below you will find a copy of the out of class essay 1 assignment which was distributed and discussed in class yesterday.
Please come to class on Wednesday with any questions you may have about the assignment.
English 20,
Sections 1, 4, 7 & 11
Spring, 2014
Catherine Fraga,
Instructor
Out of Class Essay
Assignment #1—200 points possible—
VOICES AGAINST
CONFORMITY
• Assigned: Monday, Feb. 10
• Rough Draft Due (OPTIONAL), typed &
double spaced, no later than Friday, Feb. 21—please e-mail me draft as a Word
document no later than 5 pm on the 21st.
• Final Draft Due: Monday, March 3. Typed & double spaced.
If you submitted a
rough draft, please attach it to the back of the final draft when submitting.
***Note that you
have twenty-one (21) days to research and write this essay.
****************************************************************************
Let’s take a closer
look at the issue of conformity/non-conformity.
The most
interesting, focused and articulate essays I receive from students are ones
where students select their own specific topic and are genuinely intrigued by
the topic.
For this essay, you
will research and write about one person who is/was considered a non-conformist
by many in his/her field of interest. Consider the possibility that the person
deemed a non-conformist may not, in your opinion, actually BE a non-conformist.
So your essay could support or disprove the label given by the
majority of society.
This topic allows
for a wealth of flexibility and choice.
Your focus will be
on a person working in an area (and time period in history) that you are most interested in: photography; art;
literature; politics; film; computers; music; fashion; science; mathematics;
education; or ???
To get a better
idea of some possibilities, and for purpose of illustration, let’s look at some
examples of topics within in the time period of the 1950s in America.
Premise: Many in
the 1950s worked diligently for the comfort and conformity displayed on such TV
shows as “Father Knows Best” and “Leave it to Beaver.” But regardless of the
affluence of the new American middle class, there was still poverty, racism and
alienation in America rarely depicted on TV.
Dozens of people
rejected societal norms through their artwork, creativity and lifestyle. They
used words, art, film and music to rebel against the cookie-cutter mentality of
the established power structure and mass-marketed culture.
Many writers during
this time period (referred to as the Beat Generation) adamantly refused to
submit to the conformity of the 1950s. (these writers included Jack Kerouac,
Allen Ginsberg, Diane Di Prima, Sloan Wilson, J.D. Salinger, William Burroughs,
and others)
Likewise, many
artists during this time period adamantly refused to submit to the conformity
of the 1950s. (these artists included Willem De Kooning, Hans Hoffman, Mark
Rothko, Jackson Pollock, Clement Greenberg, and others)
Also, according to
an Internet article on Conformity in U.S. History: “While the 1950s silver
screen lit up mostly with the typical Hollywood fare of Westerns and romances,
a handful of films shocked audiences by uncovering the dark side of America’s
youth.”
Many filmmakers of
this time period adamantly refused to submit to the conformity of the 1950s. (these
films include The Wild One; Blackboard Jungle; Rebel without a Cause,
etc)
No matter what non
conformist you select to research, your essay must contain the following:
·
your working
definition of a non-conformist (in order to frame and set up your argument)
Please do not use a dictionary definition.
·
a brief history of the country’s mood
during this time period;
·
background
and details about the non-conformist you will focus on, in particular, those
that help support your premise;
·
how his/her
work challenged the status quo;
·
the impact of his/her work on others in the
same field and on society;
·
and the repercussions and influence felt today
or what you predict WILL be the repercussions in the future.
Your essay will be
both informative and analytical:
your thesis will “prove” the person’s influence, or not, on people’s lives,
then and now.
Things to Consider:
This is NOT an
essay in which you write an in depth analysis of the literature, film, music, fashion,
etc. of the time period you are focused on. To do that, you would need to
carefully read, view, or listen to the work or material at great length.
Instead, you are conducting
research to discover the mood of the country and the status quo during a
particular time period——why and how a person’s work was considered non
conformist—and how their work influenced those living then…and now.
Your thesis might
read something like this:
Although 1950s
America appeared to be almost unrealistically content, many visual artists at
this time, particularly Jackson Pollack, successfully combated the blissful
charade by using innovative methods and themes in his work.
A BRIEF LIST OF TOPIC SUGGESTIONS:
Mahatma Ghandi George
Carlin
Martin Luther King,
Jr. John
Cassavetes
Eminem Yves
St. Laurent
Georgia O’Keefe Abby
Hoffman
Galileo Galilei John
Lennon
Emma Goldman David
Mamet
Janis Joplin Jim
Morrison
Johnny Cash Ralph
Nader
Steve Jobs Joan
of Arc
Nelson Mandela Che
Guevara
Karl Marx Bill
Gates
Dr. Jack Kevorkian James Dean
Quentin Crisp Henry
David Thoreau
Ayn Rand Elvis
Presley
Carl Jung
Carl Sagan
Alexandr
Solzhenitsyn
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