Snow Day Assignment
Due to inclement weather MIT students completed a Snow Day Assignment in lieu of a lecture for Session 2. This assignment was due the day after Session 2 was supposed to take place.
Essays
Students in this course had the opportunity to come up with their own paper topics after having one-on-one consultations with the instructor. Essays were graded based on the following:
- Ideas and argument
- Organization and paragraph structure
- Mechanics, documentation and writing style
Essay 1
Length: 5 pages
Due: Session 8
Example paper topics:
- “The Effect of Splash Panels in Art Spiegelman’s Maus”
- “The Use of the Spanish Language in Junot Díaz’s The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao”
- “Past and Present Laid Out in Maus I”
- “Cats and Mice: The Visual and Literal Creation of Identity in Maus by Art Spiegelman”
- “Jazz Music Echoed in Jazz by Toni Morrison”
- “How Junot Díaz Uses Yunior to Contradict Traditional Notions of Love"
- “Healing and Emotional Resonance in Jazz”
Essay 2
Length: 5 pages
Due: Session 14
Example paper topics:
- “Balancing Ideologies Through Surrender in Mohja Kahf’s The Girl in the Tangerine Scarf”
- “Uncanniness in Jhumpa Lahiri’s Hema and Kaushik”
- “The Tragic Earth of Jhumpa Lahiri’s Unaccustomed Earth”
- “The Rights of Death: The Camera and Photography in Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri”
- “Final Epigraph in Mohja Kahf’s The Girl in the Tangerine Scarf”
- “The Irony of ‘Once in a Lifetime’”
- “The Uncanny Influence of Family on Indian-American Identity”
Essay 3
Length: 10 pages
Due: Session 26
Example paper topics:
- “Where’s the Melting Pot?: The Lack of American Integration in Mohsin Hamid’s The Reluctant Fundamentalist”
- “The Role of Literature in Broadening Human Connection: An Analysis of the Value of Ethnic Identities in Diaz’s Oscar Wao, Lahiri’s Hema and Kaushik, and Hamid’s The Reluctant Fundamentalist”
- “Star Trek: The Next Generation Episode Titles’ Influences in The Round House by Louise Erdrich”
- “Star Trek and the Colonial Gaze in Louise Erdrich’s The Round House”
- “The History of Nostalgia and Its Impact on The Reluctant Fundamentalist, The House on Mango Street, and Jazz”
- “Connecting Across Time and Space: Dogen’s Buddhism and I-Novels in Ruth Ozeki’s Novel A Tale for the Time Being”
Example student work
“Disruption to Personal Identity in Ruth Ozeki’s A Tale for the Time Being” (PDF) - Courtesy of Isabel Chien and used with permission.
“Where’s the Melting Pot?: The Lack of American Integration in Mohsin Hamid’s The Reluctant Fundamentalist” (PDF) - Courtesy of Nwamaka Amobi and used with permission.
MELUS Conference Report/Project
Due: Sessions 19 and 21
For Conference Reports, students attended The 31st Annual MELUS Conference and wrote a report describing their experience.
Note: Grading for the MELUS project involves two parts of equal weight. The report has been evaluated on the basis of the assignment guidelines, with consideration given to: research (use of materials, works cited) and relevance (ideas, discussion questions). Evaluation of the reflection is based on evidence of significant engagement with the conference, as shown in expression of ideas and critical handling of details.
Example report topics:
- “Ayana Mathis”
- “The Round House by Louise Erdrich”
- “Iyko Day”
- “An Interview with Joaquín Terrones”
- “Village Life and the Environment in Mia Heavener’s Writing”
- “Samuel Delany”
- “Club Americano”
