1)  Youll be researching the novel Kindred.  Ive got some articles already, but your job will be to find more source material to use. 

2)  Choose a theoretical position and use it as the lens through which youll look at the novel youve chosen. As you are considering your ideas about the novel, youll develop your own theory about one of the novels main themes using this lens. Your lenses should be familiar from literary criticism, and youll see a few examples as we read the articles about the novel.

3)  Find at least six articles written about the novel. These should be from scholarly, peer-reviewed journals. These peer-reviewed sources should be no more than 10 years old.  Remember, your source doesnt have to directly describe the work- it could be something that deals with the topic, but not the novel specifically, which you would then have to apply to the novel. 

4)  Using your own critical ability, enter into a conversation with the critics about your theory.  Provide evidence from the novel to support your own perspective, but also examine the other critics and their claims about the novel.  To do that, make sure you accurately summarize and explain their positions before you begin to question them.

5)  Remember, your task is to convince those critics that your idea about the novel is important for understanding one of the novels major themes.  Youll need to show that you understand their arguments and carefully argue your own ideas using substantial support both from the book and your fellow critics