READ THESE INSTRUCTIONS CAREFULLY.
you will be asked to turn in the “Research questions and thesis statement” for your paper dealing with one of the prompts listed below. You will receive written feedback about your paper. You will then sign up for a 15-20-minute appointment with one of our GSIs – Azhar or Elaina – who will be grading your paper. Thus, you will receive not only written but also oral feedback regarding your research questions and thesis. Prior to this appointment, please think about specific questions and/or issues you want to raise with the GSI.
To write an effective paper you should think in advance about the research questions you are going to ask and about the argument that you are going to make as you address those questions. Your thesis statement should summarize this specific argument in two or three sentences. The thesis should make an argument that forms the basis for your paper and that can be thoroughly supported by the textual analysis in the main body of your work. It is important that the thesis represent your particular views of the literary works. The thesis should be arguable rather than factual, and the wording unambiguous. Keep it clear and concise. The reader should never wonder, “Where is this paper going?”
Prompts:
- How do Russian poets (Lomonosov, Pushkin, Tiutchev) portray the Russian Empire? Discuss their geographical and historical imagination, poetic language, and the metaphors and similes that they employ. How do they depict Russia at war?
- Please choose any two literary texts from our reading list and analyze Russian writers’ representations of the Caucasus. Explore the role of female characters in their works. Why do you think the titular character of Lermontov’s “Bela” occupies a secondary role in the story, appearing only in few scenes? Consider similar questions in relation to the works of other writers. How do you think gender issues intersect with colonial ones?
- Some scholars have argued that Russian writers endorsed Russian imperialism with no reservations. Do you agree or disagree? Please explore any two literary texts from our reading list and provide evidence to support your claim. Discuss the literary works in the broader historical context of the Russian imperial project.
- Compare and contrast Russian representations of the Caucasus and the portrayal of Caucasian life offered by the Georgian writer Aleksandre Qazbegi.
- Explore the impact of ideologies of imperialism on any two literary texts from our reading list. Analyze the works in their historical context.