I expect you to demonstrate what you have learned in this class and how well you can use those skills and knowledge through the design and completion of a final project. You are expected to work with three or four of your classmates and consult your instructor in the process. You can incorporate materials and insights from the journal logs and other assignments that you have completely for this course previously.

This project should consist of three parts: a collectively designed website (tech tutorial to be offered), a 20-minute group oral presentation, and a 3-4-page reflection paper.

  1. First, you may choose any topic(s) or aspect(s) related to Chinese web fiction as the content base for your website. The goal is to introduce Chinese web fiction and/or its dissemination outside China to audiences who are not familiar with the subject matter. It can be about specific genres, themes, or authors. It can be on the production, consumption, dissemination, marketing, translation, adaptation, and exportation of Chinese web fiction. Or it can be a combination of several areas mentioned above. You can also adopt a comparative perspective, and interdisciplinary approaches are also encouraged.
  2. You can decide among your group whether all of you are collectively responsible for the site as a whole or individually responsible for specific content.
  3. There is no specific limit on the number of webpages or use of multimedia contents, but make sure to include on the site a page of citation or bibliography to list your sources and/or acknowledgements.
  4. Here are the rules of group forming: you must work with three or four of your classmates from different linguistic/cultural backgrounds and preferably (potentially) different majors. You should share research work to create the website together and plan together for your group oral presentation. But you should write individual reflection papers.
  5. The reflection paper should be 3-4 pages long. In it you can talk about what you have learned by carrying out this project and taking this course, what challenges you have encountered and how you resolved those, and how you plan to move forward after this course/project. I require the MLA style of citation, if applicable.

In your group proposal outline (1 page, emailed to me no later than March 3, Monday), you must 1) identify your topic and teammates; 2) explain briefly the significance of your project; 3) outline your research plan: what kind of books, articles, TV, and films, etc., you plan to research, whom you plan to interview, what sites to visit, etc.; 4) a rough timeline to complete each steps of your research plan; and, 5) your preliminary research findings, if any. I will give feedback on your proposal and provide help continuously up to our conference day during the week of April 28, by which time you should have a final presentation plan.

You will be asked to present on your final projects, as a group on May 5 or May 7. You can prepare a handout or PowerPoint slide show for the convenience of your audience. During your presentation, you are expected to tell your audience what you have learned about Chinese web fiction through doing this project for about 20 minutes. You will then answer questions from your audience.

The final written paper for your project is due in Canvas no later than 5 p.m., May 12, Monday. Please note: no extensions will be given unless you have a medical emergency.