Select one of these definitions to defend against Eagleton’s critique

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In This essay “What is Literature,” Terry Eagleton discusses four common definitions of literature (“imaginative,” “estranging,” “self-referential,” and “excellent writing”), each of which he believes to be fatally flawed. Select one of these definitions to defend against Eagleton’s critique, with reference to any one of the following texts: Dickinson, [Because I could not stop for death]; Wilde, Importance of Being Earnest; Aesop, “The Grasshopper and the Ant.”

Identify minority and alternative perspectives in mainstream products, as well as studying the existence of alternative, counter-culture products and their distinctive aims

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THE US REPRESENTATION IN POPULAR MEDIA AND CULTURE
(THIS IS A BRIEF PRESENTATION OF THE JOURNAL THAT I WANT TO PUBLISH MY BOOK REVIEW IN JUST SO YOU HAVE AN IDEA.) is an academic collective interested in investigating the articulation of the numerous and heterogeneous representations which have been constructing images of the US. The research group’s work is focused on how the US—their history, society, and diverse cultures—have been represented in popular media and cultural products. The peculiarities of the American society can indeed be traced through the analysis of popular culture and multimodal cultural expressions, conveyed by means such as film, comics and graphic novels, TV and web series, videogames, music, books, and whatnot. The group will approach cultural products—as well as their publics and reception—from an intersectional, multidisciplinary standpoint and a diverse range of perspectives.
The fundamental interest of our group is to build a stimulating environment for any interested scholar, promoting the sharing of knowledge, experience, and ideas, across disciplines and thematic fields. A participative, interactive collaboration will be fostered, in particular allowing postgraduate and early career participants to receive feedback and support in an academic safe space.

AIMS OF THE EDITORIAL PROJECT

producing, supporting, and disseminating research, as well as promoting events related to the group’s focus
fostering a space of academic sharing and learning for early career researchers and postgraduate students in North American studies

RESEARCH FOCUS

acknowledging and exploring contrasting images and narratives, their configurations and aims
deconstructing national storytelling by identifying its presence and investigating its narratives, variations, and receptions
examining the intersectional connections between identities, politics, and history, traceable in cultural
products
identifying minority and alternative perspectives in mainstream products, as well as studying the existence of alternative, counter-culture products and their distinctive aims and reception
engaging in theorizations and critical studies on the boundaries of popular culture expressions

THEMATIC LINES

genres in US popular culture: mainstream, alternative, and hybrid sub/genres
ethnic minorities in popular culture and the configuration of (intersectional) Otherness related to gender/class
the representation of specific linguistic/religious/gender/heritage etc. groups in the US popular media and culture (including mainstream, alternative, and self-representations)
symbol and myth: the articulation of American national ethos, myths, symbols and heroes, as well as the deconstruction of national storytelling and stereotyped narratives
(hi)storytelling: public history and the representation of US history for the non-specialized public
humor, satire, caricature, and mock-serious renditions of the US society
new forms of expression and self/representation: digital and new media
pop performance as a means of cultural expression and political positioning
the reception of popular culture products and their publics

Write topic sentences (first sentence in each paragraph) that are objective and reflect your thesis statement

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Essay 3- Synthesis Paper (1000 words)

To synthesize, is to make a connection between various components that might appear to be unrelated at first glance. In your synthesis essay, you will bring together at least 3 of the works that we have previously read and discussed and in addition to analysis, you must find and present eloquently the common thread that brings them together. Avoid overly cliché themes. Instead, find an aspect that when further investigated brings cohesion to the works. You must select at least one poem and one short story, plus an additional genre of your choice.

1-“We Wear the Mask”- poem by Paul Laurence Dunbar
2-“The Pursuit of happiness” Drama Movie 2006-(Actor-Will Smith)
3-“A Rose for Emily”-story by William Faulkner

Synthesis Essay Checklist

Write an essay in which you synthesize at least 3 works, two of which MUST be from the works covered thus far but that you have not written about. Your third piece can be a contemporary song or movie. You must have a short story, poem AND an outside work.

Be sure to:
Similarity percentage: 25%
Avoid using first and second person
Include a clear introduction, body and conclusion
Write a thesis statement that is inclusive of the theme and include the authors and titles of all works (highlight this in yellow; it should be the last sentence in your introductory paragraph)
Write topic sentences (first sentence in each paragraph) that are objective and reflect your thesis statement (must also be highlighted in yellow)
Use transitional phrases to help you move from one topic to the next
Place evidence in bold
Place elaboration in italics

What is the portrayal of women in the text? Their qualities, attitudes, and behavior.

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This Ted Talk is to test the knowledge of the texts, media, and important themes and issues present in the world. You will explore the play The Taming of the Shrew in the library cristim of the Feminist criticism in a form of a ted talk. You will analyze this play, and explain the insights in a Ted Talk presentation.

When analyzing with Femisn Cristism you must answer the following:

What is the portrayal of women in the text? Their qualities, attitudes, and behavior.

What types of power do women have in the text? Can it be real or imagined?

How do women in the text “match up” with their male equivalents? (Characteristics)
– What do they say?
– What do they do?
– What do they think?

How do female characters unfold/defy feminism expectations?

What type of “fate/ending” does the author provide for the female character?

PART 1:
Look at the TED Talk presentation and analysis doc and understand the media codes and conventions in the chart to apply to this thesis and convince your audience.

PART 2:
You will imagine that you’ve been asked to speak in a TED Talk series titled, “Why You Should Read This Book.” YOU WILL USE THE FEMINIST CRITICISM to help determine the author’s central message or purpose in writing the text. This message will become the basis of their thesis statement, in which they answer the question: How does this text help us to better understand some aspect of the human experience? (I.e. Feminism = the female experience)

You will apply your understanding of the feminist criticism and analysis to the “Novel Propose” document. You should remember to include various aspects of the chosen work which make it significant and relevant to the world today. Examples may include characterization, various forms of conflict, universal themes or current events, etc. Should be including quotations from the novel which can help them establish strong support for the prompt they will be given to base their arguments on in Part 3 (see below).

All of the information in the TED Talk must be recorded in a script. The script must include:

A text to the world and/or text to self-connection
A summary of the text
A clear thesis statement (How does this text help us to understand some aspect of the human experience)
The context for each of the three quotes discussed
An explanation of how each of the three quotes connects to your thesis (this may or may not use direct literary analysis)
Use of supporting images/graphics as per TED Talk conventions

For each quote, the student must clearly explain why this excerpt is impactful/significant to the reader, as well as how it supports their thesis. The choice of quote and commentary should clearly reflect the purpose, tone, and intended audience of a TED Talk.

All the following docs are in Additional materials

Why, then, is Penelope a “good” character and Medea an “evil” character?

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MUST HAVE READ: The Odyssey and Jason and the Argonauts

700- 900 words

My level of education: sophomore college

Penelope in the Odyssey and Medea in the Argonautica are both female characters who, in various ways, manipulate and outwit male characters. Why, then, is Penelope a “good” character and Medea an “evil” character? Or if you disagree with these descriptions, say why.

Discuss the condition of working class immigrants in nineteenth-century America

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Discuss the condition of working class immigrants in nineteenth-century America and the plight of the workers in life in the iron-mills

What is Frye’s theoretical approach to literary symbolism?

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Essay questions:

1. How can we interpret Frye’s ‘Anatomy of Criticism’ that is ‘Ethical Criticism: Theory of Symbols’?

2. What is Frye’s theoretical approach to literary symbolism?

3. The theory of symbols involves five phases: “Literal, Descriptive, Formal, Mythical and Anagogic”. Each of these phases has each of the following kinds of symbols respectively: “motif, signs, image, archetype and monad.” That is to say, Literal and Descriptive phases as motif and as sign, Formal phase: as image, Mythical phase: as archetype and Anagogic phase as monad. What does he mean by each of these kinds of symbols? What are specific examples for interpreting each of them?

4. Can a motif be interpreted as a sign? Similarly can signs be interpreted as images or archetypes or monad? If yes, how? If not, why not?

Discuss the function and importance of letters in Pride and Prejudice.

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This research essay of no less than 950 words and no more than 1,000 words. This assignment requires you to use secondary sources.
You must include at least three secondary sources in your essay. Your secondary sources must include recognized Austen critics. Be sure that you include among your secondary sources at least two critical articles dealing with Pride and Prejudice.
Since you will be using quotations and paraphrases from both your primary source (Pride and Prejudice) and secondary sources (articles and books on Pride and Prejudice), you must include parenthetical in-text citations—after the quotation in the your essay, provide the page number(s) for print sources—and a Works Cited list. Also, remember to include the Norton Critical edition of Pride and Prejudice in your Works Cited list.
Remember to avoid turning your essay into a patchwork of quotations from different articles and books. Your thesis should be the controlling feature of your essay.
Research Essay Topics
Choose just one of the following topics:
1. Discuss the function and importance of letters in Pride and Prejudice.
2. Does Pride and Prejudice reinforce or erode sexist stereotypes of women?
3. “Time and space are small in Pride and Prejudice.” Discuss the significance of critic Dorothy Van Ghent’s comment on the novel’s setting.
Your essay should have three parts: an introductory paragraph, a body containing fully developed paragraphs, and a concluding paragraph. Following is a general guide for what to include in each section of your essay.
In your introductory paragraph:
• Introduce Pride and Prejudice and its author.
• Identify clearly your essay topic.
• Include a strong thesis statement on the topic.
• Forecast the main stages of your analysis
In your analysis in the body of your essay:
• Make effective use of topic sentences to identify the main ideas of your analysis.
• Support your comments with evidence (paraphrase and direct quotations) from the novel.
• Explain the significance of each piece of evidence you present as it relates to your thesis.
• Identify the sources of all your quotations with parenthetical in-text citations.
• Contribute to your reader’s understanding of the novel as a whole.
In your concluding paragraph:
• Summarize the main stages of your analysis.
• Restate your thesis in different words.

Using two stories, compare and contrast the protagonists’ isolation from the world and the people around them.

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This essay of no more than 700 words requires you to choose two stories from given below. One of your challenges for the Assignment is to select two stories that are good matches for your chosen topic.
• “Royal Beatings” by Alice Munro
• “Sonny’s Blues” by James Baldwin
• “Paul’s Case” by Willa Cather
• “Death by Landscape” by Margaret Atwood
• “To Room Nineteen” by Doris Lessing
• “Great Falls” by Richard Ford
• “Bartleby, the Scrivener” by Herman Melville
• “Cathedral” by Raymond Carver
• “Hills Like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemingway
• “Barn Burning” by William Faulkner
• “The Horse Dealer’s Daughter” by D.H. Lawrence
Comparison and Contrast Essay Topics
NO SECONDARY SOURCES
Choose just one of the following topics:
1. Using two stories, compare and contrast the protagonists’ isolation from the world and the people around them.
2. Using two stories, compare and contrast the marital or romantic relationships presented.
3. Using two stories, compare and contrast the presentation of selfishness.
4. Using two stories, compare and contrast the parent/child relationship.
Instructions
Your essay should have three parts: an introductory paragraph, a body containing fully developed paragraphs, and a concluding paragraph. Following is a general guide for what to include in each section of your essay.
In your introductory paragraph:
• Introduce your chosen stories (with their full titles) and their authors.
• Identify clearly your essay topic—the subject of your comparison/contrast.
• Include a strong thesis statement on the comparison and contrast topic that indicates what a reader ultimately can learn from the comparison/contrast.
• Forecast the categories of the comparison and contrast that your essay will analyze in detail.
In your analysis in the body of your essay:
• Make effective use of topic sentences to identify the categories of comparison or contrast in your analysis.
• Support your comments with evidence (paraphrase and direct quotations) from your chosen stories.
• Explain the significance of each piece of evidence you present as it relates to your thesis.
• Contribute to your reader’ understanding of the two stories as a whole.
In your concluding paragraph:
• Summarize how your analysis of the categories of comparison/contrast supports your thesis.
• Restate in different words the purpose of your comparison/contrast.
Note
Quotations count toward the word length, but Works Cited items listed at the end do not.

What are some possible reasons for how the author did this, and why the author did this?

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Write a critical response journal, not plot summaries, or “proof” that you read the book or a mini-research paper! They must be critical and not only descriptive — this means thinking about your feelings — love something? hate something? did something confuse you? bore you? anger you? Start there, and then ask WHY??? Did the author maybe do this to you on purpose? Are you supposed to be feeling this way? What are some possible reasons for how the author did this, and why the author did this? Are you perhaps the wrong target audience? Is there something cultural going on that you maybe missed? And, most importantly, how is any of this connected to the main message for the book? So, please, do not read book reviews, academic articles, or anything online about the book until after you have written your own response. It needs to be entirely your own thoughts and interpretations — it does not have to be “right”