WS101 Essay Topics
SJSU Spring 2008
Instructor: Susana L. Gallardo
Due Wed., Feb 27
Write a 3-4 page essay on one of the topics below. These are exam essays so your writing
should be concise and to the point (i.e. long introductions are not necessary). You should
probably include your thesis within the first paragraph of your essay, and go on to construct a
coherent, well-grounded argument in the rest of the essay. You must support your assertions
with specific textual references; doing so will show that you have read and understood the text,
and are making your argument substantively from an informed and well-thought-out perspective.
Short quotes should illustrate and support your points; long quotes are not advisable.
Papers should be typed, double-spaced, preferably in Times 12 pt font. You may cite course
readings informally (Tedlock, PV, 232) or (Genesis 2:15) since no bibliography is necessary.
Please put a coverpage on your essay, with your name, the date, and the number of your essay
option. Please number your pages, but do not put your name on any interior pages.
Your exam is due Wednesday, Feb 27 at 9 a.m.
You may bring a page or two of your rough draft to class on Monday, and I will email you
comments by the end of the day, or better, you may come to my office hours from 12-2 to talk in
person.
Some tips: Obviously, you are not expected to be an expert on Mayan texts, and you are not
expected to do any outside reading (the Witcombe website is fine). You are expected to look
closely at the texts involved and think a bit about the ideas we’ve discussed in class. This essay
is an exercise in thinking critically about culture, gender, religion, and our own assumptions.
Feel free to include a brief note about your own background, and how it may or may not
influence your reading of these texts. This is not the main point of the essay, however, so keep
it brief.
Topic 1. The easy one.
Compare or contrast the Hebrew God of Genesis with the Mayan God/s of the Popol Vuh. What
qualities does God/s have, and how do they affect God’s relationship with humanity? What
consequences does this have for gender roles and/or ideas of gender?
Topic 2. Genesis 2:19 - Consider the following passage:
Then the LORD God said, "It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a
helper fit for him. So out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field
and every bird of the air, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them….
The man gave names to all cattle, and to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the
field; but for the man there was not found a helper fit for him (Genesis 2:19)
How does this selection illustrate some of the difficulties of the Genesis text? (Hint: You might
discuss the order of creation, man/woman relationships, or the behavior of God. You might also
compare it to the Popol Vuh.)
Do a close reading of the following passage:
…the midwife, matchmaker
named Xpiyacoc, Xmucane,
defender, protector,
twice a midwife, twice a matchmaker.
What