WINTER TERM í00 COURSE PROPOSAL FORM

Annotated Bibliography Assignment

Japanese Visual Culture

For this assignment, you will be asked to contribute to the annotated bibliography for one of the class’s five units of course content. You should concentrate on one subdivision of this unit after consultation with other students assigned to the same unit.

I. You will be required to write an annotation for six items, whether articles, books, or web sites. You may use the bibliography prepared by the professor to begin choosing works to annotate. Among the works for review, you should include:

1. At least one article that is included in the course reader.

2. At least one book or article that is listed on the unit’s bibliography page, but is not in the course reader.

3. At least one book, article, or web site that is not already listed on the unit’s bibliography page. You can find this article or book by conducting a library or internet catalog search or by referring to the bibliographical information in other articles you read.

4. At least one, but no more than two, web sites.

II. The annotations should be in the following format:

1. At the beginning, be sure to include your name and the subject of your bibliography.

2. Full bibliographical listing (MLA style). See the biblio sections of the class website for examples. A Middlebury guide for annotated bibliographies can be found at:

http://www.middlebury.edu/~lib/AnnoBibJune99.html

A guide to citing electronic sources, including websites (MLA style), can be found at:

http://www.middlebury.edu/~lib/citing.mla.html

3. Annotation. Each annotation should be approximately 250-300 words in length, and consist of two paragraphs.

a. In the first paragraph, you should briefly summarize the content and scope of the work; describe the author’s sources and methodology; and identify, if possible, the author’s credentials and affiliation. Try to describe the nature of the article, book or website in question–is it academic, journalistic, or something else (the work of an artist, a fan, or an advertiser)? What is its intended audience?

b. In the second paragraph, briefly state your critical opinion of the work, identifying both its shortcomings and positive qualities.

III. A hard copy of the first draft of your annotated bibliography is due in class on Monday, January 17. A second draft will later be added to the course web site. Your grade for this assignment will be based on the following criteria:

1. The relevance and quality of your selection of works, particularly with regard to the new item or items (I.3 above).

2. The quality of your summary and critique of the work.

3. The clarity of your writing.