English 102 (Writing About Literature) Research Guide: Common Assignment tips
General resources
Welcome
This guide is a collection of useful sources for researching both the historical context and literary analysis portions of your paper.
The Assignment
Choose a work of protest literature (a poem or short story), and describe how the writer conveys the lived experience or condition of a marginalized group. Use researched background information to support your analysis of the text, but focus on the literary elements and techniques the writer uses.
Stuck?
Contact your librarians anytime for help! Chat with us during library hours, or by email at ref_desk@carrollcc.edu.
- OneSearch This link opens in a new window
- Literature Resource Center This link opens in a new windowAuthor biographies and literary criticism.
Childish Gambino
Resources for "This is America"
Keyword ideas: Donald Glover, Childish Gambino, Black identity, gun violence, surrealism
Helpful resources
- 'This Is America': Breaking down Childish Gambino's powerful new music videoAnalysis of the music video.
- Slaying New Black Notions Childish Gambino's "This Is America"Poet Ladan Osman considers how Childish Gambino obliterates rooted acts of black optimism and expression, leading us to understand the artist's persona as a site upon which historical and aesthetic lineages are free to interact and contradict each other .
- How Childish Gambino's 'This Is America' Indicts and Challenges Its Audience"[Glover's] adoption of funk, soul, southern hip-hop, and now black nihilism on a par with Richard Wright is an aesthetic he has chosen to embrace as his career evolves." An analysis of "This is America."
Lucille Clifton
Resources for "jasper texas 1998"
Keyword ideas: hate crimes, lynching, hate crime legislation
- "jasper texas 1998" - Lucille CliftonThe text of the poem.
Helpful resources
- Texas Executes Man for 1998 Dragging DeathNew York Times article that talks about the hate crime referenced in Clifton's poem; this article provides context to the event and its legacy in Texas and the country.
- A Life for a Life1999 aticle on the sentencing of John William King, who was convicted of the murder of James Byrd Jr. Details of the crime and race relations in 1990s Jasper TX.
Suggested ebooks for historical context
Tip: Click the ebook title or cover art to read the book. (You may need to log in using your Carroll credentials to get in.)
- Race and Prejudice in American LiteratureThis topic overview talks about how literature has been a lens through which authors and poets examine race, religion, sexuality, and other identities.
Resources for literary analysis
- Literary Terms (Purdue OWL)This list of literary terms can help you interpret, critique, and respond to literature and poetry. If you're not sure where to start in writing about your story or poem, this list is worth skimming.
Cristina Henriquez
Resources for "Everything is Far from Here"
Keyword ideas: asylum seekers, immigration, family separation, sexual abuse of migrants, immigration detention facilities
- "Everything is Far from Here" - Cristina HenriquezThe text of the short story.
Helpful Resources
- ‘It Should Not Have Happened’: Asylum Officers Detail Migrants’ Accounts of AbuseFrom the New York Times (carrollcc login required).
- Understanding US Immigration Detention[This paper explores] the health impacts of detention as an accumulation of mental and physical trauma that take place during the entirety of a detained immigrant’s experience, from migration to potential deportation and removal.
- Parents Experience Severe Psychological Trauma Four Years After Family Separation by the U.S. GovernmentPhysicians for Human Rights report
- The Secret History of Family SeparationAn incredibly detailed investigation into the practice and affects of family separation at the U.S. Border.
Blas Manuel De Luna
Resources for "Bent to the Earth"
Keyword ideas: Migrant workers, immigrants and agriculture, migrant worker abuse, migrant worker safety
- "Bent to the Earth" - Blas Manuel De LunaThe text of the poem.
Helpful Resources
- Migrant Farm WorkersReference article from The Gale Encyclopedia of Public Health detailing health and safety risks migrant farm workers face.
- Migrant Farm Worker Abuse ContinuesGale article
- U.S. Dependence on Immigrant WorkersGale article
Louise Erdrich
Resources for "Indian Boarding School: The Runaways"
Keyword ideas: Ojibway or Ojibwe or Chippewa, American Indian boarding schools, residential schools
- "Indian Boarding School: The Runaways" - Louise ErdrichThe text of the poem.
Helpful resources
- Overview of Indian Boarding School: The RunawaysDetailed source from Poetry for Students, provides overview, analysis, and criticism of the poem. Very good place to start!
- American Indian Boarding SchoolsBackground information on Indian boarding schools in the United States.
- They took the children: U.S. created Indian boarding schools to destroy cultures and seize land.More information on the history and abuses of Native American boarding schools.
Judith Ortiz Cofer
Resources for "Volar"
Keyword ideas: Hispanic American literature, Latina American women authors, coming of age
This reading is located in The Seagull Reader: Stories.
Helpful resources
- Coming of Age and the Transnational Subject in the Works of Judith Ortiz CoferAn overview of Ortiz Cofer’s career. Ortiz Cofer strives to “reconcile a location of nostalgic longing and family history with the reality of being a Puerto Rican woman in the mainland United States.”
- Judith Ortiz Cofer: an homage to a Latina activist and literary innovatorDetailed biography of Ortiz Cofer, which discusses the themes that she considered in her work.