An example proposal.html Patricia A. West [email protected] 912-358-3356 http://call-for-papers.sas.upenn.edu/node/46242 May 21, 2012 Identities in Displacement: Difference and Dislocations in Multi-Ethnic Literatures and Cultures (MELUS) “African flowers are not meant for parlors,” says the Arabic character Dar in the Edmund Greville’s film, Princess Tam-Tam.  This line expresses the conference theme of displacement and dislocation better than any other in the film. The year was 1935 and the famed dancer Josephine Baker lived as a displaced person, one who self-exiled to France in order to escape the racist ways of life in the United States. The film Princess Tam-Tam features Baker’s character Alwina as one who is displaced from her poor home life to that of her rich, white benefactor, Coton. Previously written as a seminar paper, this presentation will go further by examining how difference and dislocation functioned in a post war world. By drawing on the Orientalism work of the late Edward Said, I will suggest that session participants consider Baker’s defiant and heroic acts as ways to represent herself and counteract media attempts to monopolize her talents. Critics can read the film as a text about subversion and subtle resistance disguised in various motifs throughout the mis-en-scene. By showing brief clips, I will provide conference-goers the opportunity to judge the significance of Baker’s role and the message she was trying to send as an actress in exile and a social activist. If Baker is the African flower, what were the ‘parlors’ surrounding her? How is African culture represented in the film? More importantly, how does Baker shape her individual identity and her identity as a transnational African-American? It will be interesting to re-view this film for its artistic beauty and its messages about displacement. Finally, I hope to add to the quiet conversation about Josephine Baker’s work which one might say is twice displaced. As scholars, we can situate and re-locate Baker and find significance in her legacy. Your Name: Patricia A. West Instructor’s Name: Prof. West Course: ENGL 2222 Assignment: Final Research Essay Date: Spring 2017 Insert an engaging title that includes the literary title or author Example: Movement and Migration: The Trope of Journey in James Weldon Johnson's "Lift Ev'ry Voice and Sing" Part 1- Essay opening Attention-getter _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ Background information identifying author, work, and genre. Example transition: Such a scene or theme is found in James Baldwin’s short story, “Sonny’s Blues”. Write a clear thesis statement in 1-2 sentences. Introduce your claim. _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ For help, see: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/reso.

1. An example proposal.html
Patricia A. West
[email protected]
912-358-3356
http://call-for-papers.sas.upenn.edu/node/46242
May 21, 2012
Identities in Displacement: Difference and Dislocations in
Multi-Ethnic Literatures and Cultures (MELUS)
“African flowers are not meant for parlors,” says the Arabic
character Dar in the Edmund Greville’s film, Princess Tam-
Tam. This line expresses the conference theme of displacement
and dislocation better than any other in the film. The year was
1935 and the famed dancer Josephine Baker lived as a displaced
person, one who self-exiled to France in order to escape the
racist ways of life in the United States. The film Princess Tam-
Tam features Baker’s character Alwina as one who is displaced
from her poor home life to that of her rich, white benefactor,
Coton.
Previously written as a seminar paper, this presentation will go
further by examining how difference and dislocation functioned
in a post war world. By drawing on the Orientalism work of the
late Edward Said, I will suggest that session participants
consider Baker’s defiant and heroic acts as ways to represent
herself and counteract media attempts to monopolize her talents.
Critics can read the film as a text about subversion and subtle
resistance disguised in various motifs throughout the mis-en-
scene. By showing brief clips, I will provide conference-goers
the opportunity to judge the significance of Baker’s role and the
message she was trying to send as an actress in exile and a
social activist. If Baker is the African flower, what were the
‘parlors’ surrounding her? How is African culture represented
in the film? More importantly, how does Baker shape her
individual identity and her identity as a transnational African-

2. American? It will be interesting to re-view this film for its
artistic beauty and its messages about displacement. Finally, I
hope to add to the quiet conversation about Josephine Baker’s
work which one might say is twice displaced. As scholars, we
can situate and re-locate Baker and find significance in her
legacy.
Your Name: Patricia A. West
Instructor’s Name: Prof. West
Course: ENGL 2222
Assignment: Final Research Essay
Date: Spring 2017
Insert an engaging title that includes the literary title or author
Example: Movement and Migration: The Trope of Journey in
James Weldon Johnson's "Lift Ev'ry Voice and Sing"
Part 1- Essay opening
Attention-getter
_____________________________________________________
____________________
_____________________________________________________
____________________
Background information identifying author, work, and genre.
Example transition: Such a scene or theme is found in James
Baldwin’s short story, “Sonny’s Blues”.
Write a clear thesis statement in 1-2 sentences. Introduce your
claim.
_____________________________________________________
____________________
_____________________________________________________
____________________

3. For help, see:
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/545/01/
Outline Part 2- Providing a social, political, and/or cultural
context---6-7 sentences only. No biography of the author!
_____________________________________________________
____________________
_____________________________________________________
____________________
_____________________________________________________
____________________
You may use Gates’s chapter introductions from the text and
glossary information from studyspace:
http://www.wwnorton.com/college/english/africanamericanlit2e/
Outline Part 3- Analysis of first thesis point with examples
Write a topic sentence.
Add 3-4 supporting sentences:
Add literary quotes and examples from the text you are
analyzing and provide your analysis.
Add quotes from expert sources with in-text citations. Provide
analysis.
Repeat this process throughout the paper.
_____________________________________________________
____________________
_____________________________________________________
____________________
Outline Part 4- Analysis of second thesis point with examples
Topic sentence
3-4 supporting sentences:
Insert Literary quotes and your analysis
Insert Quotes from sources with in-text citations
_____________________________________________________
____________________
_____________________________________________________
____________________
Outline Part 5- Analysis of third thesis point with examples

4. Topic sentence
Literary quotes and your analysis
Quotes from sources with in-text citations
_____________________________________________________
____________________
_____________________________________________________
____________________
Outline Part 6- Analysis of fourth thesis point (if applicable)
with examples
Topic sentence
Literary quotes and your analysis
Quotes from sources with in-text citations
_____________________________________________________
____________________
_____________________________________________________
____________________
Outline Part 7- Conclusion
Raise rhetorical questions
Re-engage the reader with a quotation
What does the research show?
_____________________________________________________
____________________
_____________________________________________________
____________________
_____________________________________________________
____________________
_____________________________________________________
____________________
Part 8- Works Cited
Do not use these headings: References, Bibliography, or
Sources.
This is the last page of the essay with sources in ABC order
according to MLA documentation style.

5. O'Neale, Sondra. "A Slave's Subtle War: Phyllis Wheatly's Use
Of Biblical Myth And Symbol." Early American Literature 21.2
(1986): 144. Religion and Philosophy Collection. Web. 18 Feb.
2014.
MLA Heading
Contact information
Create a Catchy Title that includes the Author and Text as
Subject
Example: “What’s Love Got to Do with It: Domestic Abuse in
Zora Neale Hurston’s “Sweat”
Attention-getter
Refer to key words in the course outcomes listed in the
syllabus.
State your interest: student, English major/Africana Studies,
future teacher, public speaking, black history enthusiast,
curious
scholar, etc. Explain why you chose this particular text and
author. Consider style, plot, use of vernacular, characterization,
etc.

6. Write a claim or thesis referring to one of the class discussion
points or add more. What literary devices does the author use
to convey the theme or pattern of African-American literature?
State the questions you wish to answer. What do you want to
show about this text?
Propose two to three resources that support the thesis. Where
will you look for credible, academic articles?
What presentation tools will you use? Describe plans for your
audio-visual synopsis of the final paper. Will you have
handouts, brochures, or an original rap video?
Propose a time-table. When will you pull your research articles,
draft your paper, submit to D2L, submit to LiveText? Get a
calendar to work out a time-management plan.
Suggest benefits.
What will participants gain by attending your session?
Lastly, bring the proposal to a conclusion with contact
information.
Express appreciation for consideration of your proposal.
ENGL 2222Examples of final paper topics and questions

7. Suggested ideas to help you form a claim or viewpoint: Capture
these key terms in your thesis statement.
Possible texts
The landscape of the South-symbols of struggle, and race and
gender identification
Jean Toomer selections from Cane “Cotton Song” and “Georgia
Dusk,”poems; “Fern,” short story
“The color line,” intraracialization (prejudice within the race)
Charles Chesnutt, Chapters from Plum Bun (Angela, Virginia,
and Mrs. Murray)
Male-female relationships
Abuse
Domestic violence
“Sweat” by Zora Neale Hurston
“Like a Winding Sheet” by Ann Petry
Struggles due to a “Negro problem”
Charles Chesnut
Richard Wright, Black Boy
Socio-economic oppression and its impact upon characters
Rural versus urban: the impact of the Great Migration as
represented by …
Richard Wright, Black Boy
Religious domination and overbearance
James Baldwin, “Sonny’s Blues”
Police brutality, and/or the increase of crime in urban areas
Richard Wright, Black Boy

8. Sin, transgression, repentance, redemption, and salvation
James Baldwin, “Sonny’s Blues” along
An evangelistic tone
James Baldwin, “Sonny’s Blues”
The rhetoric of a sermon: teaching
James Baldwin, “Sonny’s Blues” along with The Amen Corner
if attended
Black music and the vernacular
James Baldwin, “Sonny’s Blues” along with The Amen Corner
if attended
Ralph Ellison, Invisible Man
Use of biblical allusions and imagery
James Baldwin, “Sonny’s Blues” along with The Amen Corner
if attended
The condition of the African American family through the
struggle for civil rights:
Father-son relationships
Mother-daughter relationships
Sister-brother relationships
Toni Cade Bambara, “Raymond’s Run,” 2077
The voice of protest in Black arts poetry /fiction: Explain your
interpretation of the messages in the lyrics of poetry or rap, or
in a short story or chapter.
Amiri Baraka: “Preface to a Twenty Volume Suicide Note,” “ A
Poem for Black Hearts,” and “Black Art,” p. 1939-1943
The Last Poets, Gil Scott Heron, “The Revolution Will Not Be
Televised”
Nikki Giovanni
Duke Bootee , The Poetics and Legacies of Hip-Hop Literature
and Urban Realism

9. The use of radical language by Amiri Baraka in “Black Art”:
Effective or destructive?
Expressions of black power in the poetry/fiction/speeches of…
Amiri Baraka: “Preface to a Twenty Volume Suicide Note,” “ A
Poem for Black Hearts,” and “Black Art,” p. 1939-1943
Womanism
Women’s voices and portrayals
Feisty girls
Bonding
Ann Petry, “Like a Winding Sheet,” Chapter 1 from The Street,
“The Apartment”
“Raymond’s Run”
Toni Cade Bambara, “Raymond’s Run,” 2077, from The Salt
Eaters, 2082
Gloria Naylor, The Women of Brewster Place, pp. 2585-2611
Black on black man conflicts
Pick a text where applicable
Gender differences
Ann Petry, “Like a Winding Sheet,” Chapter 1 from The Street,
“The Apartment”
Gloria Naylor, The Women of Brewster Place, pp. 2585-2611
Sexual identity, lesbianism
Angela Weld Grimke

10. Gloria Naylor, The Women of Brewster Place, pp. 2585-2611
youngbloods vs. experience, generational differences in the
struggle to overcome oppression, racism, etc.
Ralph Ellison, Chapter 1 from Invisible Man, “Battle Royal”
In what ways does the work articulate a cry for change?
Tupac
Saul Williams, slam poetry
Duke Bootee , The Poetics and Legacies of Hip-Hop Literature
and Urban Realism
Can contemporary poetry/fiction reflect upon the past?
Hip-hop literature, power, social justice, and poetics
Natasha Trethewey
Rita Dove
Harryette Mullen, “The queen of hip-hop hyperbole” (quote by
Sandra Cisneros) pp.2636-2644, 2nd ed.; pp. 1382-1391, 3rd
ed., Vol. 2
Kendrick Lamar’ as literature
The use of imagery in…
Revisioning slavery in modern narratives
How the desire for freedom and/or bravery functions in the
works of …
The meaning of motifs in…
War and Peace: The impact of World War II on the poetry of the
HR
Revolutionary thinking in the works of…

11. Expressions of black power in the poetry/fiction/speeches of …
The blues beat in the poetry of…
http://www.wwnorton.com/college/english/africanamerican
lit2e/ch/E_Realism/papertopic.aspx
http://www.wwnorton.com/college/english/africanamericanlit2e/
ch/F_Blackarts/papertopic.aspx
http://www.wwnorton.com/college/english/africanamericanlit2e/
ch/G_1975/papertopic.aspx
http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=the+revolution+will+not
+be+televised&FORM=VIRE1#view=detail&mid=C70DCBE87F
A7A2447EB8C70DCBE87FA7A2447EB8
Spring, 2019 – HST/AAS 233 – The Rise of Modern China –
Instructor: Ryan Yokota
Midterm Take Home Essay Prompts
The midterm essay is worth 30% of the total grade for the class.
Please follow these standards:
1) Include student name, name of class, and instructor name
single-spaced at top of first page.
2) Use a double spaced 12-point Times/Times New Roman font
for body with 1-inch margins.
3) Use footnotes according to the Chicago Manual of Style
(preferred)
(http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide.html)
or MLA style.

12. Answer both of the following essay questions in two separate
essays, for a minimum of three pages each, and a
grand total of at least six pages for the midterm. Both essays
together should be no longer than eight pages in
length. Please refer specifically to class readings and lectures,
including The Search for Modern China textbook.
Outside readings are neither allowed nor are necessary for
completing this exercise. Please run a
spelling/grammar check before uploading your essay to D2L.
Plagiarism is prohibited and will result in a failing
grade on the assignment and university administrative action.
Essay Prompt 1
The Opium Wars set in motion a fundamental crisis for the 19th
century Qing Dynasty which transformed the
nature of the East Asian political order. Using the SFMC text,
the course readings, and class lectures: 1) Describe
the nature of the tribute-trade system as a system of political
ordering prior to the Opium Wars, as detailed in the
chapter by John Fairbank; 2) Describe the varied approaches to
self-strengthening efforts led by reformers such as
Zeng Guofan, Feng Guifen, Prince Gong, and Li Hongzhang,
and assess their strengths and weaknesses; and finally
3) Describe the rise of popular nationalism according to the

13. writings of Kang Youwei, Liang Qichao, Zhang Bingling,
and Sun Yat-Sen.
Essay Prompt 2
Erez Manela, in his book, The Wilsonian Moment, deals with
the question of self-determination, and how Chinese
delegates grappled with these views at the Versailles
Conference. Using the assigned chapters from Manela’s
book, discuss 1) the differences in Lenin’s and Wilson’s views
on self-determination; 2) the reception of Wilson’s
declarations by Chinese intellectuals and activists in their push
for a recovery of Chinese sovereignty; and 3)
Describe the betrayal they felt in the Wilsonian liberal moment
and its implications for the Chinese revolutionary
movement. When possible, include references to reformers and
revolutionaries mentioned in class lectures and in
the Search for Modern China textbook.
In assessing this midterm, the following criteria will constitute
a rubric for grading these essays:
1) What is the main thesis of the essay? This should be clearly
stated in the first paragraph.
2) What are the main points used to support this thesis?
Provide concrete examples and judiciously use
selected quotes from the readings. Back up all assertions with

14. evidence.
3) What conclusion is reached by this evidence? What does it
say about Chinese history?
4) The best essays show strong control over the readings and
make them speak to each other.
5) Do not use “I” statements in the essay, and refrain from
casual language or passive voice.
The midterm essays must be uploaded to the D2L dropbox by
noon on Monday, April 29, 2019. No late papers
will be accepted.
http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide.html