Junior Research Seminar

The One Series (formerly the Junior Research Seminar) offers students the opportunity to undertake a semester-long in-depth study of a major literary text. Discussions will address emergent research methods, advanced writing and critical thinking issues, and debates surrounding canonization. The seminar may involve working with primary sources and archival materials; reviewing the critical literature; using online databases of historical newspapers, periodicals, and other cultural materials; exploring relevant contexts in literary, linguistic, and cultural history; studying the etymological history and changing meanings of words; experimenting with new methods of computational analysis of texts; and other methodologies.

English majors may take this course at any time while at Penn, and do not need to be a junior to enroll.

Every semester, 4-6 different seminars that showcase a wide range of key texts and questions will be offered.