The purpose of this assignment is to use critical thinking skills mastered during your studies at UWB to produce a capstone work of writing. To make this assignment as meaningful and interesting to you as possible, you will have considerable flexibility in choosing a topic and approach for this paper. Please choose one of the following options.
Option
1: Argumentative Essay on American
Consumer Culture
Option
2: Research Paper on American
Consumer Culture
Option
3: Alternative Project on American
Consumer Culture
Option
4: Argumentative Essay on a Topic
Other than American Consumer Culture
Option
5: Research Paper on a Topic Other
than American Consumer Culture
Option
6: Alternative Project on a Topic
Other than American Consumer Culture
Option 1: Argumentative Essay on American Consumer Culture
This option can help you solidify your understanding of American consumer culture by applying the knowledge and skills developed during this term to a topic that interests you.First, identify a topic, related to American consumer culture, that interests you. It should include a site (i.e., the thing, person, or place that you want to study) and an analytical question (i.e., what you want to discover as you study the site). I expect this kind of paper to be a careful, deep analysis of a primary source text (loosely defined). Such an analysis might (but not necessarily) include the use of a few secondary sources, but it is not meant to be a research paper. In other words, it need not contribute to an ongoing, academic debate about or discussion of the topic, piecing together and extrapolating from the work of other scholars. Rather, it will issue from your own thinking as you analyze your "text."
Here are some samples. You may use one of these topics or formulate one of your own.
- How does the Gladney family in Don DeLillo's White Noise use consumer items to create self-identity?
- How does a nostalgia site like Yesterdayland <http://www.yesterdayland.com> commodify memory? What are visitors to that site "consuming"?
- Can an anti-establishment rock band like the Clash (listen, for example, to "Death or Glory" on their London Calling album) or Rage Against the Machine remain true to their message after achieving material success? What is happening when a fan consumes and anti-consumer message in rock-and-roll?
- What complicated things happen when guerilla artists like the late Keith Haring <http://www.haring.com/popshop/index.html> become famous and successful, but also raise money for not-for-profit foundations? What is happening when a fan consumes their work?
- What, exactly, does World Wrestling Entertainment <http://www.wwe.com/> "sell"? What do its fans consume?
- Soap operas on television began literally (on radio) as programs to attract potential purchasers of soap, and were openly sponsored by soap products and companies. To what extent are current television soap operas the same or different? What commercials air during, for example, As the World Turns? What are viewers consuming, both literally (the products that they ostensibly buy because of the commercials) and figuratively (the ideas and values that they potentially absorb)?
- What can be learned about Hollywood's conflicting attitudes about consumerism by comparing Clueless and American Beauty?
- Does urban graffiti tend to express materialistic or anti-materialistic sentiments? Has graffiti been commodified?
- What messages do consumers attach to images in online pornography? How does online pornography fit into Grant McCracken's model of consumer goods?
Option 2: Research Paper on American Consumer Culture
This option will enable you to investigate an area of American consumer culture that most interests you by entering into an academic conversation or debate, building on the work of others and contributing your own.First, identify a topic, related to American consumer culture, that interests you. It should include a site (i.e., the thing, person, or place that you want to study) and an analytical question (i.e., what you want to discover as you study the site).
Then, use appropriate sources to learn what other scholars have said about your topic. In most cases, you will need to use academic books and articles, which you can locate most readily via the UW Library Catalogue <http://catalog.lib.washington.edu/> and the nearly two hundred academic databases <http://www.lib.washington.edu/types/databases/>to which the UW Library subscribes.
Then write a research paper in which you argue your own point of view on the topic. Please use the appropriate resources for guidance in writing a research paper, including, but not limited to, the following:
- UWB Library Research Guides: <http://www.bothell.washington.edu/library/guides/index.html>
- Prof. Goldstein-Shirley's Research Paper Assignment for BLS 300: <http://faculty.washington.edu/davidgs/Race300Research.html>
- Reference/Research Librarians
- American Studies: Sarah Leadley (425-352-5387; email: leadley@u.washington.edu)
- Culture, Literature, and the Arts: Mark Szarko (425-352-3451; email: mszarko@bothell.washington.edu)
- Writing Center: <http://www.bothell.washington.edu/writingcenter/> (Note: The Writing Center usually offers a one-day workshop focusing on research papers.)
- Prof. Goldstein-Shirley: <http://depts.washington.edu/ctlt/catalyst/umail/mail.cgi?user=davidgs&form=5>
Option 3: Alternative Project on American Consumer Culture
This option can help you solidify your understanding of American consumer culture by applying the knowledge and skills developed during this term to a topic that interests you, using a format or medium other than the conventional essay or research paper. You might develop a course syllabus, a documentary film (or at least a script), art project, or other creative product. Please consult with me early and often if you choose this option. We will need to collaborate closely as you develop your proposed project, and we will need to agree upon a final product goal and method of assessment.
Option 4: Argumentative Essay on a Topic Other than American Consumer Culture
This option can help you solidify your understanding of a topic other than American consumer culture by applying the knowledge and skills developed during your tenure in the IAS Program to a topic that interests you. Follow the instructions in Option 1 above, except that you are free to choose a site and an analytical question; they need not relate directly to American consumer culture. They should, however, relate to your concentration (American Studies or Culture, Literature, and the Arts) in some way.
Option 5: Research Paper on a Topic Other than American Consumer Culture
This option will enable you to investigate an area of inquiry, other than American consumer culture, that most interests you by entering into an academic conversation or debate, building on the work of others and contributing your own. Follow the instructions in Option 2 above, except that you are free to choose a site and an analytical question; they need not relate directly to American consumer culture. They should, however, relate to your concentration (American Studies or Culture, Literature, and the Arts) in some way.
Option 6: Alternative Project on a Topic Other than American Consumer Culture
This option can help you solidify your understanding of a topic other than American consumer culture by applying the knowledge and skills developed during your tenure in the IAS Program to a topic that interests you, using a format or medium other than the conventional essay or research paper. You might develop a course syllabus, a documentary film (or at least a script), art project, or other creative product. Please consult with me early and often if you choose this option. We will need to collaborate closely as you develop your proposed project, and we will need to agree upon a final product goal and method of assessment. Your project should relate to your concentration (American Studies or Culture, Literature, and the Arts) in some way.
All papers must be written in Microsoft Word (available in all UWB computer labs) and must run between 1750 and 2500 words, according to the word count tool in Microsoft Word.
Papers should be typed, double-spaced, and in MLA style; research papers (Option 2 and Option 5) should also include a Works Cited page (not counted as part of the word count requirement). To learn how to format your paper according to MLA style, consult The MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, 5th ed., available in the Library at the Reference Desk. (Note: Formatting correctly takes a lot of time and care. Budget at least one or two hours just to format your paper. Formatting for online sources, such as Internet homepages and academic databases, requires particular care.)
Use standard margins, fonts, and type size, and staple the paper in the upper left-hand corner. Do not use a title page or folder. Include a brief, meaningful title for your paper (centered at the top of the first page, using initial capitals [capitalize only the first letter of major words], and without quotation marks, underlining, or bold). Important: Remember that direct quotations must be indicated with quotation marks or (rarely) by "block" quotation formatting. You must identify the source of all quotations, and all paraphrased information that is not widely known, using proper MLA in-text citations, including (for print sources) all page numbers. Review "Tips for Better Prose" <http://faculty.washington.edu/davidgs/Prose.html> and "Using Direct Quotation" <http://faculty.washington.edu/davidgs/Quotation.html>, all of which are considered part of this assignment sheet. Your paper should be formal in tone. Your audience comprises educated, general readers who are not experts in your topic, so briefly explain in lay terms any theory or specialized jargon that you use.
When I return your paper to you, I will provide a tally of common errors, using a list of codes such as "T1," "T2," and so forth, which refer to the numbered items of the "Tips for Better Prose" document. Of course, it would be better for you and for me if you pay close attention to the document so you can avoid some of the mechanical errors that I commonly find in student (and even professional) writing, rather than have them pointed out to you afterward. I recommend printing that document, and, after you finish writing your paper, check the items off one by one to make sure your paper is as mechanically sound as you can make it. Although the mechanics of writing are less important to me than the ideas expressed (which is evidenced in the proportion of your grade allocated to each of these aspects of your essay, as described below), the mechanics inevitably improve the effectiveness of your communication of ideas, which, after all, is your ultimate goal with each piece of writing that you do.
Needless
to say, your work must be entirely original. Using another person's
ideas or words without proper attribution, whether intentional or
accidental, constitutes plagiarism, and will result in a zero on this
assignment. Please re-read "Maintaining Academic Integrity" at
<http://faculty.washington.edu/davidgs/Integrity.html>,
which I consider to be part of this assignment.
Your term paper is due in class no later than 1:15 p.m. on Tuesday, February 25. Within a week, I will evaluate and return term papers and projects that I receive by the deadline, which will give you the most time for revision if you choose to revise. I will evaluate and return late term papers and projects when I have time. Unfortunately, you will not have a chance to revise a late paper because we will have insufficient time for my grading and your revision. Keep a copy of your completed term paper or project until you receive your work back from me.
Early submission: If you want to have more than one opportunity to revise your paper, you may submit your term paper early, at any time. I will do my best to return it to you, with my comments, in a week. Please do not submit rough drafts, however. I will read and comment on only papers that appear to be sincere efforts at a "late draft." You may submit as many versions as you have time to write and I have time to grade before you must submit your final version in your learning portfolio.
Term Paper Revision: If you submitted your original term paper by the deadline, you will have the opportunity to revise your term paper or project one time for inclusion in your learning portfolio. The version that you include in your learning portfolio will be the final version, and your evaluative (i.e., "final") term paper or project grade will be determined at that time. Although you will have this opportunity to revise your paper, I expect neither of the versions to be a "rough" draft. Your rough drafts are for your own use in developing a version as close to ideal as possible. Please make each submitted version a "presentation-quality" version; i.e., make it as good as you can.
Criteria for grading term paper drafts: Please carefully read "Criteria for Assessing Writing" at <http://faculty.washington.edu/davidgs/WritingAssess.html> for an explanation of my assessment criteria. In addition to substantive comments on each version, I also will designate each draft as "early draft" (E), "middle draft" (M), or "late draft" (L).
Let me emphasize that I expect your best effort in this and every exercise. Your most serious work now will enable me to provide the most helpful comments, which in turn will improve your grade on later assignments. In other words, this assignment helps determine your grade in this course both directly (with the score it earns) and indirectly (with its capacity to teach you how to improve your writing), so it is worth the investment of your time and effort to do the best you can.
Some additional advice:
This page last updated January 8, 2003.
