ENC 1102.5865 Paper #2 Assignment


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Nick Melczarek, instructor Department phone: 392-6650
Office: Turlington 4357 e-mail nickym@melczarek.net
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Office hours: MW Per 4 (10:40-11:30 a.m.)
& by appt. 		Office phone: t.b.a.
course listserve: FALL-5865-L@lists.ufl.edu
Contents (click to jump to the following sections)
Paper 2 Assignment (read all the way through -- there are helpful tips throughout):
»» Choose one of the followng texts that you did not work with for Paper #1 -- -- and in 4-5 pages discuss any three possible places in that text that "pop you out of" the text -- that is, parts that suddenly make you aware that you are a reader reading a text, that "violate" the "dream" of that text. Identify the elements that caused this Unheimlich effect, and describe the overall experience for you. (back to Contents)

  • Rationale:
    Writer Hélène Cixous proposes that reading literature not only removes us from our own world and drops us into another world, but also can suddenly "pop" us out of that world and ourselves in unexpected ways. She draws this idea from Freud's discussion of the Unheimlich (literally, "not-home-like," "from-somewhere-else"), that sudden "uncanny" sensation that makes us aware of ourselves in very weird ways (e.g. discomfort, fear, shock -- but always the unexpected and usually unexplainable). Cixous suggests that elements such as the discovery of foreshadowing, our encounter with unexpected or ambiguous events in a text, or our reactions that we could never have anticipated to such elements, suddenly pop us out of the comforable dream-state that reading induces and make us aware that "hey -- I'm reading a text!" Locate three specific images, phrases, or events that bring to your attention the fact that you're a reader reading a text -- those moments when, while you read, you cease to passively absorb the story and start working with the text as a text.
    (See your notes and mine on Cixous's use of Freud's "uncanny"/Unheimlich for reminders/clarification.)
    Use terms and concepts from the critical/theoretical material we've read (Eco, Barthes, etc.) when/where/if they apply. Employ critical literary vocabulary(from the Terms site) when/where/if they apply.
  • Caveats/cautions:
    -- This is not an exercise to see how many terms you can cram in your paper, nor will you receive extra credit for doing so. Use the literary and/or critical terms at your disposal only when/if they help you explain your ideas.
    -- By "4-5 pages" I mean 4-5 pages; 4 pages plus two lines on page 5 doesn't count! (Nor does enlarging the font size, nor enlarging the margins.) This is not an invitation to pad you paper with needless material; rather, this is an opportunity for you to fully explain your ideas and illustrate those ideas with examples from the original texts. If you're padding, waffling, or tangenting, I'll know it -- and it'll count against you.
  • Thesis note: Be sure that in your final draft you state clearly and directly your thesis within an introductory ¶. Try not to phrase your thesis as "In this paper I will show that ..." -- your reader already works from the assumption that you're going to show her something.
  • Need a little help with your thesis? Before you start writing, have a look at "timesaver #3 (a)," "timesaver #3(b) and "timesaver #4" on the writing tips site -- these items will help you AND save you oodles of time!!!

    Be sure to consult the writing tips site!
    (back to Contents)

    »» What I'll look for in this paper: (Paper 3 will have additional requirements)

    Content-wise:

    Writing mechanics:

    (back to Contents)
    »» DUE DATES AND KEY ACTIVITY DATES: (correlate these dates with those on course schedule sites) (back to Contents)
    »» Troubleshooting & therapy: If you have questions about the assignment or your paper that we don't address in class or during conference times, (back to Contents)

    Ciao, Nick
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