Write an essay on Cultural Analysis of a Literary Text Basic Assignment This assignment asks you to write a critical essay that provides a cultural analysis of Othello. Choose a theme that is represented within the play- gender roles, tragic flaw, tragic hero, the “outsider,” race, etc.- and analyze the play within your chosen theme/context. Purpose This assignment is built on the premise that understanding a particular culture will help us to better appreciate and comprehend that culture’s literary productions, just as a careful reading of a literary text may lead us to better understand the culture from which it emerged. Cultural Analysis For the purposes of this assignment, “cultural analysis” means making connections between a text we’ve read and the cultural contexts in which that text emerged or circulated. Cultural analysis moves beyond the boundaries of the text itself to establish links among texts, values, institutions, groups, practices, and people. You can also make connections to other works outside of the text itself. Sources The main sources for the essay will be course readings. The essay should provide plenty of evidence in the form of direct quotations from the literary text or texts that relate to your cultural topic. You can also use the textbook introductions as evidence. In addition, you must use at least two outside sources to support your analysis. The sources should be scholarly sources; in other words, they should be written by someone who is expert in the relevant subject matter. The sources can come from the library databases (such as JSTOR), or they can come from the internet. Use MLA documentation to cite each source. Include a Works Cited Page. Getting Started: Here are some examples of the questions that a critic developing a cultural analysis might ask: What kinds of behavior does this text seem to encourage or enforce?What are the social purposes or functions of this text?Upon what social understanding does the text depend? How does your chosen theme/context help us better understand the characters? action? overall tragedy?How is this text connected to larger social groups, beliefs, structures, issues, ideas, events, habits, customs, practices, or communications? These are just examples. The specific questions, form, and content of your paper should be tailored to your own talents and interests. In other words, you will develop your own topic for this paper. You may use anything from your Commonplace entries, discussion posts, or article analysis. Grading Criteria: When I’m reading these papers, I’ll be asking myself the following questions: Does the paper move beyond an analysis of a text in isolation, the text itself? Does it make links between the text and its culture (i.e., values, institutions, groups, practices, or people)? Does the paper make specific and interesting claims about the text and culture examined? Does it explain in a clear and persuasive manner its interpretation of the text and its cultural contexts? Does it support that interpretation with judiciously chosen evidence, including most importantly appropriate, direct references to the text? Is it organized in a way that makes clear (rather than detracts from) the argument’s major claims and emphases? Does it acknowledge its primary and secondary sources using a bibliography and a clear and consistent style of documentation? Would the paper be interesting to others in the class? Does it avoid saying the obvious? Essays submitted after the deadline will be penalized five points per day. Length: 1000-1500 words
