Discuss Literary theory & Secondary Material
Discussion:Literary theory & Secondary Material

Question Description
. CHOOSE ONLY ONE OF THE TWO ARTICLES FOR DISCUSSION.

One article, by Sigmund Freud, does not mention Doyle’s work, but his theory on the uncanny is helpful to understanding the novella. Freud’s article is a little longer than the other essay (authored by John and James Kissane), but Freud’s work may

be of more interest to you who want to explore the original work of an influential psychoanalytic theorist. Reflect on and respond to ONE of the two sets of questions, either Option A or Option B (below). This assignment requires you to analyze the work independently.

In your academic career you will need to use secondary sources in order to inform your arguments. In the field of literature, literary criticism challenges existing or normative views of culture and human nature.

I have chosen two critical articles and have uploaded them to Brightspace. Choose and read oneof the two articles. You will find the questions that accompany each article at the bottom of this document.

The goal of the assignment is to have you read an argument and to isolate and describe the key, central insights of that argument. You will further need to apply that argument to your own reading of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Hound of the Baskervilles.

Your response should be formatted as follows: Times New Roman, 12-point font, double-spaced. Use the MLA style for the first page and pagination.

You do not need to include a bibliography.You do need to include any in-text citations (the page numbers of the novel and any citations from the secondary source). Use formal English and an academic tone.

The total word count of this assignment should be approximately 600-750 words. Each question is out of five (about 300-400 words each, but if you need to write more, feel free to extend the word count a little). Choose only ONE reading.

OPTION A: READING #1 If you choose this option, answer questions #1 and #2 below

In the Introduction to the Penguin Edition of The Hound of the Baskervilles, Christopher Frayling identifies the article by James and John Kissane as a useful secondary source.

1) In your own words and in formal English, provide a summary of the main arguments in “Sherlock Holmes and the Ritual of Reason” (two or three paragraphs). (/5)

2) Using the novel as well as this secondary source, provide further textual illustrations supporting the article’s argument. Alternatively, counter or modify the argument by examining aspects of the novel that test Holmes’s limits as the master-rationalist (two or three paragraphs). (/5)

OPTION B: READING #2 If you choose this option, answer questions #1 and #2 below.

Sigmund Freud, excerpt from “The Uncanny” (1919): Freud’s work provides the foundation for psychoanalytic theory, which has been used as a framework for the interpretation of literature since the beginning of the twentieth century. In this essay, Freud puts forth the concept of the uncanny.

What, according to Freud, is the uncanny? According to this definition is Hound of the Baskervilles an uncanny text? Why or why not? (two or three paragraphs) (/5)
What does Freud’s discussion of death and the return of the dead illuminate about the Hound’s and/or Sir Hugo’s legendary role in the story? (two or three paragrpahs) (/5)

Discussion:Literary theory & Secondary Material

OR

How does the novel contrast settings, the homely with the unfamiliar, to create the sense of an uncanny environment on the moor? (/5)

You must proofread your paper. But do not strictly rely on your computer’s spell-checker and grammar-checker; failure to do so indicates a lack of effort on your part and you can expect your grade to suffer accordingly. Papers with numerous misspelled words and grammatical mistakes will be penalized. Read over your paper – in silence and then aloud – before handing it in and make corrections as necessary. Often it is advantageous to have a friend proofread your paper for obvious errors. Handwritten corrections are preferable to uncorrected mistakes.

Use a standard 10 to 12 point (10 to 12 characters per inch) typeface. Smaller or compressed type and papers with small margins or single-spacing are hard to read. It is better to let your essay run over the recommended number of pages than to try to compress it into fewer pages.

Likewise, large type, large margins, large indentations, triple-spacing, increased leading (space between lines), increased kerning (space between letters), and any other such attempts at “padding” to increase the length of a paper are unacceptable, wasteful of trees, and will not fool your professor.

The paper must be neatly formatted, double-spaced with a one-inch margin on the top, bottom, and sides of each page. When submitting hard copy, be sure to use white paper and print out using dark ink. If it is hard to read your essay, it will also be hard to follow your argument.

ADDITIONAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE CLASS

Discussion Questions (DQ)

Initial responses to the DQ should address all components of the questions asked, include a minimum of one scholarly source, and be at least 250 words.
Successful responses are substantive (i.e., add something new to the discussion, engage others in the discussion, well-developed idea) and include at least one scholarly source.
One or two sentence responses, simple statements of agreement or “good post,” and responses that are off-topic will not count as substantive. Substantive responses should be at least 150 words.
I encourage you to incorporate the readings from the week (as applicable) into your responses.
Weekly Participation

Your initial responses to the mandatory DQ do not count toward participation and are graded separately.
In addition to the DQ responses, you must post at least one reply to peers (or me) on three separate days, for a total of three replies.
Participation posts do not require a scholarly source/citation (unless you cite someone else’s work).
Part of your weekly participation includes viewing the weekly announcement and attesting to watching it in the comments. These announcements are made to ensure you understand everything that is due during the week.
APA Format and Writing Quality

Familiarize yourself with APA format and practice using it correctly. It is used for most writing assignments for your degree. Visit the Writing Center in the Student Success Center, under the Resources tab in LoudCloud for APA paper templates, citation examples, tips, etc. Points will be deducted for poor use of APA format or absence of APA format (if required).
Cite all sources of information! When in doubt, cite the source. Paraphrasing also requires a citation.
I highly recommend using the APA Publication Manual, 6th edition.
Use of Direct Quotes

I discourage overutilization of direct quotes in DQs and assignments at the Masters’ level and deduct points accordingly.
As Masters’ level students, it is important that you be able to critically analyze and interpret information from journal articles and other resources. Simply restating someone else’s words does not demonstrate an understanding of the content or critical analysis of the content.
It is best to paraphrase content and cite your source.
LopesWrite Policy

For assignments that need to be submitted to LopesWrite, please be sure you have received your report and Similarity Index (SI) percentage BEFORE you do a “final submit” to me.
Once you have received your report, please review it. This report will show you grammatical, punctuation, and spelling errors that can easily be fixed. Take the extra few minutes to review instead of getting counted off for these mistakes.
Review your similarities. Did you forget to cite something? Did you not paraphrase well enough? Is your paper made up of someone else’s thoughts more than your own?
Visit the Writing Center in the Student Success Center, under the Resources tab in LoudCloud for tips on improving your paper and SI score.
Late Policy

The university’s policy on late assignments is 10% penalty PER DAY LATE. This also applies to late DQ replies.
Please communicate with me if you anticipate having to submit an assignment late. I am happy to be flexible, with advance notice. We may be able to work out an extension based on extenuating circumstances.
If you do not communicate with me before submitting an assignment late, the GCU late policy will be in effect.
I do not accept assignments that are two or more weeks late unless we have worked out an extension.
As per policy, no assignments are accepted after the last day of class. Any assignment submitted after midnight on the last day of class will not be accepted for grading.
Communication

Communication is so very important. There are multiple ways to communicate with me:
Questions to Instructor Forum: This is a great place to ask course content or assignment questions. If you have a question, there is a good chance one of your peers does as well. This is a public forum for the class.
Individual Forum: This is a private forum to ask me questions or send me messages. This will be checked at least once every 24 hours.