This document discusses five important American poets from the 1800s: Lydia Sigourney, William Cullen Bryant, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, John Greenleaf Whittier, and Edgar Allan Poe. It provides examples of notable works from each poet and analyzes their styles and popularity. While all were influential in their time, their work is less popular today due to changing literary tastes. The document encourages analyzing the poets' works through the lens of Romanticism and examining themes of nature, sentimentality, and the development of a uniquely American literary tradition.

1. Fiction: Poe and Irving
· Edgar Allan Poe,
· "The Fall of the House of Usher,"
· "Sonnet - To Science,"
· "The Raven,"
· “Annabel Lee,”
Washington Irving is often called the first "internationally
famous" American writer. American writers of this period
lacked copyright protections, so they preferred to be published
in England, where copyright law was enforced. So it was not
uncommon for American writers to go abroad as minor figures,
only to return from Europe famous: it happened to both Irving
and Longfellow, and Poe is much more famous in Europe than
he is in America.
Irving writes humorous stories that poked fun at the conventions
of his American society, often employing regional stereotypes
to do so. But he also writes within the European tradition of the
Folk Tale, and in many ways we can see that his stories take the
traditional folk tales and set them in the familiar surroundings
of America, but then he changes things around a bit.
For instance, one traditional element of the folk tale is that it
teaches a moral lesson to the reader (who is usually a child).
Irving's stories don't quite follow this model, and he is often
thought to "complicate the moral lesson" that usually concludes
the Tale. That is, the story doesn't end up "teaching" the lesson
you thought it was going to when you started reading it, and
maybe it doesn't even teach ANY lesson at all. What moral
lesson, after all, does Rip van Winkle teach, if the story ends
where it begins, and nothing has really changed at all?
In doing this, Irving stories made his readers laugh and he was
very popular because of it, and he wrote regularly for the many
new "magazines" and literary journals that were published in
the 1800's. Irving was also part of a "modern" literary and
artistic community, the first in US history, known as "The

2. Knickerbockers." They lived in and around New York City
which then, like today, was the center of social and literary
society.
Poe is arguably the most influential writer in America before
the Civil War in the modern day; that is, he is more important to
us today, than he was to readers then. He writes squarely within
the Romantic tradition of literature, but does so with an
innovation and invention that extends into the modern day.
Among other things, Poe is credited (by some) to have invented
the science fiction story and the detective or mystery story. In
addition, his "horror" and "suspense" stories remain at the core
of "Gothic" literature. It is tempting to suggest that his work
constitutes a NEW American literature because he invented new
genres; however, the question readers need to consider is
whether he invented a NEW kind of literature, or whether he
innovated the European tradition with new variations of the old
kind of story, like Irving?
Ironically, of all the American writers of this period, Poe is the
most "European." Careful readers will note that his stories tend
to be set in Europe, employ European Romantic tropes and
conventions, and are populated with European characters and
subjects. He writes GOTHIC ROMANCES. "The Fall of the
House of Usher" is a good example of exactly these points.
After he died, the French people erected a memorial for him in
America, but Americans did not, which kinda says it all.
Here are some questions to explore and reply to ...
· After reading and thinking about Irving and Poe's stories as
examples of American fiction then, do you think either of these
writers have successfully created a "New" kind of literature?
One that reflects the spirit and Nature of Democracy itself?
Explain...
· Review the elements of GOTHIC Romance in the Glossary and
the study sheet: show these elements in "Fall of the House of
Usher."
· Which of these stories did you like the best? Why?

3. Human Right Violation in Asian Countries
In many countries across the world, mostly in Asian countries,
human rights are violated. According to the International
declaration of human rights, every person is free to live their
life freely. But in most Asian countries like India, Syria,
Yamane, Pakistan, and many other countries where individuals
are not free to enjoy their rights freely. Researches have
revealed that international human rights distribution remains
biased. Across the world, China and India are two countries
having the weakest practice of human rights provision
(Carriere).
Research Question: This research is aimed to uncover the causes
of human rights violations in Asian countries. The study will
also analyze how human rights violation is linked to poverty
and economic failure.
A few years ago, China and the United States had a debate on
human rights violations. International relations between these
countries were distorted because of a breach of the human rights
policy into the country (Randall). This research paper plays a
crucial role in understanding international relations between
states. There is a global human right declaration that restricts
countries to protect their people and their human rights. But
still, there are countries where the international charter of
human freedom is violated that affect international relations
over a large scale (Loper).
This research paper will reveal the importance of human rights
and the causes of its violations in developing countries.
Examples of Asian countries that are violating human rights
would be discussed in this paper. Some highlighted countries
violating human rights are china, India, and Pakistan that will
be discussed, and evidential claims would be discussed in the

4. research paper. War of India and Pakistan for Kashmir
solidarity is a big example of human rights violations and
international relation destruction that will be discussed in this
paper (Farrell).
Annotated Bibliography
Carriere, Kevin R. "Threats to Human Rights: A General
Review." JSPP (2015).
https://jspp.psychopen.eu/article/view/897/html.
This source by Kevin R. is a useful source for my research
paper because of its states some of the causes of human rights
violations. According to this source, even after the presence of
the Declaration of Human Rights charter, still, human rights are
violated. The source describes different reasons for human right
violation in different countries.
Farrell, Brian. "The Role of International Law in the Kashmir
Conflict." Penn State International Law (2003).
https://elibrary.law.psu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1789&c
ontext=psilr.
This source would be used to address my research question.
This source is specifically talking about the role of international
law (International Declaration of Human Rights) in solving
human right violation in Kashmir that is also the latest hot issue
on the international level. I will use this research to explain
why there is a human right violation and why international law
is failed to break the chain of slavery and stop violations in
developing or poor countries across the world.
Loper, Simon N.M. Young and Kelley. "Asia-Pacific Journal on
Human Rights and the Law." Brill | Nijhoff (2012).
https://brill.com/view/journals/aphu/aphu-overview.xml.
This source specifically talks about human rights and
international relations. I will use this source into my research
paper to support my claim that human right violation in some

5. countries impacting human right violation badly. I will use this
source to explain the relation between negative international
relations among countries that do not practice active human
rights.
Randall, Peerenboom, and. "Assessing Human Rights in China:
Why the Double Standard." UCLA Public Law & Legal Theory
Series (2005): 78-148.
https://escholarship.org/content/qt2t39b9rn/qt2t39b9rn.pdf.
China is among those countries who are even having developed
economic structure, still violating national and international
human rights. This source talks about the debate of China and
the United States' human rights policy and how the country is
violating human rights by neglecting international law. I will
use this source in my research paper to introduce countries
violating human rights. This source will be valuable to
introduce my research question.
Lomperis, Timothy J. “Chapter 66: Asian Political
Thought.” 21st Century Political Science: A Reference
Handbook, 2011, pp. 560–568.
This reading is significant for my research, as it
presents all the central ideas of Asian political thought and will
be useful while describing and understanding ideologies.
Final Term Paper Guidelines
Topic: Human Rights Violations in Asian Countries
Professor suggestions: You should pick which human rights
violations you will look at-- keeping in mind that your research
paper will need to be focused, for you to make an argument.
Research paper could focus by looking at specific Asian
countries (such as India, Syria, Yemen*, Pakistan, and China--

6. so you can choose one or two) and the human rights violations
there.
For the final paper, there is no word or page limit.
Please ensure that yours has the following elements:
- thorough introduction to the topic
- significance of the topic in international relations
- a clear argument
- supporting data with references
- counterargument and rebuttal
- summary and conclusion
1. Components of a Term Paper
i. Preliminaries
a. Title Page
b. Abstract (if required)
ii. Text
a. Introduction
b. Main Body (Chapters or Sections)
c. Conclusion
iii. Reference Materials
2. Guidelines for Preliminaries
2.1. Title Page (this does not count as a page)
A title page contains:
i. the title of your paper
ii. your name and student number
iii. the course name and code
iv. the instructor’s name
v. the due date
2.2. Abstract
An abstract is a brief summary of the main ideas of your term
paper usually in about 100 to 200 words. The main elements are
as follows:
i. a short statement of your research nature or subject

7. ii. a brief description of your general theoretical approach and
research methods
iii. a short summary of your main arguments and research
findings
3. Guidelines for Text
3.1. Introduction An introduction should be an interesting
opening to show the main theme and specific topics of your
paper. An introduction usually forms through:
i. a concise and complete statement of your research question or
the general purpose of your term paper.
ii. a justification for your study (the significance)
iii. a background to your research question and a review of the
relevant literatures on it (literature review)
iv. a brief statement of the sources of data, the procedure or
methods of analysis (methodology)
v. a preview of the organization of the paper
3.2. Main Body (Chapters or Sections)
Since the topics of term papers are so diverse, it is impossible
to give specific indications of how to write the main body of a
term paper. But, the general rule is that you must organize your
presentation in a logical framework with a clear conceptual
linkage among sections and give every point with substantial
support from concrete source.
3.3. Conclusion
A conclusion should provide a firm ending of what you have
discussed in the paper and, preferably, further to reach a
judgment, to endorse one side of an issue, or to offer directives.
A good conclusion usually contains:
i. a recapitulation of the main findings or main themes
ii. statements about the specific values or alternative insights of
your paper for understanding the subject matter
iii. indications of the important relevance to the current
circumstance or future possibility
iv. suggestions for policy in points to your findings

8. 4. Guidelines for Reference Materials
Different institutions have developed different styles of
documentation. No matter which one you use for your paper, the
principle is to be consistent. The format system provided. Here
comes from the American Psychological Association (APA
system).
4.1. Parenthetical Reference
A term paper must have a clear documentation of all reference
materials used in the text. This requires that your paper must
indicate from where you obtained:
i. direct quotations
ii. borrowed ideas (including paraphrases and summaries)
iii. data and cases (if they did not come through your own
research)
4.4. References
At the end of your paper, you must provide a reference list in an
alphabetical order by the surname of the author. Note: If you
use the title ‘Bibliography’, you can list out both references
cited in the text and the relevant works which have been
consulted. But, if you use the title ‘Reference’, you should only
list out the references cited in the text.
Five Really Important Poets of the 1800s
· Washington Irving,
· “Rip van Winkle,”
· "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,"
· "Thanatopsis," William Cullen Bryant,
· Poems, Lydia Sigourney,
· "Death of an Infant,"
· "To the First Slave Ship,"
· “Indian Names,”
· "Fallen Forests,"

9. · Poems, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow,
· "A Psalm of Life,"
· "My Lost Youth,"
· John Greenleaf Whittier, p 583-4; "Snow Bound: A Winter
Idyll,"
· Edgar Allan Poe, pp 604-8:
· "The Fall of the House of Usher,"
· "Sonnet - To Science,"
· "The Raven,"
· “Annabel Lee,”
This Unit we read five really important poets of the 1800's, all
of whom were very influential before the Civil war.
Lydia Sigourney is little known today, but in her day she was
the most popular woman poet in America. She writes, like
Longfellow and Whittier, in the Romantic tradition of poetry,
and we can easily see these elements in her poems. In addition,
Sigourney continues the "tradition" of contemplative, personal
poetry by women in American literary history.
Easily the most popular poet of the first part of the 19th
century, Longfellow is not very popular today for a number of
reasons. One is that his work is not very politically correct by
many modern academic standards: his subjects, his attitudes,
and his assumptions are not generally shared by many modern
thinkers and readers. Another reason for his unpopularity is that
his work sometimes is accused of becoming overly sentimental
and simplistic, again by modern standards. In reality then, his
work is not popular simply because reader's tastes have
changed; readers today don't value many of the elements that
caused his popularity in his day. Still, any survey of American
literary history would be incomplete without looking at
Longfellow.
Similarly, Whittier is also one of the important and popular
writers of the early 1800's who is almost unknown in the
modern day, again because of the changing literary tastes of
America. However, as the selection in this Unit shows, his
interest were very profoundly American and domestic, and his

10. relation of everyday experience gives modern readers a sense of
what life was like 200 years ago.
Most American readers know Poe and have read his poems,
particularly "The Raven," before. This poem consistently ranks
as one of the "American Classics," but Poe is probably more
popular today for his stories. Poe writes traditional "lyric"
poems which are most common among the Romantic writers.
Finally, there's Bryant, who is not very well known today at all.
But he is not only an important poet of his day, he was also an
important classical scholar, and also the leading literary critic
of the day. He is an important leaders in the "Young America"
movement. In his essays about Literature and Democracy, he
argues the need to establish a "new" American literary tradition,
one that is separate from the European tradition. He inspired
writers and artists (like Whitman) to attempt this feat.
Here are some questions to explore and reply to...
· Review the study sheet on Romanticism, and read the entry in
the Glossary. What elements of Romantic literary tradition can
you spot in works by these writers?
· Romantic writers view Nature differently than did earlier
writers and thinkers. In Romantic thinking, Nature is a source
of goodness and purity, and represent innocence. Nature, and
that which is "natural" is "better" than that which is "man-
made". Thus, Romantic writers also tended to "idealize"
primitive societies, and because they were "closer to nature".
Where can we see these ideas in the poems by these writers? can
you find examples?
· A person could argue that, in many ways, Sigourney is the
most "modern" of all the writers we have looked at so far. In
what ways might this claim be true? In which ways would it not
hold up?
· Discuss how the poem "My Lost Youth," can be seen as either
an honest expression of longing and human emotion or as an
overly sentimental and simplistic. Which way do you think
about this poem?
· Discuss how the poem "A Psalm of Life," can be viewed as a

11. truthful expression of the writers belief or as a trite repetition
of shallow homilies. What do you think of the poem?
· What about the poem, "A Winter Idyll"? What is an "idyll"? In
what was does the poem reflect a nostalgic, sentimental, or
Romantic view of American life? Explain why
· Compare Sigourney's poetry to that of Bradstreet: what
similarities can you notice between them, such as topic or style?
In what ways are they different?