WRITING ASSIGNMENTS

 

 

NYTimes and the Gazette
On Mondays, you will turn in “scrapbook” essays based on your reading of the newspapers. I hope the assignment is something you’ll use for the rest of your life, till you’re old and in assisted living. It works this way. Each day, as you read the Times and Gazette, search for at least one article that reminds you of issues and problems we have developed in the course, including one editorial. Each weekend you must assemble those five articles for that week that you think most directly illustrate or relate to important themes in the course. You will have to figure out some way to cut them out and bind them together in a readable form. When you cut them out, be sure to include the section and page number, e.g., A14, and the date. Each weekend you will write a 2-3 page essay describing/explaining how your articles relate to important themes of the course. You will be graded on how effectively you show that your articles relate to important course themes. This will require you to pay close attention to articulate what the important course questions really are. Feel free to discuss and debate these articles and course ideas with each other and with me, but you must choose the articles and write your explanatory essays on your own. In Block 2, we will use part of Mondays classes to discuss this work.


Annotated Bibliographies
You’ll do two of these, 9 entries, 50-75 words each. The first is due Friday September 20, the next is due Friday October 4. The former is on rape, the latter, a topic of your choice. Each bibliography must contain a balanced mix of primary texts from antiquity, secondary texts on ancient topics (articles or chapters on antiquity), and modern theoretical works, that frame or address the question as it exists now.

#1 Reading Response for Argonautica DUE SEPTEMBER 3

Write a brief (2-3 page) essay in which you identify and comment on some aspect of gender
difference, or a gender rule you perceive in the first two books of the poem. Describe your
observation, citing the text closely. In your comments try to be both general and specific
(not at the same time). Finally, draw some conclusion from your observation.

#2 Article Critique on the Myth of Matriarchy DUE SEPTEMBER 5

Write a critique of Bambarger's "The Myth of Matriarchy:Why Men Rule in Primitive Society", in Women, Culture, and Society. A critique should include the following:
-A brief restatement/summary of the author's thesis.
-An analysis of the thesis, in which you show her/his attitudes and assumptions.
-What is at stake?
-Point out specific words or phrases that show this attitude/bias.
-An evaluation of the logic of the argument and treatment of the evidence.
- What are the article's strengths, and what does it contribute to our understanding?

#3 Creative Writing on Gendered Space DUE SEPTEMBER 8

nb the date is a Sunday. You must have your piece on the class website by 5pm.

Imagine a space that is overwhelmingly female, or male, and write a detailed description
of the space. What makes it male or female? Imagine, and describe, the space being
penetrated by a member of the other group. What is at stake for the group? For the
intruder? What are the results? Your piece should be 4-5 pages and should reveal something
about sex/gender conflict. Is there resolution? Are the results of the penetration dangerous?
Humorous?

 


#4 Writing exchange
Wednesday September 18, on Lerner ch. 6. After reading the chapter carefully, frame an essay question, one that may be specific to the chapter, or that ties the chapter to a larger question of the course. Bring a copy of the question to class, and on a separate piece of paper, bring an essay that answers your question: one to one and a half page, single spaced. In class, I will hook you up with somebody else, you will answer her question in a 20 minute in class essay. Then the two of you will discuss your 4 essays, noting what they have in common, and particularly, their differences. At the end of class, everyone will turn in two essays.

#5 Block one FINAL PAPER DUE MONDAY 30 September

Why is Zeus a rapist? Write a thoughtful paper, 7-10 pages, in which you discuss this question. You are encouraged to use as many different kinds of sources as you would like. What is the function, in a patriarchal society, of a myth of a raping king of the gods? Give me your thesis and a source list as soon as possible. Consider various aspects of society, various incidents of rape, real and fictive, and the numerous types of repercussions. Will the answer be the same for all elements of society?