For the final, write a 2500-3000 word paper in which you focus on a particular term or theme discussed throughout the course (e.g., violence, decolonization, subaltern, liberation, orientalism, etc.). Then, using at least two-three thinkers (Frantz Fanon’s “Concerning Violence” in The Wretched of the Earth & Hannah Arendt’s “On Violence”) from the required readings on our syllabus, discuss how the authors have each approached this term and/or theme. Over the course of your essay, address the following questions:
How does each author identify the term/theme in question? What are the essential arguments they make regarding it? How have they shaped our understanding of it?
How does each author’s definition/argument relate to one another? Are they in agreement, opposition, or are they approaching it from completely different angles, where do they diverge?
How has your perspective on the given term/theme evolved in your engagement with these authors? Do you find one or two more compelling/convincing than the other? How have they helped shape your understanding of contemporary sociopolitical and/or cultural debates?
Please make sure your submission contains your name, a title, a comprehensive introduction and conclusion. Include quotations from your readings and paraphrase them whenever necessary, but always cite your sources in-text as well as in a bibliography—and follow a proper citation style (MLALinks to an external site. or ChicagoLinks to an external site.). Your paper should be in 12-point Times New Roman font, double-spaced, and justified.
A note on AI use: The use of ChatGPT, Grammarly or any other AI platform or tool to generate or improve the written content of your paper is prohibited. Using AI opens up academic honesty issues around whether the work is “your” work. It relies on taking uncredited material from scholars to produce often unreliable, inaccurate, and grossly generic results, and in case of language enhancement tools, evidently robotic writing. If you choose to use this opportunity to learn by letting AI do it for you, you are only cheating yourself.
