Humanities 202 Developing a Research Paper Topic (Make sure to go over the hints for writing a
critical
response paper before beginning work on this assignment
) (See MLA Guidelines)
Topics must be submitted in writing and must include the name(s)
of
the specific text(s) you will be discussing.
Once you submit a topic, you are bound to it. Any changes
in topic
must be accompanied by a written explanation for the change.
The final deadline for turning in your topics is
stated
on the syllabus. No topics or changes in topic will be accepted after
that deadline. If you have not submitted a topic 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.? The Harlem Renaissance is a popular topic in this
regard.
However, please make sure that you are not just providing a historical
background. The main objective is to provide critical discussion
of literature.
You can also examine the relationship between the author's life
and
the works he/she writes. This would be especially significant to
the slave narratives, although you may run the risk of "stating the
obvious,"
so to speak.
Please Do NOT Write a Paper
About Slavery
itself. Of course, Slavery was a horrible,
terrible
institution. However, this discussion should be of a
literary
nature, critiquing the narratives themselves,
not
the subjects.
The biographical approach might be more interesting when looking
at fiction, Johnson or Poe for example.Again,
don't
just provide a biography of an author. Only discuss biographical
details that are relevant to your discussion of the writer's works.
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:
The connection between Literacy and Freedom in African American
Slave
Narratives
The portrayal of the horrors of slavery in African American
Slave Narratives
Brutality against women, whether slave or free, black or white,
and
how these different qualifications determine different levels of
brutality,
if in fact they do, in African American Slave Narratives
The role of religion in determining the slave's condition in
African
American Slave Narratives. Is religion a "good thing" or a "bad
thing"
or a little of both?
Survival in Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl
Female bonding in the lives of Slave Women in African American
Slave
Narratives
The role of the White female in African American Slave Narratives
Images of money/wealth in the poetry of Maya Angelou
Images of religion in the poetry of Phyllis Wheatley
Religion and the Development of Identity in Equiano
The Role of Race in Othello
The Connection between Race and Sexuality as portrayed in Othello
The Handkerchief as Symbol in Othello
The Seasons as Symbol/Metaphor in Shakespeare's Sonnets # (Pick
2 or
3): 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 18, 42, 43, 68, 73
Day/Night as Symbol/Metaphor in Shakespeare's Sonnets # (Pick 2
or 3):
7, 12, 15, 27, 33, 34, 63
Water Imagery in Chopin's The Awakening
Mother/Child relationships in Chopin's The Awakening
Being Underground in Wright
Strategies of Resistance in African American Poetry
Strategies of Resistance in African American Slave Narratives
