English 102 (Writing About Literature) Research Guide: Common Assignment tips (Fall 2023)
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
- ProQuest Ebook Central This link opens in a new windowDiverse collection of over 200,000 electronic books.
- Literature Resource Center This link opens in a new windowAuthor biographies and literary criticism.
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: 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:
- "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