Essay Assignment
"States have a right and a duty to define strictly what qualifies as an acceptable personal name." Do you agree?
Length: 1500-2000 words
Requirements for the individual essay
• Choose a "troublespot" for case study, or a topic, or set of issues
• Relate the discussion to key issues and analytical concepts in the course
a) "Meaning Troublespots"
b) meaning and interpretation
c) Indeterminacy and disagreement: who gets to say what words mean?
d) Political correctness (PC) and names
e) Language, labels, and identity politics
f) Personal names, brand names and individual freedom
g) Freedom of speech and conduct
h) Contentious vocabulary (i): animal vs human; rational vs irrational; real vs constructed (ii): mind, spirit, soul
• Bring in a range of materials and sources ("voices")
• Credit will be given for finding your own sources, especially academic ones
• Pay particular attention to the interrelationship between a troublespot, or topic, and more abstract levels of analysis
• Pay particular attention to the introduction and the conclusion (the "frame")
• If you find it helpful, use sub-headings as a guide to the structure of the essay
• Try to make the whole essay flow from one point to the next, so as to convince the reader that you have a strong narrative grasp of the topic
Levels of analysis
• Descriptive (e.g. of a meaning "troublespot"): what, where, when, who, ...
• Historical: background, as a source of dispute, ...
• Medium-related: social media, mainstream media - visual vs textual
• Textual: metaphors, dichotomies, key terms, key concepts
• Interpretative: disputes about how meanings should be analyzed; how to recognize the "true" meaning
• Ideological: ideas of sponsorship, authenticity, ownership, identity vs freedom of speech, marketplace of ideas, ...
• Analytical: juxtaposing opposing voices, showing how the particular issue relates to a more general framework, identifying interpretative conflicts
• Academic-intellectual: commentary on and critique of academic ideas (talking heads model; indeterminacy; real vs lexical definition; definition of "troublespot")
Writing a good conclusion
• Don't say: This is a difficult issue and needs more discussion
• Don't simply: Offer an unsupported opinion or viewpoint, which is not grounded in your discussion
• Do: identify the key positions and arguments Do: Pick up or echo the introduction
• Do: Relate different level of analysis
• Do: Criticize the usefulness of applicability of key terms or concepts
• Do: Adopt a critical or sceptical viewpoint in relation to academic terms or ideas
• Do: Offer a reasoned opinion or conclusion, pointing to underlying dilemmas or intractable oppositions
• What makes a good conclusion in the humanities and social sciences is not the answer given itself, but the quality of the analysis, and the ability to relate a particular issue or problem to wider contested ideas and frameworks
• Good conclusion:
• "In looking at this case, we see how social media focus and exacerbate tensions that previously were confined to the face-to-face sphere"
• "Both parties invoke history in support of their position, but that history is far too complex to support the position of either side"
• "The distinction between real and lexical definition breaks down when we look at actual public disputes about meaning"
• In public disputes about meaning the issue becomes not what the words actually meant - since we have no way of determining this - but that of authority over meaning and interpretation.
Checklist
• Follow citation norms and use proper references
• Avoid plagiarism
• Avoid long quotations
• Use short quotations
• Focus on points of conflict or dispute
• Link the particular to the general
• Move from the descriptive to the analytical
(see the handout Reading and Critical Thinking, on Moodle)
Flow of the essay:
- whether they have right?
- whether they have duty?
- what will happen if they set the rules
- what will not be happened if they don't set the rules: names controversies?
Format your assignment according to the following formatting requirements:
1. The answer should be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides.
2. The response also include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student's name, the course title, and the date. The cover page is not included in the required page length.
3. Also Include a reference page. The Citations and references should follow APA format. The reference page is not included in the required page length.