hicompEnglish 100
April 6, 2006
Prof. Susan M. Schultz
In case you misplace your sheet of paper...
Final paper topics!!
Your final essay will involve research, but will also make an argument. In other words, I’m not looking for a heap of facts, but rather a well argued essay based on in-depth research on the topic of your choice. The paper must be double-spaced, 8-10 pages long, and use the correct citation forms. Get to know your Hacker handbook! All the miracles of citation (to say nothing of research) are described therein. You must use at least three books, three essays or articles, and two on-line resources. Go to the UH library’s website; there are tons of resources there. And, go to the library and ask persistent questions of the research librarians. It’s their job to help you out, and the materials they can help you find will amaze you. Also use Sinclair’s audio-visual resources.
1. Who was most responsible for allowing the Khmer Rouge to take power in Cambodia? Was it the USA, North Vietnam, or Cambodia itself? Drawing on your research, make a detailed argument in support of your position and its significance.
2. Write an essay in which you chronicle the recovery of the arts in Cambodia after the Khmer Rouge time (arts including music, dance, and writing). Why are the arts so important to the recovery of the Cambodian nation?
3. Write an essay about the importance of music to a recent liberation movement. For example, write about the significance of gospel music to the civil rights movement in the south in the 1950s and 1960s; or, write about the importance of music to the Hawaiian sovereignty movement (think about figures like George Helm and Bruddah Iz).
4. Write about a language that has either been recovered (Hebrew after 1948) or invented (Filipino) or has gone through a renaissance (Hawaiian). Why is it important to teach and speak the language? What were some of the controversies that emerged before these languages were invented, or revived?
Next Tuesday: bring one of your sources to class.
Next Thursday: bring a one paragraph description of where you are in researching your paper, what you’ve found so far, and what you intend to look for. Bring another of your sources to class.
