ILS4320, Final Examination (COLLABORATIVE PROJECT)
This final assignment builds upon the type of reading and writing that we have done throughout the semester. By this point in the term you should feel confident in your abilities to read, analyze, and interpret a text.
From the prompts below, choose ONE and write an essay in response.
Locate the specific question that is asked in this prompt and answer it in one complete sentence (this is your claim/thesis).
Next, develop 4-6 sub-claims that support this overall claim.
You must support these sub-claims with examples from the text(s)/film(s) under discussion and analysis of each example (Support your assertions with evidence from each text and explain each example’s relevance to your claim/thesis). Be sure to cite quoted lines and complete a works cited page. Write in complete sentences shaping your response in essay form.
NOTE: you must support your assertions with quotes from the texts and explain how those quotes illustrate the point you are attempting to make as well as how they connect to your overall claim (thesis).
Please give your essay a title. All answers should be typed and double-spaced, a min. of 4 FULL pages up to 6 pages (this does page requirement does not include the works cited page).
Your answers should be presented in formal essay form with an introduction, body, and conclusion. What you are presenting is formal literary criticism, so all the rules that typical apply to that type of writing apply here as well (no first person, no contraction, no personal pronouns, no plot summary, etc.). See the specifics below about purpose and audience.
PROMPT #1 : Levina and Bui argue that monster narratives "can be read as a response to a rapidly changing cultural, social, political, economic, and moral landscape" and "offer a space where society can safely represent and address anxieties of its time. Given these assertions, explore connections between the metaphor of the monster and race, gender, class, and sexuality identity in the various texts we have examined this term. What is the central message that these texts communicate about "monstrous" identities? In your answer, use My Favorite Thing is Monsters, two films from list B, and two scholarly articles from List A.
PROMPT #2: Many argue that American cultural and/or artistic representation of minorities has been either completely inadequate or relied too heavily upon stereotype to the point that authentic representation is completely non-existent, often to the point that those types of narratives and diverse voices are completely erased. Some aruge, however, that in recent years in film we have witnessed narratives in which black people, for instance, are neither slave nor savage, and the characters are cast fairly and accordingly. Many feel the same is true for other minorities as well. Do you agree with this position? Is minority cultural and/or artistic representation of minorities improving in the United States? Argue your position using two of the films that we examined this term, two scholarly articles, and My Favorite Thing is Monsters.
PROMPT #3:
Emil Ferris, author of My Favorite Thing is Monsters, claims, "I didn’t ever want to be a woman. I mean, it just did not look like a good thing, nor did being a man, because it felt like they were being victimized by the same system. It didn’t give them much more latitude than they gave women, in many ways. They were being constrained to behave in these ways that weren’t authentic and didn’t allow them to realize their full personhood, either. Being a monster seemed like the absolute best solution." Is there cultural and artistic power in embracing the monstrous and monstrosity? Could it be an effective way of combating oppression (all intersectional forms)? Argue your position using two films that we have examined this term, two scholarly articles, and My Favorite Thing is Monsters.
LIST A
"How Privilege Becomes Provocation" by Parul Sehgal
"The Social Construction of Differences & Inequality" by Ore (2000)
The Power of an Illusion (Episodes 1 & 2) PBS
"Optional Ethnicities for Whites Only?" by Mary Waters (1996)
"Ideology & Race in American History" by Barbara Fields" (1990)
"Reconstructing Black Masculinity" By Bell Hooks (2004)
"Race & the American Cinema: The Two Cases of The Birth of a Nation" by Marija Dimitrovska (2016)
"Introduction: Toward a Comprehensive Monster Theory in the 21st Century" by Levina & Bui (2013)
"Dances with Things: Material Culture & the Performance of Race" by Robin Bernstein (2009)
"Racial Formation in the United States: From the 1960's to the 1990's" by Omni & Winant (1994)
"Quare" Studies, or (Almost) Everything I Know About Queer Studies I Learned from My Grandmother" by E. Patrick Johnson (2001)
"Intersectionality and Quare Theory: Fantasizing African American Male Same-Sex Relationships in Noah's Arc: Jumping the Broom" by Eguchi, Calafell, & Files-Thompson (2014)
LIST B
Birth of a Nation (D.W. Griffith, 1915)
The Color Purple (Stephen Spielberg, 1985)
MudBound (Dee Rees, 2017)
Django Unchained (Quentin Tarantino, 2012)
Twelve Years a Slave (Steve McQueen, 2013)
Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (Stanley Kramer, 1967)
Planet of the Apes (Franklin J. Schaffner, 1968)
Fruitvale Station (Ryan Coogler, 2013)
"Black Museum" (Colm McCarthy) from Black Mirror (2017)
Do the Right Thing (Spike Lee, 1989)
Moonlight (Barry Jenkins, 2016)
Get Out (Jordan Peele, 2017)
Black Panther (Ryan Coogler, 2018)
NOTE: THE IDEAS FOUND IN THIS PAPER MUST BE YOUR OWN. YOU MAY NOT USE SOURCES OTHER THAN THOSE LISTED ABOVE!
What is Literary Criticism and How Do I Write a Paper of This Nature?
At its very basic definition, literary criticism is a written evaluation of a work of literature or art that attempts to enlighten a reader about the underlying meaning of the text, whether it is a play, poem, short story, novel, painting, or film.
Purpose
In this type of paper a writer is forming an academic argument. As the writer you are arguing that your interpretation of the text is a valid - not the only interpretation - in an attempt to aid the reader in “seeing” the text in a new light or from a different perspective that perhaps may be different from their own.
Audience
Your audience is made up of academics, scholars, literary/film critics, professors, and students (who are academics, scholars, and literary/film critics). You should assume that they have read the text or viewed the film and are familiar with its contents. Because of this you would never merely retell the story because your audience is already familiar with it. This would also conflict with the purpose of this type of paper. You are to discuss underlying meaning, not retell the events of the story.
Because your audience is a scholarly one, your paper must be presented in a formal manner. You should use high diction and avoid first person, personal pronouns, and contractions.
NOTE: When relating events of the film or discussing the content of an academic article, use words such as, "Williams develops the major characters in the story..." or "Williams argues..." Notice the use of the active verbs "develops" and argues.
Format
•Your essay should have a title. It should also be typed, double-spaced, with one inch margins all around, Times New Roman Font, & 12 pt. Your essay should be a minimum of 5 FULL pages and no more than 7 FULL pages. Again, the ideas in your paper must be your own. You may not use any sources that is not listed in Lists A or B above. You should end your essay when you feel it is FULLY DEVELOPED.
RULES FOR COLLABORATIVE WORK
Everyone in the group must make a significant contribution to the final product. You will create one essay as a group.
Each student is required to use Google drive over the course of this project to work collaboratively online with the other students in your group. This will require everyone to have an active Google/Gmail account.
Do not write individual sections and try to piece together an essay. This is a bad idea! Follow the scenario I mentioned in class.
If a majority of the group members feel an individual student is not contributing his or her share to the project, this person may be fired from the group. If this occurs, the individual that is fired must complete the project on their own and must forfeit the points for individual scoring (see below).
I suggest making someone group captain/manager. It will be this person's responsibility to keep everyone on task.
At the end of the project, everyone within the group will grade one another anonymously.
Your grade for this assignment will be determined as follows:
Total Possible Points: 100/
Individual Scoring (30 points): Score for individual score for contribution to in-class drafting/invention and overall contribution to project (graded by group members)
Group Scoring (70 points):
Final draft of one paper written as a group evaluated on the following criteria:
Focus (27 points): Does essay have a clear purpose? Overall claim stated in intro and restated in conclusion? Focus on a single idea or aspect of the literature/film? Is it clear how examples in body are related to the overall claim? Does the writer explain the broader implications of this claim to the text(s) as a whole? Are the subclaims clearly related to the claim? When read together, do the intro and conclusion form one idea?
Development (27 points): Does writer support interpretation with evidence from text(s(? Avoid giving a plot summary? Does writer explain for the reader how the evidence supports interpretation (and as a result the claim)? Does writer quote accurately from the source, including citing specific page numbers?
Organization (27 points): Do first few sentences arouse the reader’s interest and focus their attention on the subject? Are readers expectations set and clearly met? Do paragraphs have clear focus, unity and coherence? Effective transitions? Does the writer guide the reader from beginning to end?
Style (10 points): Is language clear direct and readable? Are sentences clear, concise, and easily read by intended audience? Is word choice appropriate for audience? Do sentences reveal and sustain appropriate voice and tone? Does writer use the literary present tense to describe events in the story or content of the academic article?
Mechanics (9 points): Are there obvious errors in spelling, punctuation, and grammar? Are there patterns of error?
NO REFLECTION (-10 POINTS)
Grading scale:
A 90-100
B 80-89
C 70-79
D 60-69
F 0-59
