Portfolio Submission Link?

Where are we submitting our portfolios to? Is there going to be a link in the submit essays tab like we've been doing all along? I really need the link to be up by tomorrow. If it is not up by tomorrow, I am afraid I will just have to email it. I know that's probably not what she wanted but I don't have time to wait for the link to finally be put up. I have other obligations as well and this class was originally supposed to end on the 16th.

Handout?

I'm not finding the handout Amy mentioned on Wednesday. I've looked on every tab in the course shell. Is there something I'm missing, or is it not up yet?

Thanks!

Soo..

Are we just supposed to be revising our papers from here till the end of the class? According to the syllabus, there are a lot of things we haven't gotten to, but I'm not always the best syllabus reader. Anyone have suggestions or input? Anyone heard from Amy recently?

Thanks guys :)

I am not done yet!

It has been a very difficult few weeks for me. I was diagnosed with hypertension (high blood pressure) and then was told not to do house chores for a week. But being a single mom of three it is quite hard to put everything in one plate. The girls helped me as much as they can with the chores even if they also have to do their own assignments. On top of this, we had to move out the house. We had Thanksgiving dinner in a restaurant, and took that day off for once. Then Friday, I had to continue packing and then hauled the huge furnitures out first. Saturday, we continue to put everything in boxes, (about 30 boxes all together) and other fixtures and smaller furnitures out. I am just exhausted as it is while trying to balance this part and family and school. I really have pulled my hair out (almost bald).

Anyway, I am still in the early stages of my research. I am stuck with Things Fall Apart. I did not have time to read the other choice, Cry, the Beloved Country at all. I thought of reading both so I could make the right choice. But, I did not have that luxury at all. Therefore, I do not have enough pages for my draft. It is really too stressful but being in the health situation I am right now, I really am trying so hard not to sweat the small stuff and some bigger ones or else, I would really be in deep trouble.

By what i have seen in here, you guys are doing so well. That is really great. I like some of the books you have picked since I have read them myself. Okay, good luck and wow, semester is almost over. It seems just like yesterday. Bye.

Research Blog 2

So far, I've found plenty of sources about Catcher in the Rye. The only issue is trying to find sources dealing with Holden's psychology. Currently, I have a few. I like where my research is going, I just hope that I can write a sufficient paper. Most of my research is coming from articles on Ebscohost. That seems the best place to find legit articles and research sources. I found one article entitled "Holden Caufield: Self Appointed Catcher in the Rye" that I think I will draw a lot of quotations and information from. I really don't have any questions!

:D I really am enjoying this assignment. Catcher in the Rye is such a deep book, it's really fun to try and dig at it's core.

Research Blog 2

My research paper is on The Great Gatsby and I chose the psychoanalytic lens to use. I have attempted to find sources online and at the local library. I really have not had much luck though. I need to find more sources, and I was hoping to receive both ancillary 3 and 4 with your opinions and tips, but I have yet to receive them. I have found one woman that has a book on all the literary theories, and she has used each theory on the book. I assume we need more than one really good source though. I going to try and go to Menifee sometime this week after work and hopefully find something at the campus library.

Research Blog - Tearing my hair out!

I wasn't finding enough of the specific sources I'd need with the original theory/text I chose, so on Thursday, I switched both my lens and my novel. I'm not sure how smart of an idea that was, but I did it and I'm going for it. I ended up going with Stranger in a Strange Land and feminism for my lens. I was initially kind of overwhelmed with all of the avenues I could go down with my research, but I narrowed my source scope down once I decided on a thesis cloud. I've decided to write my paper from a point of view that examines the novel in the context of feminism as it existed in Heinlein's day and in today's feminist context. I'm also going to throw in some of the context of the libertarianism that is prevalent in most science fiction. There are unsurprisingly tons of sources regarding Heinlein and his views on politics and feminism. For his time, he was considered extremely liberal and in some camps, a radical. I've pulled a lot of research from the school databases and I'm also using the internet pretty heavily. I've found several newspaper articles and essays written on Heinlein and his canon of novels, which gives me a good base to explain my position. The sources on feminism are also coming easily as I'm looking mostly for basic history of the movement that explains each of the 'waves' in their historical context. The only real problem I'm having is finding criticism of the actual novel. I found a book written directly as criticism of Stranger, but its out of print and going for $80 on eBay. I don't think I'm willing to go that far for this paper, but my backup plan is to co-opt criticism of Heinlein in general and use excerpts that talk specifically about the the novel I'm writing about. I'm also using one or two other Heinlein novels as additional sources to augment my argument about Heinlein's viewpoints as they are espoused in Stranger. So far, I'm doing all right. I might add or subtract some sources as I refine my thesis and overall paper, but I'm feeling relatively confident.


OH WAIT! My ex-boyfriend and I are very good friends with a couple who owns a used bookstore in the valley and he called them just now. Turns out they have a copy of the EXACT book I'm looking for that deals with criticism of the novel. I can borrow it from them and I am totally set now. Thaaaat's amazing.