BARUCH SPRING 2015
GREAT WORKS
FINAL PAPER PROMPTS
PROPOSAL:
Your final paper proposal is due in the body of an email---NO attachments.
clatham@baruch.cuny.edu
Monday 5/4 by NOON
NO LATENESSES (submit it earlier rather than risking a fail)
If your submission is late, it will not be graded and you will get a 0 for this assignment
10% of your grade
The paper proposal should provide a sentence that summarizes the main point for each of your
arguments, the counterargument, and the rebuttal; I encourage you to include the main quote(s) you
expect to use for each section. Also please conclude with one sentence about why this topic and your
argument are important to consider.
You will also post it on the blog so that you can all see what you are writing about, and perhaps work
together and help each other if developing similar topics.
FINAL PAPER
Specifications
1300-1800 words
Final Paper due IN CLASS
5/13/2014
20% of your grade (see syllabus)
All final papers must be an argument per the specifications we have reviewed in class.
1.
Why does Sheherezade in 1001 Nights, or Lady Reason in City of Ladies tell stories, or why does
Machiavelli in The Prince use history? Examine the text closely to see what their respective
stories/anecdotes provide the text overall and then produce an argument for that.
2.
Discuss an example of authority. Argue for its effectiveness by referring to the text and interpreting the
text’s discussion of that authority. You must make a solid case for believing your example is an
authority; do not presume that others already agree (for this reason I discourage your strongly from
using the Biblical god because that it too challenging).
3.
Identify a similar positive attribute of women (or desirable of women) in two texts, and discuss how it is
presented in both texts in order to make an argument about how women are presented in general
(select two from: Kalidasa, City of Ladies, Thousand and One Nights, The Pillow Book, Tale of Genji,
Paradise Lost). Find a passage in each text, then explain the quote, provide the context of the passage,
analyze it in order to make an argument about how this positive quality is important to altering the
initial perception of women offered within the text.
4.
Identify a similar positive attribute of men (or desirable of men) in two texts, and discuss how it is
presented in both texts in order to make an argument about how men are presented in general (select
two from: Kalidasa, City of Ladies, Thousand and One Nights, The Pillow Book, Tale of Genji, Paradise
Lost). Find a passage in each text, then explain the quote, provide the context of the passage, analyze it
in order to make an argument about how this positive quality is important to altering the initial
perception of men offered within the text.
5.
On p. 1155, towards the end of The Pillow Book, the author states that she writes “about the things that
delight, or that people find impressive.” Given the fact that she has lists about things that delight (or
more loosely things that give pleasure, etc) as well as lists about the opposite, make an argument about
how her text (the lists and little anecdotes) provides delight by using her understanding/explanation of
delight.
6.
There are a lot of class issues in Tale of Genji, but they also appear in Kalidasa, and Thousand and One
Nights. Pick one conflict (from one of the texts) and explain it in detail.
Make an argument for why it is an important aspect of the overall story.
7.
Is Satan the hero in Paradise Lost? Use specific examples and quotes from the text to build your
argument.
8.
Suggest your own topic (speak with me before the paper proposal deadline).