Author Archives: Gisèle M. Baxter

term projects

After some consultation with Matthew, we decided that your term projects would be due on Friday, April 24, so a week from Friday. As my schedule is pretty fierce right now and will be till the end of the month, I am not completely certain when I’ll be in my office (427 Buchanan Tower) that day, but you can always submit the project to the English Department office (397 Buchanan Tower: 3rd floor) by putting it in the big wooden box on the receptionist’s desk. Make sure my name (Baxter) is clearly identified on the front page as that’s how staff will know to put it in my mailbox after date-stamping it.

When the projects are graded, Matthew or I will let you know; they will then be available to collect from my office, either directly, or in sealed labelled envelopes in a box outside the office door.

I know that a lot of you are working in some sort of visual creative component. This has to be in some form that I can see while grading without having to travel around the city, so images and/or links would be very useful. My previous post (please let me introduce myself) dealt with the requirements of a conventional text-based research essay in an upper-level undergraduate course, so please check that one again; this post will deal with requirements for a project incorporating some sort of creative work. Again, to meet the standards of an upper-level undergraduate course, there must be a clear development of some sort of critical/theoretical context, so please include either an introductory or conclusion section, or both, of at least 2-3 pages of detailed prose, discussing the aims of the project, and situating it clearly in the concerns and content of the class. Again, explicit mention of at least four secondary sources subsequently listed in a Works Cited must be made.

If you have any questions, the shortest route to a speedy response is to email me directly at gmb@interchange.ubc.ca

Whatever form your projects take, on the basis of this blog, which I follow regularly (I have its RSS feed bookmarked on my menu bar so I  know when it’s updated), I am really looking forward to seeing them!

All best, Gisele Baxter.

please allow me to introduce myself

Hi everyone: My name is Gisele Baxter; some of you already know me from other classes. I’m the Faculty Sponsor for this course and so am responsible for grading your term papers/projects. I’ve been at UBC since the dawn of time 1997, teaching sessionally in the English Department; my teaching/research interests include 20th/21st century literary and cultural studies, pop culture, near-future dystopias, children’s literature, the Gothic inheritance, gender studies, and composition (academic and technical writing).

I want to establish some basic guidelines for the term paper/project, so that it can be evaluated fairly and so that it will enable the course to meet the standards of an honours-level seminar. I’d like some feedback, and any questions or suggestions you might have, so I’m posting the material below, and am happy to field questions either online or perhaps via a visit to class (that was supposed to happen much earlier in term but various elements of the unforeseen intervened).

The topic of your paper will be up to you to develop, with the broad guideline that it should engage with issues/texts relevant to the concerns/approach of the course. Beyond that, there are some considerations given that this is a senior seminar: all papers should be 8-12 double-spaced pages in length, should employ at least four secondary sources (in other words, should have a strong research component and go beyond just close textual reading), should employ some recognizable and relevant critical/theoretical framework (i.e. should go beyond “different but similar” comparisons or subjective responses) should use MLA documentation/citation, and should be technically proficient (i.e. should be revised and proofread thoroughly before submission). That still leaves a lot of flexibility: you might choose to pursue cross-disciplinary/multi-disciplinary approaches, incorporation of visual/multimedia material, some subjective situation as the writer (of the sort normally discouraged in academic writing), etc. I’m happy with collaborative projects so long as the collaborators are happy with getting each the same grade; in such cases the paper would be 12-16 pages long and would require at least six secondary sources.

Any questions/suggestions? Post them here as comments (I am very comfortable with online discussion), or email me at gmb@interchange.ubc.ca; my office is Buchanan Tower 427 (poster for this course and Darth Vader postcard on the door), and my office hours are MWF 10-10:50 a.m. and by appointment.

All best, Gisele Baxter.

http://faculty.arts.ubc.ca/gmbaxter