Prompts: (CHOOSE ONE) I HAVE ATTACHED A TEXT YOU HAVE TO READ FOR THE PAPER!!!!
1. Discuss Said’s notion of the Orient as a western construct. Why does he say it’s a western construct, even if it refers to an actual geographic place? How did and does this construct come about? What purposes does the construct serve?
2. Use Said to analyze a movie that reflects on a specific concept in their respective works: Orientalism, hybridity, or imagined community. You will need to use specific ideas from the critical text and apply those ideas to the movie. You need to cite the critical text, develop and explain the specific idea(s) you’re working with, and then use it in the critique. The discussion of the critical idea should comprise roughly half the paper. USE THE MOVIE: Sixteen Candles!!
Formal expectations: VERY IMPORTANT!!!!!!!!!!!!!
1.Your paper needs to have a straightforward thesis in a short introductory paragraph. The thesis needs to state the main point you will develop in your paper.
2.The goal of your paper is to present a careful understanding of the material, not to argue with it. You are welcome to argue with any of the ideas in class, and I encourage you to do so. But good arguments need to be based on good understandings, and that’s what we’re doing first.
3.You should outline your paper and stick to a structure. Paragraphs should be well-developed (more than a few sentences without a clear topic), with examples to support your points. Your paper should feel well-crafted and carefully planned.
4.Cite the text in your paper, rather than relying on generalizations. Vague points without support lack strength and specificity. At the same time, use brief quotes, since this paper is so short. You can just put the page number in parentheses, since we’re all using the same book (ex. Plato explains, “Art is worthless” (38).). While you can cite Klages or my hand-out, any paper dealing with, for example, Barthes, needs to cite his essay directly.
5.This is not a research paper. Your paper should depend upon class materials. If you feel the need to refer to something not in the class material, you must properly cite it. Anything that does not come from your own head must be cited.
Papers that contain ideas and writing that do not reflect class discussions and the specifics of the topic are at risk of not earning credit — particularly if they are flagged by turnitin.com for plagiarism or AI.
