Dictionary, that is the best resource for PIE roots. You may, after checking a word, find that it's really not all that interesting or not Indo-European, and have to change words/phrases. Maybe a couple of times.

You must be sure to discuss:
 * The changes in the form of the word through the millennia
 * The changes in the meaning of the word; what the word meant in its context and how you know.
 * The changes in the pronunciation of the word
 * Any interesting or especially instructive cognates from other IE languages

Cover the entire history of the word or phrase--its IE roots, its Germanic periods, Old English, Middle English and Modern English. Note the approximate dates of the changes you're discussing. What categories of linguistic change are illustrated by it (e.g., folk etymology, semantic broadening, rhotacism, learned respelling, Grimm's Law)?

You will be evaluated on how interesting your word (and your essay) are, how insightful and creative are your interpretation and explanations, how thorough is your understanding of the basic tools of etymological research, and how complete is your treatment of the topic. Make the project useful--use multimedia to make your discussion of the passage come alive for an audience, most likely an audience of 21st century students. This should not be a run-of-the-mill dull recitation of facts. Enjoy and savor your word.

**Final Project (Optional)**
Date Due: December 15, noon. Uploaded to GoogleDocs and shared with ebranscomb@gmail.com.

Your final project may take one of two forms, depending on your talents and interests: a traditional research paper; or a multimedia contribution to the course material, such as a PowerPoint or Keynote slide presentation, a podcast, or a major graphic (animated or Quicktime movie) presentation. Other creative ideas will be considered: run them by me first.

Regardless of the mode you use, your project should be aimed at providing a significant contribution to the materials available for the course in the future.

The topic is wide open, as long as it is relevant to the course content.

Specific Guidelines

 * **Research Paper**: 8 pages (2000 words, not including Works Cited pages), Completed and shared in GoogleDocs. MLA format. Minimum 6 sources from refereed academic journals (i.e., not popular magazines like //Time//, which may be used but not counted towards your 10 refereed sources); unlimited number of Internet sources (minimum 5), books, and magazines.
 * **Multimedia project**: Slideshow (see below), iMovie or Quicktime or WMV video, podcast, etc.
 * **Web Site**: This should be a major contribution to knowledge. It must contain **at least 1000 words composed by you**, a significant and appropriate amount of graphic information (sounds and other multimedia would be an added benefit, if appropriate). A minimum of 10 nodes (i.e. "pages") and 25 external links total. A "mailto:" link including your email address.
 * **Slide Presentation**: Substantial content, suitable for a slide presentation. Use a popular software package such as PowerPoint or Keynote. Include graphical and other audio-visual materials as appropriate. Must include the spoken audio of the accompanying talk along with slides..
 * **Other Formats**: You make the proposal to me, and we'll discuss its appropriateness.

In general, all papers/projects are expected to involve an equivalent amount of work: research, valuable content, correct documentation (**MLA** Documentation Format), appropriate and even interesting format. Respect the rights of other copyright holders at all times. A project not involving a research paper is not simply a way to substitute fluff and superficiality for serious academic work.

All projects must be submitted through GoogleDocs. For essays, upload to GoogleDocs. For video, upload to YouTube or TeacherTube and include the URL of your movie online. Alternatively, upload your video directly to GoogleDocs **without converting it**. This will allow you simply to store your video in a place where I can download it. Audio podcasts should be uploaded to GoogleDocs (other than iTunes, there is really no standard place for podcast uploads on the Internet, and setting up an iTunes account for this one project is more hassle than it's worth). Slideshows with audio should be uploaded to GoogleDocs **unconverted**.
 * Submission Procedures**: