Back to AN240 Index

 

Essay Two (Due Tuesday, December 9th during Exam)

 

Using the books from the second half of the course, write a 3-5 page essay on one of the following topics (20% of grade). You are welcome to draw on additional sources but are required to draw upon at least one of the course readings, with proper page citations. Thus, as with Essay One, treat this as a research paper even if you use only one source.

 

Topics:

 

  1. Write an essay on the issue of belief, as approached anthropologically. One possibility is to discuss Edith Turner’s approach and contrast it with other approaches she discusses, and/or approaches from readings besides those assigned for class.
  2. Write an essay on the features of ritual and/or stages of rites of passage (e.g., from Van Gennep and Victor Turner). You could explore the topic of liminality drawing upon any class or other readings. If you do, narrow your focus to one case study or aspect of liminality.
  3. Write an essay examining the issue of gender and/or transgender. You can base this on readings and films both within and outside of this class. Select one clear focus. For example, you could explore the distinction between sex and gender OR the assignment of gender roles in the US or another society OR evaluate the notion of a “third gender.” Don’t try to do too much.
  4. Write an essay on the refugee experience. Select one aspect or issue to focus on, such as the process of gaining asylum, or the experience of being a refugee in the US, etc. Draw upon Holtzman’s book for this AND at least one outside reading.
  5. Write an essay on violent conflict. You will need to narrow the focus, examining one aspect of what was discussed in class (e.g., the attributes of more versus less violent societies, the impact of war on societies, etc.) using Holtzman’s book, class notes, and at least one outside source, such as Sharon Hutchinson’s Nuer Dilemmas or Liisa Malkki’s Purity and Exile (check Holtzman’s bibliography for additional source ideas).
  6. Write an essay on applying anthropology. This topic will be based on lecture notes, Holtzman’s book (in which you see anthropology being applied in ways that are not just scholarly), AND on at least one outside source. You can choose to focus on one way that anthropology can be applied beyond academia and explore it in detail, or you can write an essay exploring several options in some detail.

 

HINT: Always check the bibliographies of the books you read for ideas for other sources.

 

 

Citation method for essays: Include a bibliography for anything you cite. When you cite, quote, or paraphrase in text, put an in-text citation in parentheses (author’s last name, date, page number if a direct quote).  It looks like this: (Straight 1997) for citation or paraphrase, (Straight 1997: 37) for direct quote. You should always cite when you are drawing upon someone’s research or ideas. If you conduct any of your own interviews, you should create pseudonyms for your respondents and cite quotations from those interviews like this (Miller interview, 2002).