each option will involve a 5-7 page paper that will be graded using the “academic essay” rubric (unless you choose to write a creative paper, in which case we will use the non-academic essay rubric). Make sure you tell me what kind of paper you are writing. All papers will be due on the last day of the semester, along with any other remaining work (e.g. any paper you want to revise), as usual in the form of a Google doc emailed to ************************** style=”margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; font-size: 13.3333px; cursor: auto; color: inherit;”>Paper Option 1: Write an analytical paper examining a site (e.g. Zuccotti Park), an institution (museum, prison, zoo etc.), a movement (e.g. environmentalism as in Morton’s essay, feminism as in Srinivasan’s) or an issue (e.g. testing on animals; cultural appropriation). This option does involve a research component—make sure you’re using reliable sources, or if you’re using unverified sources (e.g. comments under a YouTube video, or a personal blog), that you’re treating them with the appropriate suspicion and critical distance. You’ll need at least three additional (credible, ideally scholarly) sources to back up your central argument. Remember to pay attention to word choice, structure and tone. All papers must follow MLA format. Cite all sources (see Purdue OWL for specifications).
Paper Option 2: Comparative paper.
a: Identify a theme, trope or stylistic device that interests you. Find two texts from the course that contain that theme, trope or device and then make a claim about the similarities and differences in their treatment of that theme, trope or device.
or
b: In conversation with me, choose a theoretical text to use as an interpretive lens for one of the readings for the class. You will need to outline your understanding of the concept you draw from the theoretical text, and then explore its role in the literary text you consider.
Questions to consider as you choose sources:
1.) Who wrote or created it?
—a scholar affiliated with a research institution or university?
—a reporter who specializes in your topic?
—a spokesperson for an interest group or company?
2.) Who published or distributed it?
—a scholarly society or professional association?
—a commercial entity?
—a university press?
—a local, regional or national newspaper?
—a government agency?
—a partisan think tank?
—a major book publisher?
—a research center or institute?
—a self-publishing individual?
3.) What kind of quality control did it have to go through to be published?
—was it peer reviewed?
—was it professionally edited?
—was it self-published?
4.) What kind of evidence does the author use?
—does the author explain the context of their work by citing other scholars’ work in a lit review?
—did the author conduct original research, or are they synthesizing research conducted by others?
—does the author provide links or a list of citations?
5.) When was it written? Does it provide up to date research? Is it a classic that scholars refer to regularly? Does it provide information about a historical event from the period in which the event occurred?
6.) How does my rhetorical situation affect my answers to questions 1-5?
Please use these questions to create a 3-5 sources annotated bibliography for your final paper.
