Goals: This project will give you the opportunity to build your research skills by locating a variety of resources that will help you to write a creative piece that is compellingly grounded in a well-researched, multi-faceted, interdisciplinary study of a particular species.
Assignment: For your second project, you will do extensive research on a particular species, creating an annotated bibliography that summarizes the content of each source and discusses its potential usefulness for your project. In addition to the bibliography, the two other written pieces will include a creative piece that in part or whole portrays the consciousness of your particular species and a reflective piece of 600-750 words that analyzes the process of research and writing during project 2, comparing that process to your previous research and writing.
Research Requirements: Depending on the species you research, the types of resources available will change, but there will be guidelines. You must have in your final bibliography:
1. At least five peer-reviewed research articles that focus primarily on that species
2. At least two peer-reviewed articles dealing partly with that species or a similar species
3. At least one text that is NOT a peer-reviewed article or scholarly book
4. At least four books or parts of books that focus primarily on that species
5. At least ten photographs that show the species in different positions / performing different actions / from different angles.
6. At least three video clips that show the species engaging in different behaviors.
If you think you may not be able to reach these minimums, let me know by a week before the Annotated Bibliography is due – I can help.
Other Potential Source Types
*Although scientific sources will be essential, do not ignore other modes of knowledge such as folklore and myth. Quite a few species appear in folklore from various cultures. Many of these stories are grounded in the precise observation of people who knew these species well. They can act as models for you to understand these species.
*Additional fiction, poetry, or other creative texts can act as helpful models as the fiction and poetry we read for class will.
*Beyond short video clips, it will be worthwhile (especially for certain species) to search for full-length documentaries. The website of the PBS program Nature provides many full-length episodes for viewing as well as clips from selected episodes.
*For the Birds: The Birds of North America database (through BU) and the Cornell site http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/search are good places to get some initial facts.
Parts of the Project
Annotated Bibliography: Each annotation will be three to six sentences in length and will:
1. Summarize the source’s argument (if it has one) or describe the source.
2. Identify how you think the source might be useful for your project. For example, what roles might specific data from the source play in the creative piece you are going to write? Are there individual facts about the species’ behavior or cognition that will help you to portray the species realistically? Does the source deal with an issue facing the species that your creative piece might address? (habitat loss, poaching, global warming etc.)
Creative Piece: A variety of genre will be welcome. The key is to use knowledge you gain through research to portray the species. You are welcome to write a fictional narrative, a series of poems, a long poem, a mixture of poetry and prose, a graphic novella, a film script, etc. You will submit two final versions. One will have footnotes that document the sources from which you gathered specific information. The other will have no footnotes.
Reflective Piece: Approximately 600 to 750 words in length. In this piece you will analyze your research and writing process with specific examples. The goal will NOT be to sum up your ENTIRE research and writing process, but to choose one or two specific aspects or elements to analyze in depth in comparison to particular past experiences with writing and research, and to consider how the experience gained during the project might help you in the future.
And my species is African Grey Parrot
