Research Paper
You have two choices for your research paper. Both are based on any one of the plays we are reading this semester. First thing to do is pick a play you are interested in.
Option 1: Read some reviews of productions. What are some of the things that seem to strike reviewers? How do they phrase what the play is about, ethically? Then discuss those reviews in relation to the play. Why do reviewers choose those specific ethical elements and not others? What about the productions lead to those discussions? Are some ethical issues more easily discussed than others? What are the performance elements of the play that make those ethical elements most obvious? Your thesis should address a specific element of the play discussed in reviews and your thought about why that element of the play stands out in the play. So you'll be talking about playwriting techniques (remember we've talked about how playwrights get across their message) and possible performance elements that the playwright has provided for.
Option 2: Find some articles in the popular press that discuss an ethical issue central to one of the plays we're reading. Contrast how they discuss the issue in comparison to how the play does it. What does the act of performance add to the issue? How does the play dramatize the issue and simplify or complicate it? Your thesis should address one specific issue of the play that inspires regular social discussion and how the play addresses it uniquely. So you'll be talking about the stand on the issue taken by the playwright (if any) and the methods used by the playwright to address that issue.
Your first step will be to turn in a bibliography - MLA format - of reviews or articles that have started you on your research. You will not have to use all of these in your paper, and if you find some additional ones later, that's fine too. You should turn in a list of at least 5 sources. This is due Monday, November 17.
The next step is to email me a concise statement of your topic. (It doesn't have to be as short as a thesis sentence; you can send me a brief description if you haven't managed to get it down to a sentence yet.) Use the gmail account. You may, if you wish, also email me an outline of the paper or a rough draft if you have finished one. A rough draft is not required for this paper, although I strongly recommend it. Your thesis statement is due Monday, November 24. Late bibliographies or thesis descriptions will result in points off your final paper.
Your paper should be 5 pages long (longer okay, shorter not). Formatted MLA style. Use the library web page created by Tom Gilson as your starting point. The paper is due the last day of class.