Cultural Memory
Cultural Memory
Assignment:Cultural Memory
Assignment:Cultural Memory
Assignment:Cultural Memory
Ashford 6: – Week 5 – Final Research Paper
Final Research Paper
In your Final Research Paper, you will apply the tools of historical and literary critical analysis to a specific example cultural memory. Choose a specific cultural identity (e.g., race, gender, ethnicity, nationality, sexual orientation, social class, religion, etc.) and examine that group’s cultural memory.
Analyze how that group’s identity has been constructed through its location in a historical narrative, and show how that historical understanding has been transmitted through one specific literary text.
You may consider either how that group has constructed its own identity or how other groups have constructed an identity for it, but you will not have room to do both.
You may use any literary text you wish (including pop culture sources such as films), though it would be easiest to use texts assigned in this class. Likewise, you may reference any scholarly sources you wish, though you are encouraged to use the sources from the course reading list.
The paper must be five to seven pages in length (excluding title and reference pages) and formatted according to APA style. You must use at least three scholarly sources other than the textbook to support your claims and subclaims. Cite your sources in text and on the reference page. For information regarding APA samples and tutorials, visit the Ashford Writing Center, within the Learning Resources tab in the left navigation menu.
Writing the Final Research Paper
The Final Research Paper
Must be five to seven double-spaced pages in length, and formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.
Must include a separate title page with the following:Title of paper
Student’s name
Course name and number
Instructor’s name
Date submitted
Must begin with an introductory paragraph that has a succinct thesis statement.
Must address the topic of the paper with critical thought.
Must end with a conclusion that reaffirms your thesis.
Must use at least three scholarly sources in addition to the course text.
Must document all sources in APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.
Must include a separate references page that is formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.
Steps to Complete the Assignment:
Review the concepts of cultural memory (Week Three) and cultural identity (Week Four). Make sure you understand these concepts as you choose a specific group’s cultural identity. Be specific. Is it African American, Asian American, gay, working class, Wiccan, Muslim, Iranian, etc.? Choose one.
Then, explore that group’s “cultural memory” and “cultural identity” through one literary text. Using either one of your instructor’s assigned literary texts or a literary text of your choice, select a novel, film, poems, etc. that illustrate the group’s cultural memory and cultural identity.
Has the group constructed its own cultural identity or have others constructed an identity for it? For example, Edward Said’s orientalism illustrates how others have constructed a cultural identity for the people of the Middle East that is in stark contrast to their own cultural identity. The prompt suggests you choose one or the other (self-constructed or externally defined cultural identity), but not both.
Cite page referenced examples from the primary texts (literature assigned by your instructor) and secondary texts to support your interpretation.
Additional Resources to Complete the Assignment:
Guidelines for Paraphrasing Sources (https://awc.ashford.edu/cd-guidelines-for-paraphrasing.html)
Guidelines for Incorporating Quotes (https://awc.ashford.edu/cd-integrating-quotes.html)
In-Text Citation Guide (https://awc.ashford.edu/cd-in-text-citation-guide.html)
Research Writing (https://awc.ashford.edu/tocw-research.html)
Carefully review the Grading Rubric for the criteria that will be used to evaluate your assignment.
You must proofread your paper. But do not strictly rely on your computer’s spell-checker and grammar-checker; failure to do so indicates a lack of effort on your part and you can expect your grade to suffer accordingly. Papers with numerous misspelled words and grammatical mistakes will be penalized. Read over your paper – in silence and then aloud – before handing it in and make corrections as necessary. Often it is advantageous to have a friend proofread your paper for obvious errors. Handwritten corrections are preferable to uncorrected mistakes.
Use a standard 10 to 12 point (10 to 12 characters per inch) typeface. Smaller or compressed type and papers with small margins or single-spacing are hard to read. It is better to let your essay run over the recommended number of pages than to try to compress it into fewer pages.
Likewise, large type, large margins, large indentations, triple-spacing, increased leading (space between lines), increased kerning (space between letters), and any other such attempts at “padding” to increase the length of a paper are unacceptable, wasteful of trees, and will not fool your professor.
The paper must be neatly formatted, double-spaced with a one-inch margin on the top, bottom, and sides of each page. When submitting hard copy, be sure to use white paper and print out using dark ink. If it is hard to read your essay, it will also be hard to follow your argument.
ADDITIONAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE CLASS
Discussion Questions (DQ)
Initial responses to the DQ should address all components of the questions asked, include a minimum of one scholarly source, and be at least 250 words.
Successful responses are substantive (i.e., add something new to the discussion, engage others in the discussion, well-developed idea) and include at least one scholarly source.
One or two sentence responses, simple statements of agreement or “good post,” and responses that are off-topic will not count as substantive. Substantive responses should be at least 150 words.
I encourage you to incorporate the readings from the week (as applicable) into your responses.
Weekly Participation
Your initial responses to the mandatory DQ do not count toward participation and are graded separately.
In addition to the DQ responses, you must post at least one reply to peers (or me) on three separate days, for a total of three replies.
Participation posts do not require a scholarly source/citation (unless you cite someone else’s work).
Part of your weekly participation includes viewing the weekly announcement and attesting to watching it in the comments. These announcements are made to ensure you understand everything that is due during the week.
APA Format and Writing Quality
Familiarize yourself with APA format and practice using it correctly. It is used for most writing assignments for your degree. Visit the Writing Center in the Student Success Center, under the Resources tab in LoudCloud for APA paper templates, citation examples, tips, etc. Points will be deducted for poor use of APA format or absence of APA format (if required).
Cite all sources of information! When in doubt, cite the source. Paraphrasing also requires a citation.
I highly recommend using the APA Publication Manual, 6th edition.
Use of Direct Quotes
I discourage overutilization of direct quotes in DQs and assignments at the Masters’ level and deduct points accordingly.
As Masters’ level students, it is important that you be able to critically analyze and interpret information from journal articles and other resources. Simply restating someone else’s words does not demonstrate an understanding of the content or critical analysis of the content.
It is best to paraphrase content and cite your source.
LopesWrite Policy
For assignments that need to be submitted to LopesWrite, please be sure you have received your report and Similarity Index (SI) percentage BEFORE you do a “final submit” to me.
Once you have received your report, please review it. This report will show you grammatical, punctuation, and spelling errors that can easily be fixed. Take the extra few minutes to review instead of getting counted off for these mistakes.
Review your similarities. Did you forget to cite something? Did you not paraphrase well enough? Is your paper made up of someone else’s thoughts more than your own?
Visit the Writing Center in the Student Success Center, under the Resources tab in LoudCloud for tips on improving your paper and SI score.
Late Policy
The university’s policy on late assignments is 10% penalty PER DAY LATE. This also applies to late DQ replies.
Please communicate with me if you anticipate having to submit an assignment late. I am happy to be flexible, with advance notice. We may be able to work out an extension based on extenuating circumstances.
If you do not communicate with me before submitting an assignment late, the GCU late policy will be in effect.
I do not accept assignments that are two or more weeks late unless we have worked out an extension.
As per policy, no assignments are accepted after the last day of class. Any assignment submitted after midnight on the last day of class will not be accepted for grading.
Communication
Communication is so very important. There are multiple ways to communicate with me: Questions to Instructor Forum: This is a great place to ask course content or assignment questions. If you have a question, there is a good chance one of your peers does as well. This is a public forum for the class.
Individual Forum: This is a private forum to ask me questions or send me messages. This will be checked at least once every 24 hours.
Assignment:Cultural Memory
Assignment:Cultural Memory