Final Paper & Seminar #8 - Hum 211, Fall 2007

Final Draft of Take-Home Final Paper must:

	be typed or word processed using a standard, readable font & point size (e.g. Times New Roman 12 point or Arial 10 or 12 point);
	be double spaced;
	be printed on only one side of standard-sized (8 1/2" X 11") white paper;
	have one-inch margins on all four sides of each printed page;
	avoid plagiarism & cite sources as directed;
	be carefully edited for clarity, coherence & grammatical correctness before submission for grading
	be properly identified with standard MLA-style Heading and Running-Page Headers:

MLA style heading on page 1:

Juanita Doe (your name)
HUM 211, Prof. C. Agatucci (identify course & instructor)
Take-Home Final Paper: Final Draft (identify assignment)
7 December 2007 (identify date assignment is due)

[Center and entitle each Part of your Final Paper:
e.g. Identify Part Number + SubTitle descriptive of Contents - EXAMPLE TITLE:]

Final Part I: Why Study African Cultures, Literature, Orature and Film?
The Lessons of Keita: Heritage of the Griot, Chocolat and Nervous Conditions

. . . and running page header on 2nd + additional pages (your last name + page number):

Doe 2

At the beginning of this term, Cora posed this leading question: Why study African cultures, literature, orature, and film? Now that we have reached the end of this term, answer this question by writing an essay in which you . . .

	Identify two or three assigned African primary texts, to include at least one film or novel assigned in Weeks # 6 - 10 ( i.e. since the Midterm), which you consider particularly meaningful in your HUM 211 study this term;
	Explain, illustrate, and evaluate what of most meaningful importance that each of the two or three selected African texts has taught you this term in your quest to better understand and appreciate the value of African cultures and their forms of creative expression;
	In conclusion, compare and synthesize the major lessons learned from your analysis of the two or three selected HUM 211 African texts, to present your response to Cora's week #1 question: Why study African cultures, literature, orature, and film?

For Final Part I (or Alternative Topic) to be written as an Essay, remember to:

Focus on and develop in some depth a limited number of key points pertinent to topic . . .
--using relevant well-selected "best" evidence from primary and/or secondary texts to support and illustrate key points important to student author's interpretation;
--properly citing all quotations, paraphrases, and summaries from sources;
--accompanying all citations with student author's commentary/analysis needed to interpret what citations mean and to explain how/why citations support and illustrate student's points,
--avoiding lengthy quotations and plot summaries as page fillers or substitutes for interpretive analysis; all citations should be accompanied by adequate student author's commentary;
and

Avoid Plagiarism throughout by citing sources of all quotations, paraphrases, and summaries, according to MLA-style Citation Guidelines.

Targeted HUM 211 Learning Outcomes:
Learning Outcome B. Apply this knowledge [of African language arts and cultures different from one’s own] to cross-cultural comparative analysis . . . .
Learning Outcome C. Construct and communicate persuasive cross-cultural interpretations . . . .

Directions: Choose an African topic relevant to Hum 211 study that interests you and that you would like to learn more about through a short research project. Locate “outside” sources relevant to your chosen topic.

“Outside Sources” may be websites, books, journal or magazine articles, newspaper articles, radio or TV programs, videotapes, online/virtual art exhibit, interviews, etc., that have not been assigned as part of our regular Hum 211 coursework this term.

Read/review/skim the sources you find and choose the best 3 that you can recommend as valuable to future HUM 211 students. Note: For a long source - e.g. a book or a website with hundreds of pages - you may read/review only chapters, sections, or webpages most relevant to your topic, rather than the entire work.

What is an Annotated Bibliography? “Bibliography” is a list of sources, giving complete publication information (following MLA-style format) so that interested readers can find these sources for themselves if they wish to learn more about your topic. “Annotated” means that you will provide concise summaries and evaluations of each of your 3 recommended sources to give your readers a clear idea of what each source has to offer (summary of contents) on your topic, as well as each source’s strengths and any drawbacks (evaluation).

Descriptive Subtitle and/or Brief Introduction: Briefly describe the HUM 211-related topic on which you conducted your search and on which your 2 or 3 recommended sources provide valuable information. This brief topic description may be announced through a descriptive subtitle and/or a one-or-two sentence introduction.
Standard Annotated Bibliography Format should be followed in presenting each of your 3 valuable sources, as in the Example Annotated Bibliography entry below.

Example

Mugambi, J.N.K. "African Churches in Social Transformation." Journal of
          International Affairs 50.1 (Summer 1996): 194 (27pp). Academic Search
          Premier (AN 9608250944). EBSCOhost. Central Oregon Community
          College Library, Bend, OR. 21 November 2004.
This article sets out to examine the role of the church in South Africa as well as critique the role it played in transforming the social and political foundations in Africa. The underlying thesis of the paper is that missions, in general, have had a growing involvement with the various colonies/ countries they reside in. Mugambi asserts that missions were originally self-sustaining and free from partisan ties. In his opinion, missions existed entirely independently of European colonization during the early arrivals. It is pointed out that missions were actually punished for starting or assisting in the creation of independent African churches, which taught Africans to be culturally self-confident. The paper argues that colonial governments justified their claims to African territory by early missionary success in converting native Africans to Christianity. So by either "design or accident," the church was directly involved in the social and political transformation of Africa. It is at this point that missions lost their political innocence. Missions created schools teaching westernized values and religion in return for grants provided by the colonial governments for health services, agriculture, etc. The paper continues in a discussion of the present day involvement of the church in Africa. I feel the article could have been stronger if more concrete examples were cited in relation to some of the opinions argued (namely the arguments of the church bringing major social change during early colonization). But the major strength of this article is that it is written from a fairly neutral position; it does not contain biased undertones within the discussion. Perhaps the most dignified remark of the paper was: “There were missionaries who were racial bigots and colonial bullies, but there were also others who were excellent pastors, counselors and teachers. Some were businessmen, and others were diplomats. Thus both the negative and the positive influences must be acknowledged in a balanced assessment of the missionary impact in tropical Africa" (par. 1).

[**Cora's Note: My thanks to former HUM 211 student Chris Shepherd
for permission to webpublish the above annotated bibliography entry**]

You are here: Take-Home Final Paper & Seminar #7 - Hum 211, Fall 2007
URL of this page: http://web.cocc.edu/cagatucci/classes/hum211/final.htm
Last Updated: 25 November 2007

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Humanities Department, Central Oregon Community College
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