ENGL 300
Masculinities in Literature & Culture, Spring 2006
Paper #2 Assignment
Pick one of the options below, and compose a 1,500-2,000
word paper in response to that topic. Be sure that you keep your paper focused on your topic, and
that you refer to, quote, and cite the literature often -- but no
bloc quotations! Also, no plot summary (where you
retell the work you're discussing). Assume that we've all read the
literature, and get right in to your discussion.
The paper should be uniform and professional:
- typed/computer printed in readably dark ink, double-spaced, on
one side of the page only
- font no bigger than 12-point Times or Palatino font through the whole paper
- 1" margins all around,
- pages numbered at upper-right after the first
page
- include no images (unless you obtain my prior permission)
- use cover sheet (no photos or drawings!) including on different lines your name, paper
title, and the course # and section # in the same font and font size listed above
- an electronic copy submitted to turnitin.com by 9 p.m. of the due date OR I WILL NOT READ YOUR PAPER.
Citation of the literature should appear in MLA style--see me if you are not familiar with MLA style. You
may use outside sources, but I do not require you to -- if you do
use outside sources, cite them in MLA style and include a works cited
page in MLA format.
PROOFREAD YOUR PAPERS BEFORE SUBMITTING THEM. PAPERS WITH BASIC
ERRORS WILL BE RETURNED UNREAD, UNGRADED, AND COUNTED LATE. Make sure you refer to works by their correct genre (essay, play, story, novel), and keep them distinct. Take
advantage of the SU Writing Center in the Guerreri Center for help.
(For extra help, see my Writing Tips page.)
»» OPTIONS (pick only one of the following):
OPTION 1: compare/contrast the effect of grounding one's notion
of masculinity in the physical body in any two or three literary
works we've read since the mid-term. Remember: we're pretty much born
with our biological sex, but we learn gender as we grow up. But what
effect does that physical body have on characters' ideas of gender?
What's the effect of having/not having a penis? Of having muscles or not, etc.?
OPTION 2: compare/contrast what happens when the national/ethnic and the masculine intersect in any two or three literary
works we've read since the mid-term. How important is a notion of
masculinity to one's national/ethinic identity, and vice versa? When
does a national/ethnic identity interfere with a gender identity, or
vice versa? Do characters' notions of masculinity change in relation to
their own or others' nationality/ethnicity?
OPTION 3: compare/contrast the treatment of masculinity
in any one literary work we've read since the mid-term to any
current film, episode of a television series, or recent national-level
cultural event or phenomenon (not just some happening local to Salisbury). Make sure
that the literary work and what you compare/contrast it to are at least
similar enough to work with together (you know, basic ENGL 101 stuff:
apples and apples). How would you connect tthese things, and how distinguish them? What do you learn from bringin them into proximity?
Paper Due to my office TUESDAY May 16 by 4 p.m. Do
not e-mail me your paper; I accept only hard copies
turned in on time. If you want to discuss your paper or topics with
me, please make an appointment for an office visit (344 Holloway).
Remember that failure to turn in either of the long papers will fail you
from the course.
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