Topic: Utopianism: Social Dreaming in Popular Culture

General Instructions

You are to write a major paper/essay – thesis/critical argument; analysis; details; quotes; etc. -- of a minimum of 1800 words on one of the topics below. Grading of the paper will be based on scope, depth, critical thinking skills, and grammatical accuracy; consult the rubric for more details.

Your major paper should be written in the 3rd person, so be sure to avoid any 1st person subjective experiences. Remember: the assignment isn’t about how you felt when you read the story nor whether the events could happen in the real world; rather, it is an essay that presents an argument about the fictions and then provides textual analysis, research, quotes, etc. to prove the argument. Finally, pay careful attention to the “Submission Requirements” posted later in this assignment. They are mandatory elements and you are expected to follow them!

Note #1: while you may use any of the stories from the Passage Analysis or Discussion Board assignments, be careful you don’t simply repeat or cut ‘n paste material from those earlier options into the Major Paper. Repeating yourself from earlier assignments or discussion postings will not help the grading of your paper as you could be penalized accordingly.

Note #2: don’t forget the Learning Module as well as the sub-folders in the “Critical Tools for Critical Analysis” folder are invaluable to help you think more critically about your topic and put together an argument worth of a degree-calibre essay. It is entirely likely you will lose marks if you aren’t taking into account relevant critical material available to you in the online content.

Primary Sources: Specifications

Primary sources are, by definition, the original course materials you’ve been studying. Therefore, primary sources in this case are the following (in no particular order):

· Looking Backward: 2000-1887 (Edward Belllamy)

· We (Yevgeny Zamyatin)

· Bitch Planet Vol. 1 (Kelly Sue DeConnick and Valentine De Landro et. al.)

· V for Vendetta (Alan Moore and David Lloyd)

· Tomorrowland

· Snowpiercer

· Symmetry Vol. 1 and/or Symmetry Vol. 2 (Matt Hawkins et. al.)

When you have selected your essay topic (see below), you must use at least three primary sources for your topic, but at least two of the primary sources must not be films; in other words, a minimum of two of your primary sources have to be “print”-based (i.e., not movies).

You can certainly use more of the primary sources for your essay if the content will help your argument, but bear in mind that simply having more does not mean you have a better essay. A tight focus on a narrower range of primary sources is usually more rewarding than a loose focus on a whole bunch of primary sources.

Mandatory Research:

Secondary Sources -- Specifications and Reputable Resources

Secondary sources are, by definition, research material that you use to help support your arguments about the primary sources. For this assignment, you must conduct academic research from secondary sources and incorporate relevant secondary quotes from research resources that directly pertain to the arguments you are advancing in your essay. Secondary research must be relevant to Utopianism (e.g., books on the subject; articles on the subject or its authors; articles on the primary sources; etc…) as opposed to random sources that are merely plopped into the paper to meet a quota (see below). If you have any questions about the research then don’t hesitate to contact me.

Remember: secondary sources are not designed to give you ideas; instead, they are designed to help support the ideas and arguments you are advancing. It is important to understand that you are working in a larger field (just as you are entering work sectors that are much larger than your cubicle), so it is important to develop and deploy research skills to help bolster your arguments. Be careful, however, that you just don’t snatch a bunch of random quotes and plop them into your essay without sufficient consideration whether they are actually helping your argument. I have read hundreds of essays where students simply grab a bunch of random quotes, plop them willy-nilly into the paper, and call it “research.” Those essays have a distinctly different tone from students who actively did research and selected material that truly helped their respective arguments and seamlessly integrated those arguments into the paper in a constructive fashion. Simply having quotes from secondary sources does not necessarily mean you will benefit in the “Research” category on the rubric.

You must use a minimum of three reputable and relevant secondary sources (i.e., research resources) to help support your argumentation. I have provided you sample research resources contained in the file “Reputable Research Resources” located in the Major Paper folder of this course, so anything on this list is perfectly acceptable for use. If you wish to use a resource that is not in the “Reputable Research Resources” file then you should get advanced approval so I can authorize the content. Material that does not originate from those vetted and pre-authorized sources or material that has not been pre-approved by me may not be relevant material and your grade could suffer.

Essay Topics

1. Utopianism is a form of social dreaming that sets up a fictional environment for the express purpose of challenging specific ideologies that, for the most part, are dominant in the “real” world. Advance an argument regarding how at least three primary sources we’ve studied in this semester challenge (or reinforce?) dominant ideologies. Ensure your primary focus is on the fictions with close, critical readings of the material that will prove your argument regarding gender roles and science fiction. And, of course, make sure you understand what “ideology” means, perhaps even seeking out a definition to help contextualize the term.

Warning: do not simply put together a catalogue or grocery list of all different ideologies and then point to instances in the texts that address those ideologies at different times. Remember: this is a degree-level College course, so you need to move beyond diploma-level critical thinking and writing in your essay.

See next page for submission requirements

Submission Requirements

Back-up Option: If you are worried your assignment wasn’t sent properly through SafeAssign, you can opt to send the identical assignment as a File Attachment to the “Assignment Submission Back-Up” folder set up in Blackboard; however, be advised this is purely a back-up option and papers not submitted via the Blackboard system as the primary method of delivery will not be graded accordingly, unless prior permission has been arranged or a technical glitch has taken place.

IMPORTANT: I will not accept papers that are not submitted correctly via Blackboard, so it is in your best interest to use the back-up as a fail-safe to ensure there have been no errors on your end attaching and sending the assignment file accordingly. In addition, review the “Technology is Not Your Friend: Plan Ahead!” section of the Addendum.

LSO419 Major Paper