Wednesday, June 4th, 2014--around 4:30 pm

Greetings,

Below you will find a copy of the out of class essay #1 assignment discussed today in class.

Also, you can find the transcript of Wallace's speech (Packet 2) at the link below:
http://faculty.winthrop.edu/martinme/Thisiswater.htm


English 20, Summer 2014

Catherine Fraga, Instructor

Out of Class Essay Assignment #1—200 points possible—

VOICES AGAINST CONFORMITY

• Assigned: Wednesday, June 4

• Rough Draft Due (OPTIONAL), typed & double spaced, no later than Tuesday, June 10—please e-mail to me draft as a Word document no later than 10 pm on Tuesday, June 10th. You may, of course, e-mail it to me earlier as well.

• Final Draft Due:  Thursday, June 12th. Typed & double spaced.

If you submitted a rough draft, please attach it to the back of the final draft when submitting.

****************************************************************************

Let’s take a closer look at the issue of conformity/non-conformity.

The most interesting, focused and articulate essays I receive from students are ones where students select their own specific topic and are genuinely intrigued by the topic.

For this essay, you will research and write about one person who is/was considered a non-conformist by many in his/her field of interest. Consider the possibility that the person deemed a non-conformist may not, in your opinion, actually BE a non-conformist. So your essay could support or disprove the label given by the majority of society.

This topic allows for a wealth of flexibility and choice.

Your focus will be on a person working in an area (and time period in history) that you are most interested in: photography; art; literature; politics; film; computers; music; fashion; science; mathematics; education; or ???

To get a better idea of some possibilities, and for purpose of illustration, let’s look at some examples of topics within in the time period of the 1950s in America.

Premise: Many in the 1950s worked diligently for the comfort and conformity displayed on such TV shows as “Father Knows Best” and “Leave it to Beaver.” But regardless of the affluence of the new American middle class, there was still poverty, racism and alienation in America rarely depicted on TV.

Dozens of people rejected societal norms through their artwork, creativity and lifestyle. They used words, art, film and music to rebel against the cookie-cutter mentality of the established power structure and mass-marketed culture.

Many writers during this time period (referred to as the Beat Generation) adamantly refused to submit to the conformity of the 1950s. (these writers included Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, Diane Di Prima, Sloan Wilson, J.D. Salinger, William Burroughs, and others)

Likewise, many artists during this time period adamantly refused to submit to the conformity of the 1950s. (these artists included Willem De Kooning, Hans Hoffman, Mark Rothko, Jackson Pollock, Clement Greenberg, and others)

Also, according to an Internet article on Conformity in U.S. History: “While the 1950s silver screen lit up mostly with the typical Hollywood fare of Westerns and romances, a handful of films shocked audiences by uncovering the dark side of America’s youth.”

Many filmmakers of this time period adamantly refused to submit to the conformity of the 1950s. (these films include The Wild One; Blackboard Jungle; Rebel without a Cause, etc)

No matter what non conformist you select to research, your essay must contain the following:

·       your working definition of a non-conformist (in order to frame and set up your argument) Please do not use a dictionary or Wilipedia definition.

·       a brief history of the country’s mood during this time period;

·       background and details about the non-conformist you will focus on, in particular, those that help support your premise;

·       how his/her work challenged the status quo;

·       the impact of his/her work on others in the same field and on society;

·       and the repercussions and influence felt today or what you predict WILL be the repercussions in the future.

Your essay will be both informative and analytical: your thesis will “prove” the person’s influence, or not, on people’s lives, then and now.

Things to Consider:

This is NOT an essay in which you write an in depth analysis of the literature, film, music, fashion, etc. of the time period you are focused on. To do that, you would need to carefully read, view, or listen to the work or material at great length.

Instead, you are conducting research to discover the mood of the country and the status quo during a particular time period——why and how a person’s work was considered non conformist—and how their work influenced those living then…and now.

Your thesis might read something like this:

Although 1950s America appeared to be almost unrealistically content, many visual artists at this time, particularly Jackson Pollack, successfully combated the blissful charade by using innovative methods and themes in his work.

A BRIEF LIST OF TOPIC SUGGESTIONS:

Mahatma Ghandi                                    George Carlin

Martin Luther King, Jr.                        John Cassavetes

Eminem                                                Yves St. Laurent

Georgia O’Keefe                                    Abby Hoffman

Galileo Galilei                                    John Lennon

Emma Goldman                                    David Mamet

Janis Joplin                                                Jim Morrison

Johnny Cash                                                Ralph Nader

Steve Jobs                                                Joan of Arc

Nelson Mandela                                    Che Guevara

Karl Marx                                                Bill Gates

Dr. Jack Kevorkian                                    James  Dean

Quentin Crisp                                    Henry David Thoreau

Ayn Rand                                                Elvis Presley

Carl Jung                                               

Carl Sagan

Alexandr Solzhenitsyn