The objective of the online research project is for the student to approach an American author and associated literary works with the eye of a teacher and scholar: to produce an interactive website that will help future students in American literature classes understand the culture and history associated with a literary work, become more familiar with the life of the author, and complete careful and meaningful readings of a particular piece of literature. Students in the course are encouraged to engage in traditional student research practices (investigating print and online sources) as well as original research that is ultimately “published” on the website: interviewing an author or expert in the field, visiting libraries housing archival material for a particular author and producing a record of that visit, or visiting historical sites where authors lived and worked and offering through digital video or photographs a record of the visit.