Broad General Topics for Paper #2
For your second paper, write a 5-7 page essay on one of the following topics. Part of the task of paper-writing will be narrowing the focus of the paper and selecting appropriate texts to complement the main text for the topic. A discursive reflection on the issues suggested by the topic will not be an acceptable response: you must articulate a thesis and support it with evidence, as with any analytical paper. Please e-mail me your preliminary ideas for a thesis, with the texts you plan to discuss, by Wednesday, October 17; your paper is due Wednesday, October 24.
Select from among the following broad general topics; choose only two authors to discuss in relation to the topic, and narrow your focus before contacting me.
Religious faith and personal loss
The role of the artist (isolation, engagement)
Women and power (personal, political, social, sexual)
Empire--home and away (exploration, encounters with the "other," relationship to "home")