English
111: College
Composition
Major
Essay 1: Our
Monsters Our Selves
Due
Dates:
Thesis
Statement: October
4
Preliminary
Draft:
October 6
Final
Draft:
October 13
Background:
Most
cultures have some harrowing tale of monstrous creatures or people who endanger
and horrify ordinary people. These monsters
take a variety of forms throughout the world and over millennia, revealing
their cultures’ deeply held anxieties and encoding their values. One of the most pervasive recent monsters in
popular culture in the U.S. is the Zombie.
Using the Zombie as a focal point, we will examine the nature of our monsters
and what they say about the people and culture that created them.
Assignment: For
this paper, you will consider a variety of texts that explain why our culture
produces the monsters it does and what those monsters, particularly the Zombie,
reveal about us. Then, you will compose an argument in which you explain what
Zombies monster, or one or more iterations of that monster, tells us about
ourselves, our culture or its changes, our hopes, and our fears.
For example, many critics argue that Godzilla emerges after WWII as a
personification of Japanese anxiety about the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and
Nagasaki and the aftermath of that bombing.
We will look at Romero’s Classic Zombie film, Dawn of the Dead (Homework) and Lawrence’s
more recent I am Legend (In Class) as
primary text touchstones for our analysis and for your essay.
Basic
Requirements:
- A minimum of 3 pages in length
- A minimum of one primary and one secondary source
Readings/Texts:
- 100 Years of Zombie Evolution in Pop Culture
- Attack of the Bourgeois Brain Eaters
- “The Devil in Disguise: Modern Monsters and Their Metaphors”
- I am Legend
- “Monster Culture (Seven Theses)”
- Night of the Living Dead (1968)
- “Our Monsters Ourselves”
- “Preparedness 101: Zombie Apocalypse
- “The Tragic Forgotten History of Zombies”
Outcomes:
In this essay, students will
- Construct an argument with a thesis (claim + because clause+ three reasons), clear one and two-part topic sentences, a variety of types of evidence, counterarguments and refutation,
- Demonstrate the ability to compose an engaging, specific introduction paragraph that avoids generalizations and a to compose a meaningful conclusion paragraph that doesn’t simply repeat previous points,
- Explain what zombies reveals about our culture as a mean of encouraging critical thinking about our culture and its artifacts,
- Demonstrate an awareness of ethos, pathos, and logos as the argument addresses its audience,
- Incorporate at least two outside sources, one primary and one secondary, though you may use more,
- Use Standard written English with a minimum number of grammatical and mechanical errors, editing thoroughly for Poff’s Pet Peeves,
- Cite sources using MLA format both in the paper and in a works cited page.
Grading:
Please see the rubric in your syllabus