ENGL4890: Contextual Essay – Due October 11

In order to understand the politics of a text, you have to understand how it fits into its historical context.  What issues were being debated, and what were people saying?  How does this text or set of texts fit into the larger discussion?  What factors might have influenced the author’s position and/or readers’ responses?

For the next piece of your individual project, explore the historical context for your text(s).  Focus on aspects of the context that relate to your research question(s).   You may draw on secondary sources such as websites, historical books, and critical studies of the author, text, or theme, but you should also read and discuss at least 2 relevant primary sources from the period.  Your essay should not be a report on your sources; it should instead provide an overview of the political issues and debates to which your text responds.  The focus is NOT on texts – neither the literary text you’re studying nor the primary and secondary texts you use for research, but on the historical and political context.  Please limit this paper to 3 pages (you’ll have to either focus your discussion or to edit your writing carefully).

Grading criteria:
Appropriate context -- Does your paper address relevant issues for the time period, and does your discussion make clear how those issues connect with your literary text(s)?
Appropriate sources – Have you located appropriate, credible, relevant, and useful primary and secondary sources?  
Effective use of sources – Does the essay use information from your sources effectively to illustrate your overview?
Effective communication – Is the essay clear and interesting?  Is the style concise and serious without being stilted?  Are the sources introduced, discussed, and cited gracefully and correctly?