Throughout this summer session, we have covered a wealth of different topics relating to the long-term development and evolution of Chinese mythology and supernatural. As a final paper, students will be asked to produce an essay (of 5-6 pages) that offers an analytical glimpse into any related topics. In completing this assignment, students are encouraged to draw upon all available class materials (i.e., lectures, assigned readings and films) as well as outside sources.
Students paper should:
Be written in English, use 12-point font, be double spaced, and use 1.0-1.5 inch margins.
Be from 5-6 pages long.
Have a meaningful title, i.e., not just Question 1 or Monkey King.
Include as least four sources. These may include books from the library, scholarly journal articles, or even relevant films and other visual materials. These sources may be from classroom materials or from outside publications.
Utilize either MLA or Chicago Style format for citations.
Choose one of the above formats and be consistent.
Contain a clearly stated thesis/ a concrete argument in the first paragraph.
Include a conclusion at the end of your paper that summarizes the argument you have just completed.
A strong thesis is very important. Please note that a topic (This paper is about) is different from a thesis (This paper argues that). A good thesis is concrete and specific, it is not self-evident or obvious, and it anticipates possible counterexamples and counterarguments. Your thesis is what you will be seeking to prove to your reader, and the subsequent paragraphs in your paper should provide evidence in support of your thesis.
Literature is one of the most important ways to understand a culture. The texts in the list are very important for the particular period of time and very influential in modern China. You can pick up one of them as your topic and generate a paper. What kind of aesthetic present in these texts? How are they important for their period time and even today? What is the cultural or political function of them? In what sense can these texts be connected to our class? How do they represent Chinese popular culture? You have to have a concrete argument.
