Means of dehumanizing
Prompt: Using specific examples from the works we have covered so far, discuss the concept of the other as a means of dehumanizing a person or a group in a well-developed analytical essay. In particular, focus on how the associations with animals of prey are interconnected with those who are deemed bad/evil. What does your analysis reveal?
Readings:
-Genesis 1 and 2
-Lilith myth
-The Fugitive Slave Margaret Garner and Tragedy on the Ohio
-Medea by Euripides
-Filicide in Euripides’ Medea: A Biopoetic Approach
Integrating Evidence to Develop the Analysis: Note that you are not expected to work with outside research or sources to complete the exam. If you do find it necessary to cite an outside source that is not part of the assigned course readings, be sure to fully integrate all paraphrases and direct quotations and provide works cited citations. Remember while it is not necessary to provide works cited citations for any of the assigned course readings, signal phrases and in-text citations to reference specific texts and passages that are offered as evidence in the analysis need to be included.
Tips and Strategies:
Read the question carefully. Reach out if you have any questions.
Identify and select passages from the individual assigned readings that allow you to develop a tentative thesis that provides unity and coherence to the analysis. Remember, the thesis must make an assertion about the main point that will be developed and defended.
Make a quick plan of the main points that allow you to support and develop the thesis.
Assume your audience is familiar with the texts and keep summaries, if you feel that they are needed, to a bare minimum. Use direct quotations and paraphrases to support the argument.
Develop an introduction that sets up the main point (thesis) of the response/argument. Many writers find it helpful to write the introduction last and to make any final adjustments to the thesis once the argument has been fully developed.
Develop the supporting paragraphs in which provide evidence and explanations are presented for each of the points that defends the claim/thesis. Remember, each supporting paragraph can only address and develop one main point. A transitional word or phrase at the beginning of the paragraph is needed to set up the main ides of the paragraph.
Develop the conclusion–what should readers take away from the argument that you just made? What does this analysis add to the conversation about evil?
Review the essay to make sure that it communicates your responses as clearly as possible and clean up any typographical errors or other mechanical problems that can interfere with a reader’s ability to follow your argument.
Your ability to engage with the course content analytically and your ability to synthesize different interpretations and/or perspectives are most important to the successful completion of this task. In other words, while there is not one correct way of answering the question, it is the thoughtfulness with which you engage in the analysis of the texts and ideas that matters most.
