Description
Each of our class sessions is organized
around a theme or concept central to the field of postcolonial
studies. Each student is required to write a research paper that
grounds one of these themes in a specific historical or geographical
context, a cultural practice, or a literary work. As this is a
capstone seminar that is meant to serve as a culminating moment in
your studies in the IGIS program, please select a context, practice
or work that is of particular interest to you. Because each student
will work on a different course theme, you must have a first and a
second choice ready to present to the class on September 9.
At the the class on October 7, you will submit a 1-2 page
annotated bibliography listing your sources and describing your
project. This assignment will not be graded. It is intended to get
you started on your research and to give the instructors an
opportunity to give you guidance and feedback. The annotated
bibliography must have:
-
a working paper title;
-
a paragraph describing the specific
focus of your paper, the questions you seek to answer, and the
theories you intend to apply;
-
a list of sources you plan to use each
with a brief, one-line description of its contents and how it is
relevant to your research.
The class session on December 2
will be devoted to student presentations . Each of you will give a
5-minute oral presentation on your project and will receive 10
minutes of feedback from the class.
Your final paper must be submitted
online through
SafeAssign on
WebCT
before 3 pm on December 9.
(How does SafeAssign work?
Click here.) Your paper should
provide an introduction with a clearly articulated
thesis statement that outlines your main position or argument.
The substance of the paper is
critical analysis (not summaries of what your sources say),
which means you should offer your own opinion/reflection backed up
by supporting evidence gathered in your research. The paper should
end with concluding statements that address the areas and arguments
you have covered and links your conclusion to the opening statement.
TIPS on writing a
good paper:
-
Conceptualize your thesis Think
before you write! Good writing comes from good thinking. It is
important that you come up with a topic that excites and interests
you. Think about what you want to say before putting pen to paper
(or finger to keyboard, as it were).
-
Organize your thoughts Create a
detailed outline that clarifies the structure of your paper. Your
paper should have: an introduction with a clearly articulated
thesis; evidence that persuasively supports your main points;
paragraphs that logically connect to each other (every paragraph
should essentially communicate one central point); a conclusion
that restates your thesis and clarifies the paper’s overall
significance; and a bibliography.
-
Draft and edit Write a first
draft earlier rather than later and sit on it for a few days. It
is good to take some distance from your writing and then come back
to it with fresh eyes. The first draft should flow from and expand
the outline and also be reducible to it. That is, after writing
the draft, anyone should be able to clearly deduce your paper’s
basic structure.
-
Check for style and mechanics
Carefully proofread your paper before submitting it. I find it
useful to read my work out loud to myself. It is a good way of
catching grammatical errors and awkward sentences. People often
write in a voice that they would never use to speak. Your writing
should be clear and concise. Avoid run-on sentences, rambling
thoughts, and unsupported and general statements. Maintain a
zero-tolerance policy in regards to spelling and grammatical
errors as sloppy writing can obscure even the most brilliant
thinking.
Format
Proper referencing is required both in the
body of your paper and in your works cited section. Please,
-
make sure that your paper is between 12
and 15 pages long including footnotes and bibliography;
-
follow either
Chicago
Manual Style or
MLA
Style guides;
-
use footnotes (instead of endnotes) to
make annotations to the text and to document sources;
-
a section of
"Works Cited" must be prepared;
-
number all pages, double space, 1"
margins, 12-point Times New Roman font;
-
submit your paper electronically
(virus-free MS Word) using "SafeAssign"
on
WebCT.
-
how to
document your sources;
-
definition of
plagiarism.
Academic Integrity
This course
adheres to all Villanova
rules of academic integrity.
Timeline: Paper due dates
-
Title, general description of the paper
topic due in class on
September 9, 2009
-
Annotated bibliography and short oral
presentation due in class on
October 7, 2009
-
Oral presentation of research progress in
class on December 2, 2009
-
Final paper due
December 9, 2009 before 3 pm
-
Late papers are NOT ACCEPTED.
Unless a student has a documented medical
excuse or other documented extenuating circumstances late papers will
be penalized by being dropped one grade per day until the paper is
submitted. |