Masterpieces of Literature- Families and RelationshipsHerndon

Paper due dates:Paper 1Feb. 26 Paper 2 March 19Paper 3 or learning letterMay 14, 2 p.m.

Please note: 1. Paper 1 should incorporate a minimum of 3 scholarly sources in addition to assigned reading (library sources include articles found through library databases such as Academic Search Premier, JSTOR, Sage, etc.). 2. Papers will be turned in through SafeAssign on Blackboard discourage inappropriate paraphrase and plagiarism.3. Papers should be a minimum of 4 pages, 12-point font, 1-inch margins

OPTION 1 (expected for one of the three assignments): Analysis of any one or two texts on the topic of your choice

A productive way to begin thinking about a formal analysis is to start with in-class writings or reading quizzes. What readings interest you? Which readings puzzled you, challenged you, or made you think in a new way? Choose one text (two at most). Select one of the questions or issues below and narrow it to a topic you can easily manage in 4-6 pages. Feel free to create your own topic if none of these interests you; just check with me first to make sure the topic is appropriate. Examples: Choose one of the film versions of King Lear. What visual or aural elements add to, subtract from or transform the text? Compare and contrast two scenes from King Lear: one from the 1971 Soviet Kozintsev version, one from either the Peter Brook version or the 2008 Royal Shakespeare Company Nunn version. What do differences in the two reveal? Show how you would update King Lear in, say, a contemporary film. How do your directorial choices reveal your interpretation of the text? How and why does A Thousand Acres rewrite King Lear? How and why does Ran revise King Lear? Choose one text to analyze. Focus your analysis on one of the following relationships: Children and parents Spouses Animals and humans Humans and nature/the environment Deities and humans Extended family members Neighbors Community members People originating in the same region Those who share a common culture Citizens of a nation Humans of different nationalities or continents Choose one text in which violence and/or armed conflict appears. How does violence shape relationships? Examine the historical, political, cultural and/or biographical context of a text or author. How does an awareness of context enrich our understanding of the text? Is the text youve chosen Literature (or Art)? Is it a Masterpiece (or good Art)? Why or why not? Be sure to define important terms for the purposes of your paper. What difference (if any) does the gender of the author make when making sense of meaning? What about the gender of the reader? What contradictions or oppositions do you notice in the text? What can we learn from examining these contradictions?

OPTION 2: out-of-class experienceCompare an idea related to one of our texts with an idea from outside the assigned material. Write about the new idea you have encountered or re-thought in this class. The paper may be inspired by a campus or community event, by a Discussion Forum response or by student teaching. Your essay may take the form of an analysis, or you may blend academic analysis of the text with personal narrative. Show connections between life outside the classroom and inside the classroom. Narrow the focus to a particular theme or topic so that your paper doesnt ramble or generalize.1) Write a lot about a little. Focus on one particular event or idea.2) Show; dont tell. Give your readers images to remember and quotations from texts. 3) Be precise. Use concrete detail to support your argument. Avoid vague words, generalizations, clichs, and trite phrases. Remember to define your terms.Let the reader hear your own distinctive voice: give us the sense that only you could have written this paper. Enliven the paper with clear imagery and varied word choices so that well want to keep reading. Obviously, if you choose a topic that fascinates you, you are more likely to fascinate your reader.By the time youre finished with the paper, the reader or listener should also have a sense of how to answer the question, So what? In other words, why does the paper matter? How does the narrative relate to the text or to our class? Why should the reader care? What do we learn? If you care about what you write, then try to communicate that sense of importance so that the reader will care, too.

OPTION 4: Letter to a community memberWrite a letter or policy proposal to someone who is not part of the university or academe, such as an editor or a political representative. In this piece, demonstrate the importance of an idea from one of the readings. Examples: Write a letter to your state representative in Nebraska about the about alcohol sales in Whiteclay, Nebraska, to residents of the Pine Ridge Indian reservation. Use knowledge gleaned from Frank LaMeres class visit or Sober Indian, Dangerous India. Write an editorial for a local or NWU newspaper inspired by one of the topics we have read about. Write a policy proposal on U.S. intervention in mass atrocities based on what you learn from Shake Hands with the Devil. Write a letter to a congressional representative or the secretary general of the United Nations regarding human rights violations in Sudan.

OPTION 4: Learning letter/Take home final recommended for final paper. To what extent have you met the following course objectives?a. Gaining a broader understanding and appreciation of intellectual/cultural activityb. Developing skill in expressing oneself orally or in writingc. Learning to analyze and critically evaluate ideas, arguments, and points of viewThe learning letter gives you a chance to reflect on your work this semester and determine what you learned and how you learned it. As with every assignment, I expect specific details, clear ideas, clear purpose, organization, and your own voice. Show (dont tell) what you learned in class. Provide vivid examples and concrete details (from, for example, class discussion, readings, and your own papers). You may direct the letter to Herndon and/or to the entire class. Choose from one or more of the ideas below. Analyze campus events. What did you learn about the campus, Lincoln, or Nebraska community? What did you notice about differences such as social class, gender, ethnicity, national origin, background or opportunity? What about barriers and opportunities that people face in with regard to social and economic equality? Reflect on reading. What text did you find most enlightening? Why? What did you learn about analyzing and interpreting texts? Did you gain an appreciation for different writing styles? What texts were least thought-provoking for you? Consider revision. Read through the quizzes, final drafts of your essays and Discussion Board responses. Think about what you learned, what worked and didnt work, where you think your writing and reading of writing (your ability to revise your own texts) improved. If you didnt see much growth, why do you think that is? How could the class be changed to help future students improve as writers and readers of writing? Examine social interaction. Who in the class influenced you, helped you, taught you the most? What specifically did s/he do? In turn, who do you think you influenced, helped, interacted with most usefully? Evaluate the class as a whole. How did the class challenge your expectations? What were the most enlightening class activities? In what ways did they help you as a writer/reader? Think about your own participation in all the class elementsdiscussion, reading, writing, responding to peers texts, and so on. What are your strengths and weaknesses in participation? What in the class activities and assignments should continue and which should change? How did this course meet or disappoint your expectations about what you would accomplish? What one or two things about the class should the professor know? What, if anything, will you take from this class and keep with you for future inspiration or use, whether in other classes, or beyond the formal educational system?

Academic paper expectations:Argument Narrow your focus to a specific thesis statement you can cover thoroughly. Dont try to tackle too much because youre anxious about filling up space.Evidence Define your terms. Make sure you have enough evidence. Include quotations as evidence for your assertions. Explain your evidence thoroughly. Recognize alternate perspectives or counter-arguments.Evaluate sources When using library research, make sure sources are accurate, reputable and timely. Quotations Dont throw in quotations randomly to fill up space. Quotations should be chosen carefully in order to prove your point. Introduce quotations gradually, providing the necessary context. Integrate quotations into a sentence of your own making. After the close of the quotation, comment on how you interpret it and why it is significant. (The reader may interpret a quotation differently from you.) Dont assume that quotations stand alone, and dont let them overpower your own voice and your own judgment of them Dont use quotations longer than four lines in a short essay. When a quotation becomes too long, paraphrase it. Use either MLA style consistently.Organization Remember to tie ideas together in a logical progression. If a thread does not connect your paper from beginning to end, the paper becomes a simple list. Avoid listing ideas rather than developing them. Limit each paragraph to one main idea. Each idea should relate to your main argument. You shouldnt be able to reshuffle paragraphs without doing damage to the organizational pattern of the paper. Provide explicit transitions between paragraphs and ideas.Introduction Dont begin your paper with an obvious statement or a generalization. Try to make the opening lively so the reader will be curious about what youre going to do. Then use the introduction to establish the context for your argument.Conclusion In your conclusion, bring home the significance of your topic. Why does it matter? What can we learn from it? Point readers in a new direction for inquiry and research.

FOR ALL OPTIONS . . .Start early enough to revise. I suggest you read the draft aloud to another student or to a consultant at the Cooper Center (Library 317). You may also show me your draft so that we can provide suggestions for revision (dont forget all the valuable information from English 1 about the writing process: brainstorming, revising, and editing). Make clear whose ideas are whose. If you have any questions about avoiding plagiarism, please see me or visit the Cooper Center. Any plagiarism, from missing quotation marks to sloppy paraphrase, will result in an F for the paper and possibly the course.Write a lot about a little. Narrow the focus to a topic that you can address thoroughly. Use active voice: lively, vigorous prose (without glaring errors). Whenever possible, avoid the verb to be (is, are, was, were). Avoid passive constructions.Begin well. Include a title and introduction that inspire me to read further, but dont write the beginning until youve finished the draft.

https://books.google.com/books?id=3oiXGNWkcIYC&pg=PA7&lpg=PA7&dq=king+lear+and+queen+elizabeth&source=bl&ots=e1GBOSOByK&sig=8rhBqMxC4woNZnbmD9-zEBKyt_I&hl=en&sa=X&ei=mqfsVMrbLPiPsQSawICIDg&ved=0CDkQ6AEwBQ#v=onepage&q=king%20lear%20and%20queen%20elizabeth&f=false

http://www.college.columbia.edu/core/node/1763

http://www.enotes.com/homework-help/how-does-character-reign-king-lear-william-6995

http://www.enotes.com/topics/king-lear

http://www.britaininprint.net/shakespeare/study_tools/succession.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leir_of_Britain

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