ENGL 301 (Section 001, Schedule #31836)
Virginia Commonwealth University
Spring 2017
MWF 2-2:50pm :: Hibbs 207
Prof. David Golumbia
Office: 324D Hibbs Hall
Spr 2017 Office Hours: MW 1:30-2, 2:50-4pm

Introduction to the English Major

PAPER ASSIGNMENT 1

Write a 5-6 page (1500 words) paper on one of the following topics. Your paper should stick closely to the text of the work you are analyzing. Your paper should develop an analytical argument about the work and have a clear statement of your thesis, and you should use quotations from the book to provide evidence for your analysis.

1. Discuss one or more of the paintings in the book (especially those on page 115, Chapter XIII, but you may choose others in addition to or instead of these) and develop a thesis about how it relates to the overall themes of the novel.
2. Discuss the way that physical descriptions (for example, of landscapes, or of the appearance of one or more characters) relate to the novel as a whole.
3. Respond to the argument provided in Gilbert and Gubar’s essay about Bertha Mason being a double or foil for Jane. Develop a thesis about why their argument is or is not correct. Be sure to use evidence from Jane Eyre beyond the evidence provided in the essay.
4. Compare and contrast the ways in which “the gothic” or “gothic romance” is used in Northanger Abbey and Jane Eyre. You will want to use Wikipedia or another source to locate a definition of “the gothic” or "gothic romance" (see for example Wikipedia, "Gothic Romance”) to use in your essay.
5. The Litvak essay "The Most Charming Man in the World" discusses ways in which Northanger Abbey places more emphasis on homosocial (same-sex social but not necessarily sexual) relationships than the romance plot might lead one to expect. Discuss how homosocial relationships fit into the overall themes of Northanger Abbey or Jane Eyre. Choose one or more relationships other than the ones mentioned in that essay in either Northanger Abbey or Jane Eyre for your analysis.
6. Several of the critical essays we read on Wide Sargasso Sea offer different explanations for the function and purpose of Part II of the book, the part narrated by an unnamed character who we assume to be Rochester from Jane Eyre. Discuss one or two of these theories and give reasons (other than those provided in the essays) you think they do or do not fit the novel.
7. Discuss the way some similar kinds of imagery (the moon, trees, water, etc) are used in Jane Eyre and Wide Sargasso Sea.
   
8. Open Topic. You may write on any topic that you find interesting in the books we've read (or will read) in this class. However, you need to get your topic approved by me (either in email or in person) prior to writing the paper.
   

Submission of Assignments

Please submit your assignment in the "Paper 1" selection under Assignments in Blackboard.

General Paper Instructions

The essay should be 5 to 6 pages in length, but please use your word processor to count the number of words; word count and not page length is the official metric for the assignment. An English paper should include quotations from the work you are analyzing, and short quotations DO count toward the total word count for the essay. Long quotations (of 50 or more words) should not generally be counted toward the 1500 word total for the assignment.

This is not a research paper, and you are not expected to consult outside sources except for the primary book or piece of media you choose to interpret. Any sources, including that primary source, should be properly cited in your paper, using any acceptable bibliographic citation format. One very simple format is to use a list of Works Cited at the end of the paper, and indicate by author, work and page number in parentheses the exact quotations within the paper itself. Refer to assignment 1 for information on some correct ways to cite material for the paper.

This is not primarily a research paper, and you do not need to consult outside sources except for the primary book or piece of media you choose to interpret. However, you are also very welcome to include secondary and primary sources of any kind that relate to the assignment and the course material. Any sources, including that primary source, should be properly cited in your paper, using any acceptable bibliographic citation format. One very simple format is to use a list of Works Cited at the end of the paper, and indicate by author, work and page number in parentheses the exact quotations within the paper itself.

For convenience, here are some citations from readings for another course. For works other than movies, articles, or books, just do your best: the point is to indicate where you got material that is not written by you; I am less concerned with the exact form your citation takes than I am with the attempt to provide a citation. This includes Wikipedia entries, one of which is included below.

Within the paper, you would cite things this way:

One critic says that "surveillance is always at work, whether we know it or not" (Andrejevic, "The Work of Watching One Another," p. 34).

A Wikipedia entry might be cited like this:

Morrison "went to Howard University graduating in 1953 with a B.A. in English; she went on to earn a Master of Arts from Cornell University in 1955" ("Toni Morrison," Wikipedia).

Works Cited

Mark Andrejevic, "The Work of Watching One Another: Lateral Surveillance, Risk, and Governance." Surveillance & Society 2:4 (2004). 479-497.
Julia Angwin, "It's Complicated: Facebook's History of Tracking You." ProPublica (Jun 17, 2014). http://www.propublica.org/article/its-complicated-facebooks-history-of-tracking-you.
Richard Barbrook and Andy Cameron, "The Californian Ideology." Mute 3 (Autumn 1995).
Adam Curtis, dir. All Watched Over By Machines of Loving Grace. Three Parts. United Kingdom: BBC, 2011.
"Toni Morrison." Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toni_Morrison. Accessed Feb 2, 2016.

Other standard forms of citation (such as footnotes) are also acceptable, but failing to properly indicate sources technically constitutes plagiarism.

Last updated February 24, 2017.