Musings on the Final Paper

It has been brought to my attention that we sort of just nailed down the parameters of this last paper (loosely, at that) in class discussions. I never gave you a clear prompt. As a teacher of composition, I know better than that. My bad! So I meandered over to the fencepost/water cooler to add some thoughts that might give you some direction if you find that you need it. Since the prompt is in this medium and since it is so late in the game, please do think of it as musings to give you direction rather than an assignment. I believe we decided on 8-10 pages with a very loose boundary on sources. That is, use as many sources as you need to say what you want to say. Part of doing good research is learning to know how much you need for your argument. If I give you numbers, then you'll worry about that instead of what I would rather you be thinking about. Frankly, this is one of the best classes I've ever had. You guys all have very insightful perceptions of popular culture, and I want to hear you ruminate on it at some length one last time before our paths diverge. But in the interest of giving you direction in addition to happy warm feelings, I will say that what I would really like to see happen here is for you to think about the way you responded in the short papers: you looked closely at particular arguments about popular culture and thought about them in (hopefully) some new ways. Then, you looked closely at a larger text--the various journals that treat popular culture--and examined the field with a broader view. You guys did a great job taking that step back and retaining a critical eye. That's what I want to see. No matter what you argue, I want to see that you have stepped back and then stepped back some more to get the most comprehensive view you possibly can (this does not mean you can't be specific and/or take a strong stance through a particular lens; I just want to see that you are looking at the big picture too). The beauty and terror of pop culture is that it is so entrancing. What we consume every day is so easily ignored. This paper should be a chance for you to show what is easily ignored as something that, for any number of reasons, should not be ignored. As for the multimedia offer I made, that still stands. If you choose to incorporate significant portions of audiovisual, your page count will go down slightly, but be advised that sometimes it is difficult to convey your argument effectively in multimedia, so it is not the kind of thing that will necessarily save you time or effort. I hope this is helpful, but feel free to jet me specific (or general) questions. I'm done with holiday-ing and back to the grind.

Julie