Description
Topic: “Gender,” as defined by the World Health Organization (WHO), “refers to the socially constructed characteristics of women and men, such as norms, roles, and relationships of and between groups of women and men. It varies from society to society and can be changed.” With this definition in mind, your task with this essay is to provide an argument and analysis—supported by close reading, textual evidence, and historical context—about how the “socially constructed” norms and expectations of gender impact characters in two different course texts. You will select two texts from the list below and make an argument about how gender expectations impact characters in your texts, and how these expectations vary between the cultures that produced your two chosen texts. When close reading your two texts, you should think about how your chosen characters follow or resist specific historical and cultural expectations about gender, and how these characters are similar and/or different in terms of how they relate to “socially constructed characteristics” of gender.
POSSIBLE TEXTS (choose two from the list below)Note: You can only choose one text from each bullet point. This means you cannot write about two fairy tales or two war poems; your two texts need to be from two different bullet points.
1.One WWI poem by Wilfred Owen, Guillaume Apollinaire, Georg Trakl, Vera Mary Brittain, or Carl Sandburg
2.William Shakespeare, The Tempest
3.The Epic of Gilgamesh
4.William Faulkner, “Barn Burning” or Eudora Welty, “Petrified Man”
5.Brothers Grimm, “Snow White” or a specific version of “Little Red Riding Hood”
o. Note: if you choose “Little Red Riding Hood,” you should focus on a single version of the fairy tale. It’s fine to make reference to other versions, but focus your argument and close reading on one specific version of the fairy tale.
POSSIBLE QUESTIONS FOR SPECIFIC TEXTS
Note: These are simply meant to kickstart your thinking. Feel free to ask other questions and write about other issues not listed here, so long as they address the prompt.
1.WWI poetry by Wilfred Oweno
How does the “old lie” in “Dulce et Decorum Est”—which is also reflected in poems including “S.I.W.”—demonstrate expectations of masculinity during WWI? What can “Disabled” show us about how veterans can be impacted by ideals of masculinity? What can “Disabled” and “S.I.W.” show us about how relationships may be impacted by expectations of young men during WWI? How does Owen’s poetry respond to the ideals of masculinity evident in WWI propaganda?
2.WWI poetry by Apollinaire, Trakl, Brittain, or Sandburgo
How do the experiences of soldiers in these WWI poems relate to expectations of masculinity during WWI? How do depictions of women, such as Madeline in Apollinaire’s poem “Simultaneities” and the nurses in Vera Mary Brittain’s poetry, show the expectations of women during WWI?
3.William Shakespeare, The Tempesto
How do gender roles and gender-based expectations shape Ferdinand and Miranda’s courtship? How does Prospero’s relationship with Miranda reflect expectations about women? What do Prospero and Ferdinand’s conversations and relationship tell us about gender roles in The Tempest?
4.The Epic of Gilgamesho
How does either Gilgamesh or Enkidu, or their intimate friendship together, conform to or challenge historical stereotypes about men, masculinity, and manhood? In what ways does the text’s focus on emotion, intimacy, and vulnerability—coupled with its emphasis on physical action, strength, and adventure—challenge gender expectations? You could also think about Ishtar and Gilgamesh, or Enkidu and Shamat, or Gilgamesh and Humbaba. How is one of these relationships impacted by gender expectations in Sumerian culture?
5.William Faulkner, “Barn Burning”
o What does gender have to do with parent-child relationships? How does the relationship between Sarty and his father—or the relationship of either to tradition, family, or history—impact how they either conform to or resist gender norms during Reconstruction in the South? What about their relationship to sharecropping and labor? In what ways is Sarty’s internal conflict related to gender, or to expectations about fathers and sons in the U.S. South?
6.Eudora Welty, “Petrified Man”
o In what ways does either Leota or Mrs. Fletcher conform to the roles and expectations for women during the depression-era South? How does Welty criticize or satirize these women, and what does that critique say about their relationship to socially constructed characteristics of beauty, marriage, motherhood, reproduction, or work?
7.Brothers Grimm, “Snow White” or a specific version of “Little Red Riding Hood”
o How do fairy tales reflect or revise socially constructed ideas about gender? In what ways does Little Red Riding Hood, the Wolf, Snow White, or the Queen uphold or challenge socially constructed ideas about gender involving beauty, desire, fantasy, violence, obedience, or sexuality? What socially constructed characteristics of gender does your chosen fairy tale reinforce or challenge?
REQUIRED ESSAY COMPONENTS
1) Thesis Statement: Make sure that you have a clear thesis statement that makes an argument about how the socially constructed norms and expectations of gender impact characters in two different texts. Your thesis statement can be more than one sentence; indeed, sometimes two sentences are needed to articulate and flesh out your argument. Your thesis statement should be in the first paragraph of the essay and should be easy to identify by readers.
2) Textual Evidence: Make sure to support your argument with evidence from both of your chosen texts. Evidence will include quotes and examples from the text to demonstrate your argument, but also to provide you with passages to close read and analyze. When quoting a passage, be sure that you properly introduce it, cite it, and analyze it. Quotations should not be used for summary or description purposes; they should be used as textual evidence or as an occasion for close reading. 3) Analysis & Close Reading: Make sure to close read and analyze your textual evidence. Think critically about how the passages you cite demonstrate your argument. Pay attention to individual words and details in your quotes, and explain how they illustrate your claims.
4) Engagement with Social and Cultural Context: Make sure that your argument and close readings demonstrate an awareness of historical and social context, specifically as it relates to gender. While we don’t expect you to be experts on any historical culture, we do require that you demonstrate a familiarity with the material covered in the lecture videos, and we require that you engage with the socially constructed characteristics of gender, which vary from culture to culture and are always historically specific.
STRUCTURING YOUR ESSAY
1.Paragraph 1 (introductory paragraph)
Your introductory paragraph must specifically introduce the texts, characters, and key ideas your paper will discuss. It must lead up to a clear thesis statement (offering an argument with a distinct point of view, not just a plot summary or description). It should avoid broad generalities and instead narrow the argument of your essay using clear and specific language.
2.Paragraphs 2, 3, etc. (body paragraphs—as many as needed)
Each body paragraph must begin with a clear topic sentence forecasting the content or argument of the paragraph. Think of each paragraph as making a small argument that
supports your broader argument and thesis. In each paragraph, you must provide textual evidence that supports your argument, and you must offer a compelling close-reading of that evidence that clearly relates your analysis back to your thesis statement.
3.Final Paragraph (conclusion)
Your concluding paragraph must link the various parts of your argument (different texts, cultures, and characters) into one cohesive whole. Reassert and restate your argument in new words, and indicate the broader conclusions you can draw from that argument.
ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS
1.Academic Honesty Statement: Essay must include the academic honesty statement at the top of the first page. Any evidence of plagiarism will result in the immediate failure of the essay and, potentially, of the class.
oHere is the Academic Honesty Statement: “I have read, understand, and am in compliance with the Academic Honesty policy. In particular, I have not committed any kind of plagiarism. There are no un-attributed direct or indirect quotations or paraphrases from printed materials, websites, other students’ papers, or any other sources in my essay.”
2.Length: Essay must be a minimum of 1300 words in length and no longer than 1500 words. This word count does not include the heading, the title, the works cited page, and the academic honesty statement.
3.Paper Format: Essay must have an interesting and original title; must include a works cited page; must be formatted according to standard MLA style; and must be typed, double-spaced, and written in 12-point Times or Times New Roman font.
4.File Name: Must conform to the following file name format: essaylastnamefirstname.For example, if your name is John Doe, your file name would be: essaydoejohn
FINAL REMINDERS
The essay is due on Sunday, November 10, 2019, at 11:59 p.m. By this date and time, your essay needs to be submitted via the submission link in the Week 11 Module folder. The Canvas submission link will be open from November 1 at noon to November 10 at 11:59 p.m.Late essays will only be accepted for 72 hours immediately following the due date and time. All late assignments, whether submitted 1 minute or 72 hours late, will carry a penalty of 25% of the essay’s total point value. This essay is worth 30 points. Any essay that does not meet the minimum length requirement (1300 words) will receive the following penalty: 10% (3 points) will be deducted for any essay just under the length requirement (1100 – 1299 words), and 20% (6 points) will be deducted for any essay more than 200 words under the requirement (1099 words or under).