{"id":6636,"date":"2019-06-20T10:34:09","date_gmt":"2019-06-20T17:34:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/core.humanities.uci.edu\/?page_id=6636"},"modified":"2019-06-20T10:34:09","modified_gmt":"2019-06-20T17:34:09","slug":"fall-essay-assignment-1-writing-process-and-goals","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/core.humanities.uci.edu\/index.php\/history-and-archives\/2018-2019-fall\/fall-essay-assignment-1-writing-process-and-goals\/","title":{"rendered":"2018-2019 Fall: Essay Assignment 1 Writing Process and Goals"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

The Writing Process <\/b><\/p>\n

Before you start work on this essay, re-read the prompt<\/a> carefully. Note down 1) what question(s) about <\/span>Waiting for the Barbarians<\/span><\/i> you want to ask and answer in your close reading, 2) which terms in the prompt you want to understand better or define, and 3) what kind of evidence you will need to support your close reading. <\/span><\/p>\n

Your assignment is to<\/span>: \u201cselect a passage from <\/span>Waiting for the Barbarians <\/span><\/i>that contains an extended, complex metaphor. Then argue how the metaphor helps characterize one aspect of empire represented in Coetzee\u2019s novel.\u201d \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What questions emerge for you when reading this assignment? It can be difficult to articulate these, especially when your prompt doesn\u2019t pose a question directly. But, this articulation is important because it helps you turn the prompt to your own purpose. For example, this prompt focuses on metaphor in <\/span>Waiting for the Barbarians<\/span><\/i>. And not just any metaphor, but an \u201cextended, complex metaphor.\u201d \u00a0Perhaps your first question is \u201cWhat is a metaphor?\u201d or \u201cWhat makes a metaphor extended and complex?\u201d Or you may have other questions about kinds of metaphors: their quality, scope, or form of reference. <\/span><\/p>\n

You may have questions about the \u201caspects of empire represented in Coetzee\u2019s novel.\u201d What are some of these aspects? One general aspect, for example, is empire\u2019s reliance on hierarchical power structures. What are some specific manifestations of hierarchy in the novel? Hierarchy structures the relation between the old empire (represented by the narrator) and the new (represented by Joll); the bureaucracy; and the relation of power between the narrator and the girl. How do these examples relate to one another? <\/span><\/p>\n

If you are unsure where to begin, remember that you must choose a passage to analyze! Instead of generalizing about the entire novel, you will only close-read a small portion of text (some of the best papers come from the shortest passages). Choose a passage and re-read it several times. The first few readings will help you focus on an \u201cextended, complex metaphor\u201d or an \u201caspect of empire\u201d that interests you. Each subsequent reading will help you identify keywords that refer to your metaphor and the ways that the keywords interconnect. <\/span><\/p>\n

As you read, ask yourself: What does the evidence tell you? What metaphors do you detect? To what do the metaphors allude? Are there patterns in the allusions you discover? Can one word make multiple allusions? Does your evidence suggest patterns in the evidence that support a specific interpretation of empire? As you answer these questions using evidence from the text, you will begin to formulate claims about the metaphor in the passage, claims about how or why the metaphor is meaningful. <\/span><\/p>\n

These claims help direct you to a working thesis. Your working thesis should: 1) identify the evidence you will present (e.g, \u201cthe metaphor of sunglasses\u201d); 2) explain how the evidence characterizes an \u201caspect of empire\u201d (e.g., \u201cthe glasses describe the hierarchical power-structure grounding empire\u201d); and 3) \u00a0assert why this explanation is important (e.g., \u201chierarchical power masks the fact that power doesn\u2019t only come from above–but from every side. Because the agents of empire can only see one side, they become capable of horrific violence\u201d). <\/span><\/p>\n

All three elements (evidence, claim [how or why the evidence is meaningful], and \u201cso what\u201d) produce a working thesis, which, for this prompt, might look like this: <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe first major metaphor in Coetzee\u2019s novel is the \u201ctwo little discs of glass\u201d worn by the Col. Joll. These sunglasses refer most generally to blindness and seeing. They function to mediate the power relations between the narrator, Joll, and the reader (<\/span>here, \u201cevidence\u201d is presented. In this essay, the audience can expect to hear more about allusions to <\/span><\/i>mediating<\/span> and <\/span><\/i>seeing). A casual reading of this passage may indicate that the glasses affirm the hierarchy structuring Joll\u2019s and the narrator\u2019s place in empire. This interpretation, while true, misses many contours of this metaphor: allusions to vision, clarity, translation, distortion, and power (<\/span>here, the claim is made<\/span><\/i>). Rather than defining hierarchy as clarifying relations of power, these allusions show the opposite. Agents of empire assert power; but they are blind to how power works upon them and through them\u201d (<\/span>here, the \u201cso what\u201d is articulated).<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Keep in mind that this is a \u201cworking thesis\u201d–that it will become more specific and complex as you write. Indeed, it might be revised entirely! But it serves as a way to start. Now, you can check your notes on the evidence you collected and decide which evidence is most persuasive. <\/span><\/p>\n

Once you have mapped your thoughts, it is time to begin writing. The writing process will narrow your focus and make your working-thesis more specific. When your initial draft is complete, return to your working-thesis and revise it based upon what your interpretation has taught you. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Student Learning Goals<\/b><\/p>\n