Due date:  Wednesday November 1-- BRING 2 COPIES OF PAPER OR WRITE-UP TO CLASS
Topic:  Your choice!  Reaction paper (or other creative response) to any material covered October 2-30.

The purpose of this assignment is for you to respond to an issue raised in the readings or in class, and to integrate references to readings, in-class and outside material in your discussion/project.  In either a paper or an alternative (but substantive) creative response, you will describe and explain one or more of YOUR REACTIONS to the material.  You will probably find this assignment most appealing if you choose a topic that either intrigued you a lot or troubled you. Be sure to give your own critical evaluation of the material -- do not merely summarize ideas presented in readings or in class.

For either option, demonstrate that you have thought independently and creatively about the readings, class discussions, and other material related to the topic you've chosen.  If you're having trouble getting started, here's a couple examples: a) If several points of view were presented on the issue, which do you find most/least favorable?  Why?  or, b) Do you agree or disagree with the points made in the readings/films/lectures/discussions? Why?

You can write/produce anything you like, as long as you follow these guidelines:

Option 1: Paper

1. Write a 3-5 page reaction paper that critically engages issues covered in the readings and/or discussed in class during the specified period.

2. Make two specific references, one to a reading assigned from October 2-30, and another to an additional assigned reading, a film or topic discussed in class, or an outside source (see Assignment #1, Option 1, and "Note," below, for examples of outside sources).

Option 2: Creative Response

1. Create a piece of art, video, film, poetry, prose, performance or other form of expression in response to a topic addressed between Oct. 2-30. The media and format are flexible, but you must critically engage issues covered in the readings and/or discussed in class during this period.

 2. Write 2-3 pages (typed, double-spaced) explaining your piece and how it responds to the reading.  What do the elements you chose for your piece represent/mean to you?  What do they signify/symbolize with regard to your chosen topic? 

3. Make at least one specific reference to an assigned reading from Oct. 2-30. 

For either option:

1. Your paper/write-up should be typed and double-spaced with 1-inch margins.  Correct spelling and grammar is expected.

2. You must use citations correctly and provide a bibliography!  See Assignment #1, Option1 for examples of acceptable ways to cite and document references.

Note: As discussed in class, for either option, interviews, ethnography and/or participant observation are optional means to access outside sources -- you can interview someone, conduct a small "focus group," or observe human interaction in a specific environment as a means of collecting information on a gender-related topic. (If you plan to do this sort of project, send me a 1-paragraph email specifying your research question(s), methodology and informed consent concerns/procedures so I can give you the "OK" beforehand.)