LEH 353.A24 – Fall 2020 Essay Questions Due Date: Sunday, August 30 at 11:59 p.m. Please submit one essay in response to one of the following prompts: I don’t demand a minimum word count, given that some people are very good at packing a lot of ideas into a small collection of words. As long as you think you’ve given me a fully thought out, fully explained response to one of these essay prompts—and you are learning how much material I expect from you in a given assignment—I don’t think you should worry about your word count. However, for those of you who get nervous when there are no guidelines, somewhere around 500 words is a good sweet spot to aim for. Please remember that an essay has: a title an opening paragraph with your main idea for the essay separate supporting paragraphs with supporting evidence or arguments a closing paragraph that restates your main idea and your conclusion While I am open to you using a format other than an essay to express your ideas, if your main idea is not clearly expressed and your evidence (i.e., elements of the musical itself) does not clearly support your main idea, your grade for the assignment will suffer. You are not required to use outside research sources for your essay, but if you do use anyone else’s idea – even an anonymous author on the internet – you MUST give credit where credit is due. You may use direct quotes, paraphrases, and/or summaries for these citations. For research sources, you can use the assigned and/or suggested readings, but you should also feel free to do additional research if you want to explore an idea in greater depth. As for your documentation style, you can use the MLA format if that’s the only format you learned. (I say this because almost every English Composition teacher I’ve known teaches MLA because that’s what we use in our field.) But if you use a different format in the field your major is in, please feel free to use it as long as you let me know what one it is. (For most of you who don’t use MLA, it will be APA format.) There are lots of great online style guides on the internet; I’m quite fond of the one offered by Purdue University’s Writing Center, but you can feel free to use another one (as long as it’s offered by a college, university, or other reputable organization) or reach out to the Instructional Support Services Program (https://www.lehman.edu/academics/instructional-support-services/index.php ) for assistance. The types of questions we’re using this week are very different from the questions we will normally be using because they are not about a specific musical. Please write a thoughtful essay in response to ONE of these sets of questions. Questions in response to this week’s readings by Hanson and Johnson: • Both Hanson and Johnson insist that their views on the metaphor of America as a “melting pot” would lead to greater equality in American society if more Americans agreed with them—even if they totally disagree with each other. Which author makes the better argument? Refer to 2-3 events in real life to support your argument. o You may include the personal experiences of yourself and other people you know to support your argument, but do not limit the evidence you use to your personal experiences. o Remember that you don’t have to decide that one author is absolutely right and the other is absolutely wrong. If you agree with some parts of each argument and disagree with other parts, then write about that. Questions about this week’s theme: • How do you define the terms “real America,” “real American,” and the “American Dream.” You should draw on your knowledge of American history and culture as well as current events. o Refer to Dana Goldstein’s article about American social studies textbooks and what this battle over market share says about America’s fight to define itself. o You may include the personal experiences of yourself and other people you know to support your ideas, but do not limit the evidence you use to your personal experiences. Question in response to “Interdisciplinary Approaches to Studying Stage Musicals”: • Titrington Craft and Das give a relatively brief but comprehensive look at the various aspects of a musical we can use to create meaning when we watch and analyze a show. Think back to things that have impressed you about musicals you have seen that do not depend solely on the power of an individual actor’s or singer’s performance or the quality of the script. (If you’ve never seen a musical, pick non-musical movies or television shows.) Discuss scenes from 3 - 5 different shows where some aspect of the production (e.g., staging, lighting, costumes, choreography, sound, etc.) influenced the way you experienced that show. Bonus Information: Titrington Craft and Dee Das mention a scene from In the Heights to illustrate the ways in which the various elements of a production other than the writing and acting help to create meaning. If you’re curious, you might like to check out the following clip: “Paciencia Y Fe” sung by Olga Merediz in the Original Broadway Company of In the Heights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lhg32IlbJmk (The quality isn’t great in terms of the viewing the staging because it focuses most on Olga Merediz, but it gives you at least a few glimpses of what’s going on behind her.
