Honors Seminar
ENGL 191H | Prof. Daniel Scott Snelson
http://dss-edit.com | dsnelson @ humnet
Wednesdays | Kaplan Hall A65 | 4:00-6:50pm
Office Hours: danny snelson .youcanbook.me
Abstract
This course is designed to prepare you to produce an honors thesis project over the coming academic year. This preparation begins by constructing a solid foundation for research: built on practical approaches to research methods, writing practices, productivity strategies, and the wide range of tactics for self-care and community-building that will see each of your projects to their successful conclusion in the spring of 2024. In short, we will approach the process of producing an honors research thesis holistically: enacting a community that can attend with care to all aspects of research, researchers, and researching at UCLA in the present.
Operating as an ongoing research workshop, the course will include a variety of short writing exercises geared to aid in constructing the research and writing practices necessary for the thesis project. Beyond these exercises, the course will also generate two primary written works: an annotated bibliography and a formal thesis proposal. Submitting these documents will launch the thesis proper. Both will be written in an ongoing conversation guided by the peer-review processes we co-develop over the quarter.
Finally, this is a course developed to help each of you in your own thesis work and is shaped to accord a balance between individual and collective interests, concerns, queries, and needs. We will script in the time and resources necessary to pursue individual strains of academic inquiry alongside collective concerns and tactics for research. The most important works to discuss will be those we produce, together.
All works will be made available online.
Primary opening texts include The Craft of Research (4th Edition, Wayne Booth et al) and How to Write a BA Thesis (Charles Lipson).
Additional texts will be selected collaboratively over the course of the quarter as a component of our collective research, reflected in the weekly summaries outlined below.
As a general outline for the course, take note that these are broad strokes subject to change. This seminar is fully interactive, growing and responding to its users. Each week will build on previous weeks, class conversations, and the directions that our study happens to follow. The content of the syllabus will be updated regularly as a result, though the requirements will remain fixed. The syllabus will only be completed after we finish the course, and all collective research into the profession has been conducted.
Operating as an open format research collective, the primary grading consideration will be lively and timely engagement with the weekly assignments and workshops within a group format — in addition to your own development as a researcher and writer. This includes writing and conversations that will occur not only in the classroom but also online. Short exercises, attendance, group chats, thesis preparation, and general participation are weighted holistically alongside finished documents.
Given the brevity of the quarter, unexcused absences will cut into your participation percentage. If you must miss a class, it is your responsibility to make arrangements with me both before and after the absence. Proposals for interaction commensurate with a three-hour seminar session will be accepted.
Participants will develop strategies and tactics for conducting a large-scale honors research projects. Technical, practical, community-oriented skills for research, collaboration, and scholarly writing will be analyzed, enacted, and enhanced. Collectively, the course participants will both produce and undergo workshop sessions designed to develop research practices in an ongoing conversation with peers, advisors, and other members of the academic community.
Between seminar sessions, we’ll continue an ongoing conversation over Discord. An invitation and signup to the dedicated (private) server will occur on our first meeting. There is no end-date to the server: it is yours to keep. We’ll use this platform for formal exercises and informal conversation in advance preparation for seminar meetings and course actions. Responsive posts are required: every post should be accompanied by peer commentary and additive engagements.
Much of this course will require hands-on interaction with websites, collaborative docs, or an expanded range of social platforms. As such, you will need access to a laptop or computer (more than a tablet or phone) for most sessions. If you have any questions or concerns on this point, please don’t hesitate to ask, we’ll find a solution!
This course aims to facilitate access to research and exploration across a variety of platforms. Please don’t hesitate to draw attention to any point of access that might be improved: from the volume of the conversation, the size of text, the timing of exercises, and so forth. All possible accommodations will be made. Additionally, or for more information, you may contact the CAE at (310) 825-1501, or access the CAE website at www.cae.ucla.edu.
- A thesis prospectus and annotated bibliography
- Securing an advisor
- Fulfillment of short writing exercises
- Editorial feedback for your peers
- Weekly response channel responsive participation
- Engaged seminar conversation and participation
- Active exploration of research questions
- Development of critical writing thesis practices
Topics
Writing & Actions
Reading & Research
Week 1 — 4.5 — Introduction to Research
Collective introductions and planning out the quarter ahead.
Write:
An open letter to your peers on your writing and research practice, briefly discussing successes and challenges in the present and toward the future.
Course Setup:
Collective post-it quarter sketch
Read & Respond:
Peer open letters and introductions on Discord.
Access:
Download course texts in Discord.
Create “the folder.”
Week 2 — 4.12 — Research Topics & First Steps
Initiating a research practice and honing topics for future study.
Write:
Compose three topic-question-stakes statements based on Booth’s example in section 3.4 (pages 43-46). Test out a few different formulations and ways of articulating stakes and topics.
Respond:
Read:
The Craft of Research (Ch. 1-3)
Research:
Begin speculative inquiry on topic and thesis plan.
Week 3 — 4.19 — Critical Inquiries & Project Stakes
Expanding topics and stakes into a thesis paragraph.
Write:
Compose a revised, expanded, and formal statement of your topic, research question, and stakes in one paragraph. Add a second paragraph on the theory(s) and method(s) you aim to pursue. These will form the core of your proposal ahead.
Respond:
Read:
The Craft of Research (Ch. 4-6)
Literary Theory: A Very Short Introduction
Research:
(Re?)Read your primary texts. Locate and read secondary literature as well as theoretical and/or methodological works of note.
Begin identifying and compiling relevant sources for the annotated bibliography.
Week 4 — 4.26 — Research Tactics & The ERR feat. Lynda Tolly (!)
Explore previous theses, advance research.
Write:
First annotated bibliography entry. Distill the argument, theory, method, evidence, and stakes at play in a key secondary source text. Most of all, write toward your own use: make the article work for *your* research, now and into the future.
Respond:
Draft responses to this week’s reading and notes on bibliography progress.
Contact:
Thesis advisor email inquiry.
Read:
The Craft of Research (Ch. 7-8)
How to Write a BA Thesis + Others (skim for info)
Research:
Further research into relevant sources. Expand your net and narrow your aim. Keep reading.
Week 5 — 5.3 — YRL Library Research feat. Michelle Brasseur (!)
Devising digital and IRL research tactics.
Write:
An expanded annotated bibliography entry for the most relevant previous Honors Thesis in the ERR collection. Attend to argument, stakes, framework, evidence—and how it relates to your own research project. (500 words)
Respond:
Read:
The Craft of Research (Ch. 9-11)
ERR Honors Thesis Selection
Research:
Citation Management: Zotero, Notion, EndNote, Mendeley, WorldCat
See: UMich Citation Management Guide
GTD: Kanban Flow, Trello, Scapple, Pomodoro, Timeular, Alfred
Research Workshops: IDRE Workshops @ UCLA, UCLA Library Workshops
Week 6 — 5.10 — Intermission
Open research and development week.
Write:
Four additional annotated bibliography entries.
Read:
Primary and secondary sources.
Week 7 — 5.17 — Putting Research to Use
Entering into writing about your topic through a close reading.
Write:
The perfect example. Write a close reading of a text, instance, or other discrete moment from your research that best articulates your project aims and puts your thoughts on theory and method to use. (500 words)
Respond:
Read:
The Craft of Research (Ch. 12-14)
Research:
Constellate and review core citations for the proposal.
Week 8 — 5.24 — Questions & Answers
Meeting with a panel of honors thesis students.
Research:
Independent research.
Week 9 — 5.31 — Revising & Finalizing
Individual meetings on your proposal and group potluck session.
Write:
Second draft of research proposal.
Respond:
Research:
Independent research.
Week 10 — 6.7 — Presentations & Futures
Pecha Kucha presentations of final work and party.
Write:
Pecha Kucha Presentation (20 slides).
Respond:
Submit (by end of quarter):
Proposal and bibliography to thesis advisor.
Party:
Party planning.
