Develop a 8- to 10- page, typed, double-spaced essay focusing on the representation of Haiti, Haitian people, or the Haitian dyaspora.
PICK ONE ARGUMENT WITH ONE,
EVERYTHING INSIDE BOOK BELOW WILL BE PRIMARY SOURCE,
UTILIZE OTHER BOOKS PROVIDED AS SECONDARY SOURCES
8-10 PAGES LONG
CITATIONS AND REFERENCES
PLEASE UTILIZE ALL THE INFORMATION PROVIDED
Examine how your chosen text explores what it means to be of Haitian descent in the New World. What is the significance of Haitian and Haitian Dyasporic traditions as they are portrayed here? How does this work reiterate or complicate claims about Haiti? How does it address or reinforce discriminatory practices, particularly as it relates to the intersections between race, class, gender, nationality, or sexuality?
Please find a strong point of view, on which to base your discussion and remember to take into account the context and to stress why your argument matters.
Event though this is a longer essay, you should still focus on 1 argument only.
In order to develop this argument, you will address a specific aspect of 1 of our primary texts to develop a unique thesis that will guide your entire essay. You are also expected to develop in-depth textual analysis as well as incorporate 2 secondary sources to support your claim.
You should choose a particular angle to analyze your chosen text and position yourself within a scholarly debate by engaging with at least 2 pieces of literary criticism. Make sure to have an original argument supported by criticism rather than a summary of someone else’s argument. You need to cite any outside sources consulted, even if you do not cite the text directly. Failure to do so would constitute plagiarism
Your reader will look for your essay to do the following:
– Offer a specific and arguable claim which fully addresses the assignment, is based on close reading of textual detail, goes beyond summary and description, and is sustained throughout the paper
– Have a provocative title that refers to your thesis
– Show complexity of thought; it should grapple with complications and contradictions, rather than ignore or simplify them
– Demonstrate clear, unified, and coherent organization; rhetorical strategies such as “sign-posting” help achieve this
– Avoid the “laundry list” syndrome (e.g. paragraphs that begin with “And another example of this same idea is X.”)
– Establish an appropriate balance between providing evidence and analyzing that evidence
– Show your contribution to a scholarly debate. You should not merely summarize or paraphrase the essay or book you use at outside criticism. Instead you need to voice your own opinion and take a position about a specific aspect of the text(s) under study
– Use conventions of academic writing properly, such as citing sources properly (MLA format). Be careful with grammar!
BOOKS: PDFs BELOW
Allende, Isabel. Island Beneath the Sea (ISBN: 9780061988257). SECONDARY
Carpentier, Alejo. Kingdom of This World (ISBN: 9780374537388). SECONDARY SOURCE
Danticat, Edwidge. Butterfly’s Way (ISBN: ISBN: 9781569472187). SECONDARY SOURCE
—, ed. Everything Inside (ISBN: 9780525521273). PRIMARY SOURCE
