For this response to The Great Rat Hunt, you will choose ONE of the following prompts. Your response should be at least 750 words and should include specific references (with quotations and page numbers) to the book. Make it clear which response you are answering. Your response should include BOTH discussion of the graphic history in Part I and discussion of AT LEAST THREE of the appropriate primary sources in Part II. Please note that I have borrowed and modified some of these questions from Part V and I encourage you to look at the specific questions there as a way of getting you thinking about the text. You might also want to look at Part IV which you gives you additional historical context.
YOU SHOULD ONLY BE USING THE VANN AND CLARKE BOOK AND MAYBE MATERIAL FROM THE LECTURE (OPTIONAL) TO ANSWER THESE PROMPTS. PROVIDE PAGE NUMBERS FOR ALL REFERENCES. ALL OUTSIDE MATERIAL MUST BE CITED. USE OF AI OR PLAGIARISM IS PROHIBITED AND WILL RESULT IN A 0 ON THE ASSIGNMENT AND CANNOT BE MADE UP.
1. Urban History and Colonial History: In what ways did Hanoi represent the French ideal of being “modern”? Why does this vision of the “modern” contribute to the way the French think about preventing disease? Did everyone in the city live in the same city? How does the vision of Hanoi you get from reading the graphic compare to the one you get from reading the primary sources in Part II on Urban Life (pp. 127-155)? In your response, you need to use BOTH the primary sources and the graphic history in answering each question of the prompt.
2. History of Disease and Medicine: How is disease linked to (1) industrialization, (2) imperialism and (3) globalization in this story? How did public health measures show the power of the state over bodies and how did the Vietnamese fight back through undermining them ? How is racism connected to fears about disease in this story? How did the author and illustrator use the information about the third bubonic plague epidemic (Part II; pp. 155-180) from the primary sources to construct the story ? In your response, you need to use BOTH the primary sources in Part II and the graphic history in Part I in answering each question of the prompt.
3. Colonialism and Resistance: What do we learn about how colonialism and white supremacy worked in the French domination of Vietnam from this book? How do the Vietnamese resist French rule in this book? How did Vietnamese nationalism and communism develop in reaction to French rule in this book? How do the primary sources in Part II about Vietnamese resistance (pp. 179-184) compare and contrast with the kinds of resistance we see depicted in the graphic history? In your response, you need to use BOTH the primary sources and the graphic history in answering each question of the prompt.
How You Will Be Graded:
1. On a scale of 0 (unreadable or not at all the question) to 10 (flawlessly): How well does this paper follow the basic instructions (i.e. choose one prompt) and communicate in a well-organized structure and with grammatical, polished language and providing page citations/quotations where needed?
2. On a scale of 0 (not at all) to 30 (thoughtfully and at length): How thoughtfully does this paper provide general answers to ALL component questions asked in the prompt?
3. On a scale of 0 (not at all) to 30 (thoughtfully and in detail): How well does this paper use SPECIFIC evidence from the graphic history to answer EACH component question in the prompt?
4. On a scale of 0 (not at all) to 30 (very insightfully): How well does this paper discuss at least ONE primary source in answering EACH question of the prompt?
