FINAL PAPER PROMPT
The final paper will be a 6-8 page paper on the memory/representation of World War I in popular media (including documentaries, movies, games or comics).
You need to use three audiovisual sources focusing on one and the same event or aspect of World War I. The events or aspects could include the western front, Gallipoli, the home front, the African fronts, the United States in the war. Provide a source analysis of the three films as we did with “All Quiet” in class.
Compare the representations to each other. Is it an anti-war film? How are soldiers portrayed? What role do non-combatants play in the film? How are “the Germans,” or “the Americans” or any other nationality portrayed? How are officers and generals portrayed?
Finally, use your lectures and readings for our course to factcheck these three audiovisual representations. Did their representation diverge from that of textbooks and class materials. If so, in which ways?
The paper should be
Double-spaced
Times New Roman, font 12
Footnoted, using Chicago manual of style-footnotes
It should be well organized including
An intro with a thesis/question/thesis statement
A background (include the background to the films or materials used: year, something about the director, country of origin of the film, a brief overview of the political and cultural milieu of that place and time that may have impacted the representations in the film)
A main body which
Compares various aspects of the film (different depending on the films and the themes you choose)
Discusses how the time and place of the film production might have influenced the representations in the film
Discusses the similarities between the representations in the films
Discusses any factual errors based on your secondary sources
A Conclusion summarizing your argument and findings.
RUBRIC
A
B
C
D
F
Content analysis
Well-chosen sources, strong analysis showing familiarity with films
Well-chosen sources, good analysis, familiarity with materials
Somewhat logical selection of films, some familiarity with materials
Poor selection of film, no comparison, few specifics
Not using requested materials, no analysis
Examples
Specific examples
Some specific examples
Some specific examples
Few specific examples
Not giving examples
Organization
Well organized (see above), clear paragraphs
Fairly well organized
Somewhat poorly organized
Not organized
Not organized
Citations
cited
Cited
Occasionally cited
Rarely cited
Not cited
Style and grammar
Spell- and grammar checked, names correctly spelled
Only occasional errors
Frequent errors
Many errors
Many errors
Length
No shorter than 5 pages
No shorter than 5 pages
Shorter than 5 pages
Shorter than 5 pages
Shorter than 5 pages