Humanities 201/211 Developing a Research Paper Topic (Make sure to go over the hints for writing a
critical response paper before beginning work on this
assignment )
Topics must be submitted in writing and must include the
name(s) of the specific text(s) you will be interpreting.
Once you submit a topic, you are bound to it. Any
changes in topic must be accompanied by a written explanation
for the change.
Topics CANNOT be changed after the final topic deadline
date (see below).
The final deadline for turning in your
topics is stated on the syllabus.
No topics will be accepted after that
deadline. If your topic has not been accepted by that time, you cannot hand in a
paper and you will lose twenty (20) points
off of your final average.
These are all good STARTING POINTS into most of the works we've
read, although you can take other approaches.
One such approach is to examine the works of a particular
writer within the historical context during which it was
written. What, in other words, makes the works represent a
particular period, culture, etc.? You can also
examine the relationship between the author's life and the works
he/she writes.
Once you have decided on a general topic to explore, you could
go one of three ways: examine a couple of shorter works by
the same author, examine a longer work by one author, or examine
a few short works by two different authors. I would try
not to examine more than one novel or
play, two short stories,
or three poems.
Some potential topics. Keep in mind that for each of
these topics, you will need to develop an opinion or
answer a question:
Women: Prizes, Goddesses, Mothers, Wives in Gilgamesh
or Sundiata or Oedipus Rex
Gods and Humans: Gilgamesh or African Tales and
Myths or Qur'an or Popol Vuh
Comparison of Kings (Pick Two): Gilgamesh vs. Oedipus vs.
Sundiata vs. Jocasta
Suicide & Reasons for It: Jocasta and Dido
Portrayal of War (Pick Two): Bhagavad-Gita
vs. Sundiata
Religious Perspectives: Chaucer's Canterbury Tales
Relationships between Cultures and Versions of
Creation: Africa/Myths, Mayan/Popol Vuh
Visions of the Underworld in Gilgamesh vs. Popol
Vuh
