Sunday, February 17, 2008
Friday, February 1, 2008
Essay Assignment #1
ENG 203 / DAVIDSON
ESSAY ONE
Due Date: February 18
In defining literature, many limit textual analysis to canonized poetry and fiction; however in contemporary studies in many English departments, the list of texts that are open for analysis has become nearly limitless. Thus looking at song lyrics, television, cinema, advertisements, etc as texts that are symbolic of our current societal voice is an important aspect of cultural studies.
For your first paper, you will be looking at both an episode of a television show as well as a piece of literature we’ve studied thus far this semester in order to discuss how each piece deals with similar themes. You may find it useful to begin your focus on race, class, or gender; for example, you might want to see how “Barn Burning” and The Sopranos explore family and loyalty in different ways or how discrimination in Othello compares with that of South Park or Queer as Folk.
Be certain that your essay utilizes quotes from the show as well as the story or poem to augment your argument. In choosing a show, you might want to pick something you are modestly familiar with; this show may currently be on the air or something you watch in rerun on DVD. (The latter may be preferable as that you would be able to watch the same episode multiple times to dig out emblematic importance in a specific episode.) You may also want to watch a few episodes of the show to refresh yourself with the characters, setting, typical plot structure, and other miscellaneous details, but please keep your analysis focused on a single episode.
As with all papers in this class, feel free to talk to me if you would like to tweak this idea or go with something else that you feel would work with this unit. You will need to discuss these ideas with me over email or during my office hours.
In grading this paper, I will be looking for depth of ideas and analysis (Are you “thinking outside the box”? Are you pushing the idea to its limits?), use of supporting evidence, proper use of citations, and overall strength and clarity of the writing itself (including structure and grammar).
Please make sure that your paper adheres to the following:
-3-4 pages
-Double-spaced
-Times New Roman Size 12
-1 _ margins (Microsoft standard)
You may come speak with me about this paper at any time. My office is in the LAB 336. My office hours are Mondays and Wednesdays from 10:00 to 11:15 and by appointment. Feel free to contact me at ryan.davidson@usm.edu with any other questions you might have.
ESSAY ONE
Due Date: February 18
In defining literature, many limit textual analysis to canonized poetry and fiction; however in contemporary studies in many English departments, the list of texts that are open for analysis has become nearly limitless. Thus looking at song lyrics, television, cinema, advertisements, etc as texts that are symbolic of our current societal voice is an important aspect of cultural studies.
For your first paper, you will be looking at both an episode of a television show as well as a piece of literature we’ve studied thus far this semester in order to discuss how each piece deals with similar themes. You may find it useful to begin your focus on race, class, or gender; for example, you might want to see how “Barn Burning” and The Sopranos explore family and loyalty in different ways or how discrimination in Othello compares with that of South Park or Queer as Folk.
Be certain that your essay utilizes quotes from the show as well as the story or poem to augment your argument. In choosing a show, you might want to pick something you are modestly familiar with; this show may currently be on the air or something you watch in rerun on DVD. (The latter may be preferable as that you would be able to watch the same episode multiple times to dig out emblematic importance in a specific episode.) You may also want to watch a few episodes of the show to refresh yourself with the characters, setting, typical plot structure, and other miscellaneous details, but please keep your analysis focused on a single episode.
As with all papers in this class, feel free to talk to me if you would like to tweak this idea or go with something else that you feel would work with this unit. You will need to discuss these ideas with me over email or during my office hours.
In grading this paper, I will be looking for depth of ideas and analysis (Are you “thinking outside the box”? Are you pushing the idea to its limits?), use of supporting evidence, proper use of citations, and overall strength and clarity of the writing itself (including structure and grammar).
Please make sure that your paper adheres to the following:
-3-4 pages
-Double-spaced
-Times New Roman Size 12
-1 _ margins (Microsoft standard)
You may come speak with me about this paper at any time. My office is in the LAB 336. My office hours are Mondays and Wednesdays from 10:00 to 11:15 and by appointment. Feel free to contact me at ryan.davidson@usm.edu with any other questions you might have.
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