Theory paper #2

Theory Paper #2

Due: at your conference (this is a one-on-one writing conference that you will sign up for in class) Week 13 — Monday, April 7th or Wednesday, April 9th

You will choose one theoretical approach from below — either Marxist or Feminist — and apply it to either a) your literature circle novel or b) a text of your choice (this could be a text you’re reading in a different class, a movie you’ve seen recently, a favorite TV show, a comic book, etc.).

Please come to class on Monday, March 31st with a brief proposal for this paper that indicates your chosen text and theoretical approach and includes a working thesis, along with any prewriting you have done and any initial evidence you’ve gathered.

WRITING A FEMINIST RESPONSE

PREWRITING:

–use the list of questions on pg. 110

–consider whether you want to

a) examine the female experience — recognition of female abilities beyond typical gender oppostion (male/female), rejecting the idea of a male norm against which women are compared, examine female images in the works of female writers, point to a distinctly female voice and perspective.

b) study power — address economic and social exploitation of women (assumption that the economic system is at the base of gender inequality), argue that gender stereotyping is tied to the economic system, examine subgroups who are dually marginalized

c) study difference — work from assumption that gender determines everything (including value systems, use of language, etc.), focus on characteristics of the writing — is the voice, diction, etc. “male” or “female”? Point out differences between men and women.

Introduction: point out why feminist critique is relevant to the text you are analyzing, or connect the events and/or characters of the text to “real” life. Because feminist critics see art as political and as a way to understand society, such connections can work in this type of essay.

Body: Depending on whether you chose a, b, or c (or some combination) as your perspective from which to work, see the relevant bulleted lists on pp. 111-112.

Conclusion: Pull all of your references to the text into a final most refined version of how a) the text is particularly “male” or “female,” or b) how the power relations are depicted in it, or c) how it presents the nature of the female experience. And answer “so what?” Why is this reading significant or relevant? What is the text saying about society on a larger scale? What impact might this text have on the relations between men and women, or women’s roles in society?

WRITING A MARXIST ESSAY

PREWRITING:

–use the list of questions on pp. 88-89

–the four most important points to get to in your freewriting are

1) clarify you understanding of the ideology of work (what is the relationship between producers and consumers, owners and workers, system of economics, etc.?)

2) identify the elements in the text that present that ideology

3) Does the text promote or discourage or critique that ideology?

4) How sympathetic or opposed is the text to Marxist principles?

Introduction: announce the ideology of the text and relationship to Marxist views –make this into a claim you are staking; an argument you are making; in other words, your thesis — or begin with an incident from the text the illustrates a socioeconomic aspect of the text that you plan to address.

Body: demonstrate the presence or rejection of Marxist principles in the text you’re analyzing. You might choose to focus on particular characters, social institutions depicted (schools, government, family, etc.), or struggles between groups of people. Remember to develop your points in close connection with or as a clarification to/refinement of your thesis.

Conclusion: various options include

–endorsement of a classless society where everyone has equal access to goods and services

–criticism of repressive, oppressive societies (or depiction of such a society)

–point out again where the text either supported or rejected social change, equality, classlessness, etc., and consider what the text has to say about society in general (Does it offer a critique or perpetuation of the status quo?)

–Does the text mesh with or conflict with your own belief system? What has the work revealed about your own ideology? Explain your realization.

**All papers must have a unifying thesis statement. Remember: a thesis is a claim, an argument, a stance you are taking. It is not something that is already settled, but something you explore and develop throughout the course of your paper.

**Don’t try to do too much. In other words, say more about less. Keep a tight focus in these essays.