(and for the Paper
Itself)
1.
Step 1:
Pick a humanities-related topic that is of interest to you. Generally speaking,
humanities related papers have these tendencies:
1.
An analysis of
the works (or selected works) of a favorite novelist, poet, visual artist,
essayist, musician
2.
An analysis of
particular cultural and/or artistic themes: (1) in some artist’s body of work;
(2) in a particular time period; (3) in the works of an artistically-related
group (Impressionism, Abstract Expressionism; Bauhaus architecture; Beat
Poetry; the Bloomsbury Group)
3.
Examples
1.
“Dominant
Themes in the Poetry of Wallace Stevens”
2.
“Stevens and
Williams: A Comparative Study of the Uses of Nature Imagery in Two Poets”
3.
“The Role of
the Painter as Envisioned by Abstract Expressionism”
4.
“The Portrayal
of Educational Leadership in Contemporary American Film”
5.
“Portraits of
Bureaucracy in the Novel: Brave New World and Catch-22”
6.
“The Portrayal
of the Modern World in the Songs of Mark Knopfler”
4.
You can also
combine what you’re learning in other courses with what we’re doing. For example:
1.
“The Dark Side
of Community: Lord of the Flies and Spoon River Anthology”
2.
“Themes of
Alienation in the Works of Franz Kafka”
3.
“Mental
Illness and Individualism in the Novels of Ken Kesey”
4.
“Tom Wolfe,
Hunter Thompson, and Georg Simmel”
2.
Step II:
Go to the library and find related sources: i.e., other articles and books
looking at the same issues, authors, etc., that you have selected.
1.
Read a few
articles (or scan a couple of books) This will help you in a couple of ways:
1.
It will give you
a better sense of how to address/approach doing this type of paper
2.
It will give
you ideas
2.
Pay attention
to the strategies that others have used for analysis
1.
E.g., artistic
“schools” in literature (Romanticism; Realism)
2.
Using rhyme
schemes and meter to interpret poetry
Remember, these are JUST examples: the key thing is
exposing yourselves to how others do analyses of fiction, poetry, visual arts,
music, etc.
III. Using these
Resources, provide an overview of your topic; its significance (to you, to a larger
audience; to education and administration)
1. Summarize, briefly, any key points you have
uncovered in your research
2. Provide a complete list of
(potential) references, with complete information for each.
IV. The Proposal, of course, must be typed, double-spaced
and rigorously edited so as to be free of any/all spelling, grammatical, and
syntactical errors.