• Choose a contemporary, real-life hero who courageously acts to achieve a greater good for her/his community (local or global). It should be someone who interests you and who is civically engaged in making a difference, whether by protecting the environment, tackling injustice, dealing with climate change, defending human rights, or promoting belonging (or another important ideal of your choice).
• Write a five page (minimum) typed paper based on original research in which you explain why this person is a hero (begin with a clear definition of a hero), the challenges she/he faced, the boon she/ he brings back from the hero’s quest, and the pedagogical function his/her journey can serve.
• *** Compare your hero to one hero from the course syllabus who you think your hero most closely resembles, and explain why. For example, do they have common heroic characteristics? a similar quest? A similar boon? Similar challenges?
(To stimulate thought, here are a few examples of contemporary heroes: Malala Yousafzai (Pakestani noble prize laureate who started an international movement for female education); Greta Thunberg (Swedish environmentalist who challenges world leaders to take action on climate change); Arsham Parsi (LGBTQ activist who had to flee Iran because of his work, now founder of an Underground Railroad for LGBTQ asylum seekers from the Middle East); Winona LaDuke ( Native American environmentalist, Executive Director of “Honor The Earth”); Aung San Suu Kyi (Nobel Peace Prize laureate, pro-democracy advocate, now under house arrest in Myanmar). But you are by no means required to choose one of these heroes, feel free to choose your own).
• You must use at least 3 different sources (including one primary source) and one of the assigned course readings.. Your paper should include a correctly written annotated bibliography and footnotes—both written in the Chicago style. Do not use MLA style.
• (Information on the Chicago style is available on Moodle and on the internet). Properly cited footnotes and correctly written bibliography are expected in order to achieve a successful grade.
• An annotated bibliography is a list of citations for books, articles, web sites, and all documents used for your research, Each citation is followed by a brief descriiptive and evaluative paragraph (between 3 to 6 sentences long, about 150 words). The purpose of the annotation is to inform the reader of the relevance, accuracy, and quality of the sources cited.
Follow these steps:
1. Choose a general topic to begin:
Begin with your own interests—who fascinates you? Who do you want to learn more about?
2. Begin preliminary reading:
Read generally to understand the nature of the issues involved with your hero, and focus on what interests you most. This will help you to narrow your topic.
3. Narrow your topic:
You need to choose a topic of manageable scope. For example, “The Life of Joan of Arc” would be too huge a topic to handle in a 5 page paper, but Joan’s military skill would be more manageable. When you have chosen your topic, be sure to email it to me to get it approved.
4. Develop a question/thesis.
Think of your paper in terms of the questions asked in the prompt rather than a general topic area.
5. Compile a working annotated bibliography
• Primary sources are original documents or accounts based on direct observation or experience. For example, Nelson Mandela’ s autobiography and his speeches are primary sources. Biographies or articles about Mandela are secondary sources. . .
Be very careful in choosing websites and in relying on internet information! There are many sites and a great deal of available information written by white supremacists, racists, and pretenders who try to masquerade as legitimate academics. Research all sources carefully!
• An annotated bibliography is a list of citations to books, articles, and documents. Each citation is followed by a brief (usually about 150 words) descriiptive and evaluative paragraph, the annotation. The purpose of the annotation is to inform the reader of the relevance, accuracy, and quality of the sources cited.
6. Take Notes as you read
Be sure to write the source next to your notes. This will save you time later when you have to cite your sources in your footnotes.
7. Write a Rough Draft
8. Check your documentation carefully
9. Revise and edit. Do you have a thesis sentence in your first paragraph that alerts the reader to what will be discussed? Do you have a conclusion that is not just a summary of what you have already written?
10. Proofread carefully.
It is prefered to choose people who fight against authorotarian government (Such as Liu Xiaobo of China, Dalai Lama of Tibet both as a freedom fighter and spiritual leader, Joshua Wong of Hong Kong
