EA 190 Shakepeare & Japan: Assignments (Individual and Group)

Weekly Discussion Questions

Comparative Assignment 1(Macbeth and Throne of Blood) DUE week 5 MAY 3

Comparative Assignment 2 (King Lear and Ran) DUE week 10 June 7

Annotated Bibliography Assignment

Note that your research topic does not need to be limited to Shakespeare, but it should be related to the question of how literary texts are translated into other languages and cultures and/or into other media. Your topic should not simply replicate the course (i.e. do not do "Lady Macbeth versus Lady Asaji" or "The Witches in Macbeth versus the Hag in Throne of Blood"). If you have another idea about what you'd like to do, please feel free to discuss it with me.

DUE DATES:

Initial research topic (2-3 sentences): DUE APRIL 19

More developed research topic (one paragraph) including at least 2-3 sources: DUE MAY 3

Draft of research topic and annotated bibliography (try to get this to be as close to a final draft as you can manage): DUE MAY 24

I will be meeting with students individually the week of MAY 30-JUNE 2 to discuss your bibliographies.

Final version of research topic paragraph and annotated bibliography: DUE JUNE 12 midnight by dropbox (Bibliography Final)

 

GENERAL POINTS ABOUT ASSIGNMENTS (READ THIS!!!!)

FORMAT:

For any assignment or discussion question, please provide the following information:

Your name(s) and student id#
East Asian 190 Spring 2013
Assignment Title (Discussion Week 2, Comparative Analysis 1, etc)
Date

Make sure you include page numbering!


AN EXCELLENT ASSIGNMENT:

1. Will not simply summarize the text being analyzed.

2. Will be organized to make a clear argument. Will be written grammatically enough that I can follow that argument.

3. Will include appropriate quotations from the texts to be analyzed (with page numbers). Quotations will be explained to show how they support your argument.

4. Will utilize secondary sources (readings, lectures, any outside sources), with page numbers, URLs, or dates (for lectures), to support your argument (see "Citation Form" below). If you use readings or other sources from outside of the course, provide a bibliography at the end. Failing to properly cite sources will lower your grade.

5. Will not simply quote from secondary sources without explaining those quotations.

6. Will correctly distinguish between the author, translator, narrator, and characters in the story. For example, do not confuse Edward Seidensticker (the translator of Tale of Genji) with Murasaki Shikibu (the author of Tale of Genji). And do not confuse Murasaki Shikibu (the author of Tale of Genji), with the character Murasaki in Tale of Genji or with the narrator of Tale of Genji (an unnamed lady-in-waiting).

7. Will use SPELL CHECK and will be copy edited for common mistakes like "their/there/they're." Names, including authors of secondary materials, will be spelled correctly. Titles will be appropriately underlined, italicized, or in quotation marks (see "How Titles Should Be Indicated" below).


CITATION FORM:

You need to cite your sources, not only for direct quotations, but also for ideas. YOU MUST CITE ANY SOURCE EVEN IF IT IS FROM THE INTERNET. If we have only read one thing by the author, the name is good enough:

As Carmen Blacker says in Catalpa Bow , "xxxxx" (p. 120). [direct quotation]

According to Blacker, XYZ is true (p.120). [paraphrase of idea]

When citing or quoting an author who has more than one article or translation used in the course, make sure you distinguish which article you mean:

According to Royall Tyler's introduction to Japanese Tales , XYZ is true (Tyler,
Japanese Tales, p. 12)

According to Royall Tyler's introduction to Nonomiya, XYZ is true (Tyler, Japanese No Dramas," p. 43)

In discussing texts such as Tale of Genji etc. make sure that you distinguish between the translator, scholarly commentator, the author, and the narrator or characters in the story:

In Tale of Genji, the narrator comments, "Genji's glowing beauty was incomparably appealing" (p. 37).

In Tale of Heike, Atsumori refuses to reveal his name to Kumagae, saying, "I don't need to give you my name....." (p. 395).

In his introduction to Tale of Genji, Richard Bowring notes that little is known of Murasaki Shikibu's personal life (p. 4).

When citing a class lecture, simply give the date of the lecture:

As noted in lecture (4/12/10), upper-class marriage in the Heian period was often highly politicized....

When citing the internet, give me the URL; in the case of Wikipedia you can give the subject:

According to the website <The-Noh.com>, Kyogen "apparently first emerged as an independent art form during the Warring States period (1467-1568)" <http://www.the-noh.com/en/world/kyogen.html>.

According to the Wikipedia article on "Kyōgen," "kyōgen is a comical form, and its primary goal is to make its audience laugh."

IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT THE INTERNET: when using the internet as a source, remember that internet sites often treat stories ahistorically, that is, without regard to the period in which the story was written. This course is primarily concerned with how stories change over time in relation to changing historical contexts, and so you need to use the internet cautiously.

 

HOW TITLES SHOULD BE INDICATED:

Titles of books:

Tale of Genji or Tale of Genji (choose one and be consistent!)

Titles of articles:

“Marriage Institutions”

Titles of short stories and plays:

Tadanori or “Tadanori” (choose one and be consistent!)


SOME WORDS THAT PEOPLE CONFUSE OFTEN-- if you’re not sure what the difference is, look them up before you use them!!!

economic, economics
economical (in American English, this means something is cheap)

ideal
idyllic
idealistic (this means you have high ideals)
idealism (this is the practice of having high ideals)

envious
enviable

feminine
feminism
feminist

exorcise
exercise

Confucian
confusion

aesthetic
ascetic
esoteric

wandering
wondering