WS
539: Feminist Theories
Final Project: Literature
Review
Your final project for the class is
to write a Literature Review on a feminist theories topic we have
discussed and read about in class. The Review should discuss at least
20 scholarly works (books, journal articles, and perhaps a small number
of electronic resources, if they add significantly to the topic under
consideration. This project will probably be of most use to you if you
limit your Review to works written in the past decade or so except for
groundbreaking articles that remain important and influential. However,
if you wish to investigate a historical debate within the field--e.g.,
the differing positions of first wave feminists or the contributions to
Marxism of the first half of the twentieth century, that would be
acceptable, too. You will be required to submit a proposal discussing
the topic you plan to cover; if it is an interdisciplinary topic, what
subtopics overlap in your topic; and a preliminary list of at least 10
works you expect to include (due October 11). I will return your
proposal on October 18 with comments and suggestions.
Literature Reviews are essential features of master's theses and
dissertations. They show the reader that you have done your homework,
that you are aware of previous contributions to the subject of your own
writing project and that you are not replicating something that has
alread been written. The Review also helps you to define the limits of
your inquiry--especially important if your project is
interdisciplinary--and to situate your argument in what has already
been written, i.e., to think it through from a metacritical level. For
the purposes of this class, writing the Literature Review will help you
to review the materials you have read for the course and to retain that
information--to learn more effectively.
There are many good web sites that offer suggestions for writing a
Literature Review. I suggest you look at the ones offered by UCSB
and University
of Wisconsin, Madison. Your own review should be 8-10 pages
(2000-2500 words), followed by a bibliography of the 20 scholarly
resources (which means that you will not need to include full
bibliographic information in the text itself). The 20 works can and
should include items we have read in class. Use an accepted citation
style, preferably Chicago or MLA, both of which are available through
the UA
Library Citation Guide as well as in print. I suggest that you
acquire a handbook of one or both styles, as you will need more detail
than can be found online as you undertake more and more graduate
research projects as well as your thesis or dissertation.
The Literature Review will be graded on its fulfillment of the
assignment, the sophistication and complexity of the thesis, excellence
of argumentation and organization, style, and mechanics. It is due in
class on December 6.