Last time, we decided to focus our attention on the very early part of our period, and to spend a couple of hours between then and this morning seeing what we could find out about useful sources we might use to learn about the following:

• What do scholars & historians have to say about the physical theatres around 1600? (Iya)
• What do those folks have to say about social changes around 1600, especially regarding the position of women and what happened to make it possible now (but impossible earlier) for women to act in plays? (Tabitha)
• Who do scholars & critics think were the most important dramatists immediately after the Restoration? (Adam)
• What do scholars & historians have to say about the role of religion in society around 1600 -- especially with respect to politics and public policy? (Kayla)
• What are the best sources for finding out about society generally right after the Restoration? (Matt)
• What can we find out about  the theatre and its effects on society during the Restoration period and even how society viewed the theatre at this time? (Ashley)

The first has to do with making them into documents that are useful not only for their creators, but for the rest of us. One of the good things about wikis is that they can be edited.

I had originally thought we could go around the class this morning and ask everyone to tell us a bit about their resources -- what makes you think they're likely to be useful, that is, what you've seen about them that appeared to offer information or understanding about the question you're exploring. I think, though, that in fact this is something that can be done by editing these lists to make them into what would usually be characterized as "working annotated bibliographies." This is partly a matter of editing them into standard bibliographical form, and also of adding working notes about them. I'll spend a few minutes demonstrating what this might look like, and then send everybody away to edit your wiki page. You should be done by the end of class time.

Then, between now and next Wednesday, you need to begin actually reporting to the rest of us what your researches are telling you. What you should do is write your report separately, using Word or whatever, and save it;  then put it into your wiki above the "working bibliography." I'll demonstrate what this might look like later this morning, by editing my own wiki page.