Critical Essay: The final essay of the course will be based on one of the course texts. A few tips for selecting a topic: 1. Be open to possible paper topics as you read; questions you have about the text, themes that stand out to you, or connections between works are all fruitful areas to […]

Rousseau Short Analytical Essay   Instructions   DISCLAIMER: Originality of attachments will be verified by Turnitin.   Short Analytical Essay   To choose a topic for each short analytical essay, follow your own ideas within the framework of Enlightenment themes and research what scholars in the field are writing. Review the articles you find during […]

Austen Short Analytical Essay Instructions   DISCLAIMER: Originality of attachments will be verified by Turnitin.   Short Analytical Essay   To choose a topic for each short analytical essay, follow your own ideas within the framework of Enlightenment themes and research what scholars in the field are writing. Review the articles you find during the […]

Dashkova Short Analytical Essay   Instructions   DISCLAIMER: Originality of attachments will be verified by Turnitin.   Short Analytical Essay   To choose a topic for each short analytical essay, follow your own ideas within the framework of Enlightenment themes and research what scholars in the field are writing. Review the articles you find during […]

Your introduction should tell us who you are and what you are studying, as well as elucidate your goals and/or expectations for the class. What exactly do you want to achieve this term?  How is study of Great Works and humanities in your MA degree useful to you, and what insights have you gained so […]

Lewis and Clark Looking at a particular group of people from Lewis and Clark’s journal entries, identify how culture is defined. What makes each culture distinct? What is essential to the development of culture?  How do Lewis and Clark inform the general narrative of enlightenment?

What does Paine view as the foundation of a good education?  How does his idea of education inform his political theory? Do these ideas apply today–and if so, how?

Jean-Jacques Rousseau   In Confessions, Rousseau notes his studies in a way that refuses to highlight his intellectual achievements, but instead draws attention to his emotional response:   “To complete me, I had mingled a little physiology among my other readings: I set about studying anatomy, and considering the multitude, movement, and wonderful construction of […]

Jane Austen “He likes to have his own way very well,” replied Colonel Fitzwilliam. “But so we all do. It is only that he has better means of having it than many others, because he is rich, and many others are poor. I speak feelingly. A younger son, you know, must be inured to self-denial […]

Final Research Paper Proposal   In this discussion, please present the proposed topic of your final research paper (you should have already begun the brainstorming and research process by now).   Introduce your research topic and the main focus of your paper and why you chose this topic. State the research question you are hoping […]