Final Paper: Must Be at Least 4 Full Pages to 5 Pages in Length. More Details to Come
Final Paper Due Dates (please note—these due dates are slightly different than those on the syllabus. Please follow these dates):
Proposal Due: Tues Nov 25 in class
Draft Due and “Quote Map”: (draft be at least 2 full pages in length, typed, double-spaced): Thurs Dec 4 (late drafts/quote maps will lose 2 points per day). Quote map details will be explained after proposals are submitted.
Final Paper: Must be at least 4 full pages to 5 pages in length. More details to come.
Due Date OPTIONS: Option 1: Last day of class, Thurs Dec 11 (paper must be submitted in class and online via Blackboard’s safe assign. Safe Assign will be explained.) If you submit your paper on the 11th you will receive it back via email by the 18th with comments.
Option 2: Friday, Dec 18 (via Safe Assign and email). If you choose this later deadline you will not receive comments on your paper, only a grade.
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Paper Topics and Proposal Assignment, Due Tuesday Nov 25 in class only (email not accepted)
At the end of the semester, you will be writing a 4-5 page paper on one of the below topics. Further instructions / guidelines for that paper will be distributed later in the semester. This is a “scaffolded assignment” – meaning you have preliminary assignments (a paper proposal, and a draft) due before you turn in the final paper. Keep in mind the preliminary assignments are factored into your course grade, and failing to complete these assignments will adversely affect your grade. Information on the other components will be distributed in the coming weeks.
**You do not have to submit the proposal by email. Just bring a hardcopy to class. Late proposals will lose 2 points per day.
Requirements: Write a 1- to 2-page double-spaced paper proposal explaining which question you will answer, your thesis statement (in other words, argument) as it stands now, and some details about the evidence you will use to support this thesis statement. You also need to explain a counter-argument. For your final paper, you are required to use at least one secondary source. That source must be an article (like those you’ve used for your discussions). You are welcome to use the same article you used for your discussion. You are also welcome to use a source that another student shared (consult the blog for sources). In your proposal, you must provide the name of your article, its author, and a brief summary of its argument.
Thesis statement needs to be argumentative and therefore you need to be able to imagine and lay out a potential counter-argument. For example, if I were arguing for the need for universal healthcare in the US, I would easily be able to imagine the counter-argument (i.e. we should not have universal healthcare). The same is true when arguing about literature—there is an argument and a counter-argument. As we move toward the paper I’ll be explaining in more detail how you can use a counter-argument to your advantage. You don’t need to explain ALL the evidence you’ll be using, but be specific in your proposal and point out plot points, images, quotes, character traits, etc that will serve to support your thesis. As well, you don’t have to have everything “figured out” by this point—so feel free to pose questions as well.
Even though this is a proposal, this should still be grammatically correct and should not be informally written. As well, it should be in 12-point Times New Roman font (following MLA guidelines). As well, plagiarism policies still apply. While this isn’t a “contract” (i.e. your argument might change), you are committing to your topic.
Topic Choices:
1. A topic of your choosing in consultation with me. If you choose your own topic, please note that in your proposal. I may ask you to meet with me.
2. Explore the role of gender in Aeschylus’ The Oresteia. Make an argument about how gender is represented using one or both of the plays we read in this trilogy.
3. Explore the role of the gods versus the role of human choice in Aeschylus’ The Oresteia AND/OR in The Odyssey. How much do the gods control and determine the characters’ actions and the outcome of the text or texts? On the other hand, how much does personal choice and human emotion affect the outcome of the plays? You may write about one or both of the texts.
4. The Arabian Nights has many themes in common with The Oresteia and The Odyssey (such as justice, distraction, romance, revenge). Write a comparative paper in which you choose one of these themes (or a theme you’ve come up with) and compare its meaning in The Arabian Nights and EITHER The Oresteia OR The Odyssey. As with all the other topics, you need to write a coherent and persuasive argument here. So, you don’t want this essay to just point out these differences and/or similarities, but rather you want to use this comparison as a means of analyzing the importance/meaning of this theme in each work.
5. Write an argumentative paper in which you consider the theme of travel and space in at least two of the following texts: Moretti’s Maps, Battuta’s Travels, Mandeville’s text, or The Odyssey. When considering the theme of travel you should think about HOW travel and space are represented: for instance, what language is used when talking about travel? How is distance represented? How are spaces represented? How do writers’ perspectives affect their perception of places? You don’t have to answer all of these questions, these are just some questions to consider when trying to formulate an argument.
6. Bring two texts together to make an argument about the theme of feminism and/or gender and/or masculinity (you may also consider Sally Potter’s film Orlando here. However, in order to write about Orlando you absolutely must re-watch it at least once). Other options include: The Book of the City of Ladies, The Oresteia, The Odyssey, The Thousand and One Nights, Nina Baym’s text, and Lillian Robinson’s text.
7. Bringing together at least three Tang poems (from any combination of poets. You may also just focus in on one poet) and consider themes of war, compassion, and/or nature. This question will require a lot of close reading: you will need to closely read your chosen poems to make an argument about how these themes function. Feel free to consider any other theme (beyond war, compassion, nature) of your choosing.