Literary Arts

Information for Current Honors Students

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Information for Current Honors Students

This material is intended for those advanced undergraduate who have been accepted into the honors/capstone program. As you will be expected to complete a book-length creative manuscript before graduating, we wanted to give you some advice at the outset of this process.

Your Advisor

Your advisor will play an important role in this process. You should approach that person as soon as you can, and begin to plan how you are going to complete your thesis/project. The advisor selected you as someone whom the writer is willing to advise; however, if you want to work with another member of the literary arts faculty, you may approach that person. It is up to the faculty members themselves to agree to take you on. It is the obligation of the instructor to say, "I'm sorry, but I cannot work with you" if that person is already overloaded with advisees.

A graduate student may not serve as advisor.

Once you have settled on an advisor, you should complete the "Student Advisor Form" (a copy of which will be provided to you upon being accepted into the program). Note -- for the 2021-22 Academic Year, instead of using the "Student Advisor Form," please send an electronic message to Jennifer_Witt@brown.edu confirming the name of your advisor-- please copy your advisor on the message.

Thesis

We recommend that honors students begin concentrated work on the thesis shortly before the end of the penultimate semester, or if class work is heavy, just as the penultimate semester ends. We recommend that you meet with your advisor before the break before semesters so as to have an informal meeting to discuss the thesis and the work you plan to accomplish over the semester break. In rare cases and with the instructor's permission, you may sign up for an independent study for your seventh semester (LITR 1310). Nearly all honors candidates sign up for LITR 1510 in the final semester (the honors independent study number).

If your thesis advisor is teaching the LITR 1410 honors workshop section, you'll likely complete the thesis through that workshop.

Thesis Deadlines

In the thesis semester, you should expect to meet with your advisor at regular intervals to discuss your progress. Different projects require different types of advising at different intervals. You should work with your advisor to work out what would be most appropriate. In most cases, writers have found that meeting with an advisor every other week is appropriate. Meetings may last as little as 15 to 20 minutes and as long as an hour – but usually not for a set length of time.

You may find that there are periods in the process where you need different types of help-where a suggested reading or exercise may be more necessary than a close reading. It will be up to both you and your advisor to be aware of what the project needs.

Some writers find it useful to set up a time line, working backwards from the date the project is due. Again, this is more useful for some writers (and some projects) than others. Not everyone thinks in terms of self-imposed deadlines, but...

Completing in the Fall

For those completing the thesis in the fall semester, present final copy of the project to the department by 4 pm on 15 December (if 15 December falls on a weekend or holiday, the thesis is due on the first business day after the 15th). You should submit one copy in bound format to Jennifer Witt, Room 101, Literary Arts, 68 1/2 Brown Street –contact Jenny at Jennifer_Witt@brown.edu to arrange for delivery; and as a PDF, sent as an attachment to to your thesis advisor – if your project cannot be shared as a PDF, make arrangements with Jennifer Witt and your thesis advisor well before the deadline. 

Completing in the Spring

For those completing the thesis in the spring semester, present final copy of the project to the department by 4 pm on 13 April (if 13 April falls on a weekend or holiday, the thesis is due on the first business day after the 13th). You should submit one copy in bound format to Jennifer Witt, Room 101, Literary Arts, 68 1/2 Brown Street –contact Jenny at Jennifer_Witt@brown.edu to arrange for delivery; and as a PDF, sent as an attachment to to your thesis advisor – if your project cannot be shared as a PDF, make arrangements with Jennifer Witt and your thesis advisor well before the deadline. 

Once you've received your advisor's comments, we encourage you to set up a meeting to discuss those comments. If you have specific questions, you should ask at that time.

Honors Reading Series

To end each academic year, the program sponsors the Honors reading series. You'll be notified of the dates available for sign-up. This marks the primary celebration of your long and hard work. We hope that you find the event festive-and we encourage you to attend the readings of your colleagues.

Contact

If you have any questions along the way, please discuss them with your advisor or with Gale Nelson.

Additional information

Applying for Honors

If you are a Literary Arts concentrator who has completed or is currently enrolled in a 1000-level Literary Arts Workshop or an appropriate LITR 1110 or 11150 section, you are eligible to apply for Honors in Literary Arts.