Final exam LTEN 178 Winter 2018

 
Please answer QUESTION ONE and one of the other two questions below and send it as an attachment to:
 

Essays not submitted by this deadline will not be accepted. Please be sure to put your full name in your email header, in your file name and at the top of the first page of the essay. You will receive an e-receipt for your submission.

If on-line submission in any way creates a hardship for you, please let me know immediately and we will make arrangements accordingly. Please send your essay as an attachment in Word--if you have questions about other formats, please just ask.

Grading breakdown:  40 points/essay plus 10 points for “breadth.”  If both essays deal with the exact same works, this does not show breadth.  I am interested in seeing that you have done all of the course reading and have engaged with the texts and theories we have studied. 

Please answer this question:

1. In this course we have explored the concept of post-memory in each of the works we have read.  Using Bone Game and two other texts we have read, explain how the concept of post-memory figures in each one. A strong essay will provide a definition of post-memory for the essay and also have an interpretive thesis that can help to understand the concept of post-memory through works that use it differently.  How does the concept of post-memory as it is represented in the three works increase our understanding of how traumatic memory can impact different generations?  What did you learn about post-memory from reading these works and thinking about them comparatively?  Your essay may also bring in other concepts that we have discussed, such as collective memory or rememory, but try to remember to keep a tight focus as you analyze so that your analysis can have depth as well as breadth. 
   

Please answer ONE of these two questions:

2. Creating art that represents historical events such as war or genocide can be seen as coming with special ethical responsibilities because the events depicted meant the destruction of individuals, families, communities and even entire peoples. Pick THREE works that we have read and compare and contrast the way that they represent this ethical challenge.  A strong essay will present an interpretive thesis that presents a position about this issue and then discusses how the three works explore this problem.  A good approach would be to focus on a specific character, scene, phrase, symbol or other element in each work that best represents the issue and to analyze specific use of this element in your discussion. 
   
   

3. As we discussed in relation to the controversy arising over Toni Morrison’s dedication for Beloved, not everyone agrees on the value of comparing historical events like the Holocaust, slavery, or the genocide of Native Americans.  In this course we have taken a comparative approach to literary responses to such events.  For this essay question you should develop a thesis that evaluates this comparative approach.  If you find a comparative approach useful, how specifically have you found it useful or illustrative?  If there are specific caveats or parameters that you think are helpful for this kind of work, what would those be?  If you think the comparative approach is not useful, why do you see it as problematic? What are the drawbacks, be they ethical, methodological, historical? In order to keep your essay grounded in our course materials, you should pick TWO to THREE works we have read and use these to support your argument with concrete and specific examples.  You may write this essay in an academic style, or if you wish you can also try writing it as an “op-ed,” defending or critiquing the comparative approach.  If you choose the op-ed style, be sure to ground your argument in analysis of the texts you choose. 
   

Essays should be no longer than 1200 words.  MS Word has a function to measure document length.  Go to File—Properties and then Statistics to get your count.  Please double space and use 12 count font. 

What I am looking for:  I want to challenge you to write about the works we have read in clear, concise prose, arguing a specific thesis.  The essays should demonstrate your viewpoint and also your familiarity with our readings.  You won’t be able to incorporate all of what we’ve read, so select textual moments that you see as the most important.  To save space, you may reference lines without long extended citations, but do give me enough info that I can look at the quote, still mentioning key words and discussing textual elements in enough detail that the discussion is concrete.

You are welcome to use any and all of your notes from class and to discuss these questions with each other—in fact talking to each other about these issues would likely benefit you, although the final product must be your own work. I would encourage you not to look at secondary sources in print or online so you can spend time thinking rather than citing and so you can respond with our own ideas.  I expect you’ll spend quite a bit of time thinking about the question you choose and some time outlining or making notes, but I know you have other exams. I’m expecting that you will write the essay itself in about 3-4 hours. Do use your spell check function and read aloud to fix errors in grammar, spelling and punctuation.  Aim for clarity. I’ll be reading fast and lots of errors will distract me from your argument and could end up hurting your grade.

There is no need to provide full bibliographic citation (footnotes/endnotes/work cited) for the texts I have assigned for our class.  If you use any outside sources--academic, online, or other kinds of materials--these must be documented.

Plagiarism and Integrity of Scholarship are serious issues.  The term “plagiarism,” which comes from the Latin root, plagiarius (kidnapper), means stealing someone else’s writing or ideas and passing it off as your own.  Please be aware that I will be enforcing University policies on integrity of scholarship and that violations can result in a failing grade in the class or dismissal from UCSD.   If you have any questions about what plagiarism or academic dishonesty are, please do contact me immediately and I’ll be happy to help you learn more about how to cite works you consult, whether they are printed, internet or other sources.