Instructions for Response Papers.

From time to time throughout the semester I will be assigning short response papers, basically a one- or two-page response to one of the assigned texts in the coursepack.

What I will be looking for in these papers is:

1. a demonstration that you understood the author’s argument: a brief summary of his or her thesis and the evidence that he or she uses to support the argument.
2. evidence that you thought about how the author’s argument enhances or complicates our understanding of the interactions of gender and culture in a given time and place.
3. good writing.

Within these parameters, you can go in any direction you want with these papers. If the text makes you think about notions of gender in China, the politics of the Song or Yuan dynasties, contemporary Chinese society, or parallel situations in any other culture, please write about it. I am hoping that these papers will stimulate your thinking about the relationship between gender and painting in China and deepen your understanding of Chinese art.

Please refer to the notes in your syllabus about appropriate formats for written work and about plagiarism. (Yes, plagiarism even matters here: if you quote from the text in your paper, please use a parenthetical reference.) If you have further questions about writing response papers, you might visit the HWS Writes website.

Assignments.

1. Ebrey, The Inner Quarters, 21-44, due Friday, Feb. 4.
2. Sturman, “The Donkey Rider as Icon,” due Friday, Feb. 11.
3. Li Chi, “The Changing Concept of the Recluse in Chinese Literature,” due Friday, Feb. 18.
4. Nelson, “Tao Yuanming’s Sashes: Or, The Gendering of Immortality,” due Friday, Mar. 4.
5. Birrell, “The Dusty Mirror,” due Friday, Apr. 8.
6. Owen, “The Snares of Memory,” due Friday, Apr. 15.