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272 G: mythological research (essay # 3)
Option
Five: Up to You? (submit a topic proposal, and let's talk!)
Overview:
Option One
We live in an age in which a callous
rumor can hit YouTube and be uploaded in minutes,
where an Internet phenomenon can rise on any
.mpg or Flash-enabled website, where a person's
credibility can be crushed and slandered by
one stupid utterance. We also live in an age
of the viral video, cursed video, evil cell
phone; essentially, we live in the age of
the urban legend, where modern mythology may
or may not overcome the strictures of the
real world, where illusion may strech to become
a vision of truth. The purpose behind this
essay is to assess the purpose and audience
behind and urban legend and to become better
at objectively and subjectively assessing
sources regarding their credibility.
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Student-Learning
Outcomes:
--Select and analyze one
urban legend, with emphasis probably found
on the Snopes.com website, a website dedicated
to the study of urban legends.
--Find and
compile the relevant background
information about your urban legend; create
a clear thesis statement that expresses
the core theme or vibe about that urban legend.
Certainly, most urban legends are scary or
spooky, but your job is to assess what the
core source of that fear is; your job is to
assess what makes that urban legend scary
or spooky.
--Apply proper
P.I.E. paragraph structures
to the essay so as to outline
and organize the major points
consistent with the essay's thesis statement
(e.g. setting, character, plot-conflicts,
point of view, symbols);
--Apply proper
M.L.A. or A.P.A.-based quoting conventions
to the essay with regards to proper quote
introduction, parenthetical citation, and
other quote dynamics;
--Examine
quotes or images from the formal and informal
text or visual-based resources
so as to significantly comment on the relevance
and impact of those selected images/words.
--Employ at
least 3 quotes from various
source materials that you find, of a textual
or visual nature.
--Discuss the general
relevance and utility of
urban legends, focusing on these
questions:
A. why do people tell urban
legends and what causes them to spread?
B. what purpose do urban legends
serve in the context of your/our culture?
(for example, is there a particularly strong
reason why a certain might work in Japan better
than it might in the U.S.?)
--Create a
final, polished draft of at least 4-6 pages,
with a List of Works Cited.
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1.
Search for an urban legend that has
particular interest or intrigue for you. The
resources on the LEFT should provide some
assistance; (you can work with another urban
legend if it is not available online...and
is only available via word of mouth, in whcih
case, you might need to interview your source).
I HIGHLY encourage local urban legends or
urban legends from your country of origin.
2. Discover, through research,
how the legend began to spread, or how it
got its potential start. Attempt to research
additional side stories or variations on the
urban legend. (For example, in certain stories,
the details begin to shift: the fried rat
ends up becoming a fried mongoose, but begin
to assess what factors influenced the shift).
Assess why the details begin shifting.
3. Attempt a summary of
the urban legend in your own words as a prewriting
exercise;
4. Consider in your own
way whether or not you think the urban legend
is true, false, or unable to assess due to
a lack of resources/lack of the credibility
of those resources.
5. Draft a preliminary idea
in terms of why you think that urban legend
got started, then deeply assess what the purpose
of that legend is. You may want to include
actual evidence, counterevidence, or visuals
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Potential
Outline: (you can change the format
to suit your needs)
I. Intro
Thesis Bridge
Thesis
II. Body
Background info. about the Legend/Summary
Variations of the Urban Legend.
Reasons for the Variations, meaning
of the Variations
(Comparisons to other Urban Legends)
Meaning of the Urban Legend/Purpose
Behind it
Deeper Symbolic Analysis of the Parts
of the Urban Legend
Personal Relationship, if any, to
the Urban Legend
Final Assessment of Truth / Lie
III. Conclusions
Purpose Behind Urban Legends
Cultural Implications/Shifts Behind
Urban Legends
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Overview:
Option Two
For our novel on vampires, one could superficially
conclude that the primary character differs from our
common stereotype of a vampire. In this piece, you
can conduct a historical analysis that answers one
question: how does the characterization of our novel's
vampire essentially differ from the popular conceptions
of vampires (e.g. Dracula, Nosferatu, or other famous
vampires) Inherent to this question is the need to
research where vampires and vampire lore even started...
as such, there might be symbolic assessment
that is needed:
blood
garlic
counting things
not being invited in
vampires and sexuality
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Student-Learning Outcomes:
--Select and analyze the main vampire
character, the helper, or the main protagonist in
the novel, but also select a famous, or less famous
vampire character.
--Find and compile
the relevant background information about
your character and how they differ from the well-known
vampire; create a clear thesis statement
that expresses the core theme or vibe about that difference.
Certainly, most vampire stories are scary or spooky,
but your job is to assess what the core source of
that vampire myth is, and how the novel's vampire
or other characters react to the strange, new nature
of the novel's vampire.
--Apply proper P.I.E.
paragraph structures to the essay
so as to outline and organize
the major points consistent with the essay's thesis
statement (e.g. setting, character, plot-conflicts,
point of view, symbols);
--Apply proper M.L.A.
or A.P.A.-based quoting conventions to the essay with
regards to proper quote introduction, parenthetical
citation, and other quote dynamics;
--Examine quotes or
images from the formal and informal text or visual-based
resources so as to significantly
comment on the relevance and impact of those selected
images/words.
--Employ at least
3 quotes from various source materials
that you find, of a textual or visual nature.
--Discuss the general history
and cultural impact of vampires, potentially
focusing on these elements:
A. the vampire's need for blood and
not human food;
B. vampirism and sexuality;
C. invitation to someone's house;
D. garlic (if it applies);
E. where vampire myths come from.
--Create a final,
polished draft of at least 4-6 pages, with a List
of Works Cited.
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Potential
Outline: (you can change the format to suit
your needs)
I. Intro
Thesis Bridge
Thesis
II. Body
Background info. about the Vampire Legend/Summary
Variations of the Vampire Legend.
Reasons for the Variations, meaning of the
Variations
(Comparisons to other Vampire Legends)
Meaning of the Vampire Story
Deeper Symbolic Analysis of the Parts of
the Vampire Myth: blood, rivers, etc.
Personal Relationship, if any, to the Vampire
Story
Final Assessment of Vampire Mythology
III. Conclusions
Purpose Behind Vampire Stories
Cultural Implications/Shifts Behind Vampire
Stories
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Option Three: Personal Analysis
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Overview: The ultimate questions
that your education is trying to help you to figure out are
as follows: who you are and what you believe. "Who you
are" and "What you believe" are constantly
shifting concepts, making this essay a bit more bizarre and
off-the-wall, but I like bizarre and off-the-wall things,
and hope you will find this assignment interesting. You are
really trying to figure out who you are in this essay and
what you want out of life.
In essence, you have a conscious choice to make decisions,
to abide by those decisions, and to not regret those decisions.
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Student-Learning Outcomes: see below. |
Tasks: 1. Identify your personality traits
as they can be found via astrology, pop-culture, and psychology.
You may want to really think about things that you can change
about yourself and things that you can't really change about
yourself.
2. Discuss the various elements of your
identity, choosing to structure elements from general to specific.
3. Point out various quirks about yourself
that will help you to really hone down a thesis value, one
that really emphasizes the answers you forsee for "Who
am I" and "Where am I headed?"
4. Craft a viable thesis statement that
clearly identifies the scope of your identity and your future
aspirations.
5. Draft your essay.
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Possible
Outline:
I. Intro.
Thesis-bridge
Thesis
II. Body
Overview of my life:
my history
my personal beliefs
my culture
my family
Aspirations:
where I want to go
what I want to be
what my future holds
III. Conclusion |
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Student-Learning Outcomes. In this students, students should attempt
to:
--Analyze and interpret their lives,
focusing most of their analytical approach by answering the following
questions that they will presumably ask throughout their lifetime:
Who am I? How will I apply this knowledge of self to help me
go where I want to go/be who I want to become?
--Consider the methodologies, both
ancient and modern, that people have always tried to use to identify
their own character archetypes (astrology, psychology, pop-culture
quizzes):
--Construct a viable thesis statement,
one that identifies your core personality trait(s)--essentially,
WHO YOU ARE, and one that identifies your goals and aspirations
in life, essentially--WHERE YOU WANT TO GO/WHO YOU WANT TO BECOME.
Sample: As Davin Kubota, my entire desire in life
prior to my death can be summarized in an amalgamation of two words:
wor(l)d. Ultimately, I want my students in my
English classes to recognize that if they have power over the "word,"
then they have the world in their thrall—they have power in
their voices. Once they have that power, then they have control
over a large part of their ethos.
--Identify early on in your paper
what various fields of inquiry say regarding who you are—astrology,
psychology, pop culture. You may want to consult with your parents,
teachers, and counselors to figure out who you were as a child,
and how that child developed to become an adult today—ultimately,
who is that adult today, writing this essay, now? (BACKGROUND SECTION)
--Identify some of the obstacles
that the various fields of inquiry say about who you are: personality
quirks, difficulties in the past, inner weaknesses and foibles.
(DESCRIPTIVE and NARRATIVE sections)
--Compare or contrast characters
whom we have discovered in our reading to YOU. What are these characters
like? What are you like? How are you similar, and how are you different?
(COMPARATIVE section)
--Explain what it is what you'd like
to do
with your life or who you would like to be in your life. Explain
your reasons for having those ideals. In this section, you might
need to find interviews or information to back up your claim. For
example, I never really planned on being a teacher here at K.C.C.—it
just happened, so I might interview other teachers to assist me
in this section. (SUBJECTIVE and NARRATIVE sections) You might also
want to talk to this school's
career counselor for help with this assignment.
--Stay on track by remembering that
your goal in this "Heroic Life Battle Plan" is to explain
how you can best get to your goal based on who
you are, despite the obstacles and tensions that you have
expressed in earlier sections.
--Apply proper P.I.E. paragraph structures
to the essay so as to outline and organize
the major points consistent with the essay's thesis statement (e.g.
setting, character, plot-conflicts, point of view, symbols); (wherever
and whenever applicable);
--Apply proper M.L.A. or A.P.A.-based
quoting conventions to the essay with regards to proper quote introduction,
parenthetical citation, and other quote dynamics;
--Examine quotes or images from the
formal and informal text or visual-based resources
so as to significantly comment on the relevance and impact of those
selected images/words.
--Employ at least 3 quotes
from various source materials that you find, of a textual or visual
nature.
--Create a final, polished draft
of at least 4-6 pages, with a List of Works Cited.
--Become who you say you want to
become, and do what you say what you want to do
with your life.
Option Four: Symbolic Constructions
in Marketing
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Overview: One of the core themes in we have discovered
in this class is the successful construction of ethos and
a well-defined worldview. We live in an age of branding. Without
a brand, we are often lacking a concrete identity, or so it seems.
Marketing companies also construct a worldview based on
the symbols that they use.
In this project, you will be creating a marketing project
that will hopefully capture your imagined company's worldview via
an advertising campaign, creation of a logo, and a marketing analysis.
This project can hopefully show you that the symbols that we see
very often in the world are the result of laborious studies regarding
age demographics, powerful marketing appeals, and rhetorical principles.
Student-Learning Outcomes:
1. Use creativity to decide upon a specific product line
or a company service. Are you a fashion company, an eatery,
a hotel, a game company? What product are you marketing?
2. Create a logo and on an attached page, use visual rhetoric
principles to justify the success of your logo in "branding"
your company.
3. Create a marketing overlay, discussing what elements you
think any fledgling company would want to consider:
a) age demographic of intended audience;
b) consistent appeal and rationale for consistent appeal
to the core demographic;
c) discussion of marketing tropes and advertising style,
marketing methods: word-of mouth, print, online;
d) product development, research and design of product.
4. Create a subjective page in which you try to "hype"
up your product; in many ways, this is akin to a marketing
press release that attempts to "sell" your product
to interested distributors. For example, if you were creating
a toy line, you would want to "hype" up the product
by being descriptive and inviting to the readership.
5. Employ other relevant marketing techniques, especially
highlighting how the rhetorical appeals of ethos, logos,
and pathos might apply to the successful creation of
your product.
6. Consider going the extra step: creating a storyboard for
a visual advertisement or even filming the advertisement digitally
for consumption on YouTube. |
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