Assignment task:
Tales of Political Dystopia: Storytelling After the Berlin Wall
1. Write your analysis of one or more literary works of South/Eastern European literature written/published before or after the fall of the Berlin Wall - based on but not necessarily restricted to topics analyzed and mentioned in class. Students must explain how the style and the structure of the work/s relate or depart from the literary tradition of South/Eastern European literature; how the content and the narrative perspective of the literary or visual work/s reassess moral and political questions about local and world history, politics, human existence, and society. Special attention must be paid to the relationship between historical and political events and literature. Students are strongly encouraged to express themselves about how the readings have impacted their perceptions and knowledge regarding literature, political violence, and dystopias, political resistance, migration, gender, war, survival, human resilience, etc. - and they must illustrate their analysis through extensive references and quotes to primary and secondary sources or independent research.
A long updated list of books from South/Eastern Europe from where you can select a work to read and review:
Review 100 books to read from Eastern Europe and Central Asia posted at new East Digital Archive
You can also choose the two last readings in class - or a work of literature, art, or popular culture (film, video game, etc.) that is not listed in the link provided.
2. Free Choice Essay Topic (independent research, interviews/oral history, personal experiences etc.) - related to topics discussed extensively in class: borders, migration, political dystopias, survival, memory and forgetting, Cold War, civil war, gender, nuclear and natural disasters, human resilience, Southeastern Europe, etc. The essay might have a personal tone - using personal experiences and interpretations - but must also be based on independent research and/or make connections with the readings in class, as well as refer extensively to primary and secondary sources related to the essay topic.
Min: 1500 words. Max.: 2000 words
Guidelines:
After choosing a topic, you will compile a bibliography of at least two primary or secondary sources (one of which must be beyond our course readings), develop a thesis, and support it with primary and secondary sources.
If you decide to conduct an interview/oral history, you must prepare and email the questionnaire that you will be using for the interview.
I encourage you to check the first draft of the paper with a tutor. Please, refer to the current edition of the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers or The Chicago Manual of Style for questions on formatting, documentation etc. If you have any questions on this or other course assignments, please come talk to me during office hours or make an appointment.
Your compositions must be typed, double-spaced, in 12-point font, with 1-inch margins in Word or Pages format. I will grade papers for content relevance, accuracy, and originality in responding to the assignment; direct use and analysis of primary and secondary sources, quotes, and excerpts; logic, style, grammar, and spelling. You are encouraged to bring your paper to a tutor in advance of the deadline and, if you do, submit to me both the original and revised versions and follow MLA or Chicago standards for citation.