Short Writing Assignments for ENG 298 Fall 2006

Short Writing Assignments

Optional Short Writing
Due: 24 August 2006

Describe the methods Don Foster employes in attribution research. How does his description of his research differ from another popular representation of English research that you have seen on TV, in novels, or in movies? Put another way: how does research get represented in popular culture and how does that differ from the way Foster represents his own work? (If you cannot think of any popular representation of research, consider the last mystery or thriller you watched or read. Or ff you have the time and inclination, rent Possession, the film version of A.S. Byatt's excellent novel.)

Short Writing 1
Due: 31 August 2006

Elizabeth Bishop's "One Art" is a villanelle. Using her poem as a guide, describe the form of a villanelle. Why do you think she chose this form for the theme(s) of this poem? That is, how does the form affect the interpretation of its content? How does the form of this poem affect its meanings?

Short Writing 2
Due: 7 September 2006

First, read Eaglestone, "Literature, Value, and the Canon." Then, using one (or two) poem(s) from Poetry Packet I or II, find examples of Western values that have been (or continue to be) interpreted as "universal human values." How are those values particularly Western? In what context(s) might those values be rejected? How have the particular values you present influenced the poem's inclusion in the literary canon?

Short Writing 3
Due: 12 September 2006

What are some of the problems of studying women's history and women's literature? How are literary texts useful or misleading in the study of women in the early

Americas

? Using examples from at least three texts before 1900, argue the value or problem of using literary texts to study women's history.

Short Writing 4
Due: 21 September 2006

After reading Jonathan Culler's essay "What Is Cultural Studies?" and Mieke Bal's Introduction, you have begun to understand "cultural analysis" and "cultural studies" as perhaps distinct or perhaps overlapping categories and practices. Find an object in your home that would fit Culler's and or Bal's sense of "popular culture." Then write a one-page analysis of that object using your informed understanding of cultural analysis. If possible, bring the artifact to class, so that you can share your analysis.

Short Writing 5
Due: 28 September 2006

What are some of the elements of Stein's short story "Miss Furr and Miss Skeene" that make it challenging, difficult, and/or unconventional? Why might an author make the choices that Stein makes?

Short Writing 6
Due: 3 October 2006

Briefly describe the two (seemingly) opposing sides of the debate about theory. What claims to the authors make? What evidence do they provide for their claims? Which claims are most persuasive?

Short Writing 7
Due: 10 October 2006

First, print out a hard copy of Auge's "Fracture and Wound: Eavan Boland's Poetry of Nationality." Read the essay carefully. Then, go back through the essay to identify the following elements of the essay:
1. Auge's thesis (underline it)
2. main points (in his words) that support his thesis (underline them, number them in the margin)
3. quotations from sources other than Boland (mark T for others' theories; C for other critical articles or books on Boland; O for works on other authors that Auge applies to Boland)
4. examples from Boland's poetry (underline them, number them in the margins; make a checkmark by quotations from Boland's prose writings)
Then, evaluate Auge's essay in your one-page Short Writing. Some questions to consider before you write: What is his argument? How does he make it his argument? How well does he make his argument? How persuasive is the essay? How accessible is the essay? Who is the intended audience? What assumptions underlie Auge's argument? What theory or theories does he use in his essay?

Short Writing 8
Due: 17 October 2006

What are the two primary "camps" in this controversy as Graff and Phelan set them out? What are the primary arguments of each? What kind of rhetorical strategies do they use? What words or concepts do they invoke that might instigate emotions--outrage, anger, sympathy? Which one constructs a more convincing argument?

Short Writing 9
Due: 31 October 2006

In his Introduction to The Signifying Monkey, Henry Louis Gates, Jr., makes several assertions or observations about the African American literary tradition. In a single paragraph, summarize those observations in your own words.

NB: I know I said i n class that I would provide a framework for your readings, but if I do that for this reading, you won't have any ideas of your own for the Short Writing. Be sure to focus on summarizing, not evaluating, the short Introduction.

Short Writing 10
Due: 7 November 2006

Does The Tempest work as pretext or context for Mama Day? Why would Naylor choose to use it as a pretext or context for her novel? What is the purpose of "talking back" to Shakespeare and Shakespeare's texts?

Short Writing 11
Due: 9 November 2006

Brief summary of the article: Levin is interested in how Mama Day reflects practices of the Sande people of Africa. She also engages the work of Henry Louis Gates, Jr., to see how his theory might work (or not) for Mama Day.

Short Writing Assignment: Evaluate Levin's essay. In other words, how well does Levin make and support her critical argument. Things to consider before you begin your assignment: Identify her thesis and determine how she supports it. What evidence from the novel does she use? Do you agree/disagree with the thesis and the evidence the author uses to support it? Are you convinced?

Short Writing 12
Due: 21 November 2006

How does King respond to canonical works in Green Grass, Running Water? How is the canon both pretext and context for his novel? Why would a writer like King choose to respond to those texts?

Short Writing 13
Due: 30 November 2006

Brief summary of chapters: In Chapter One, McCloud develops a definition of the genre of Comics and looks briefly at historical precedents for the genre. In the second chapter, he discusses the use of icons and, in a sense, a reader-response reading of comics and their creation.

Short Writing Assignment: After reading the assigned excerpt from Scott McCloud's Understanding Comics, write a one-page paper comparing and contrasting this excerpt and other peices of theory that you have read this semester. You might consider these qeustions: How is this work a piece of theory? Why does he write theory about this topic? What references does he make to other theories we have studied?

Short Writing 14
Due: 5 December 2006

Brief summary of the essay: Flitterman-Lewis is interested in the way that history and memory intersect and interact in regard to representing the past. As we discussed when we read MAUS II, one of the pressing questions in Holocaust studies is whether or not the Shoah can be represented at all and, if it can, how it should be represented. Flitterman-Lewis's thesis is at the bottom of the second full paragraph on page 205.

Short Writing Assignment: In your own words, define documentary. What is its purpose? What is its role in literary studies? Does it function as "literature" or as "history" or as "news" or as something else entirely? How does your definition fit with Sandy Flitterman-Lewis's argument about social responsibility?