SOAN 309: Colonialism & Development
TuTh 1:20-2:35, Alumni 207
Colgate University
 Fall 2004 Professor Thomas Hall
 Office:  408 Alumni, x7083, email:  tdhall@mail.colgate.edu
 OFFICE HOURS:  Tu 2:45-4; W 1:30-2:30 & 5:20-6, Th 12-1, & by appt
Last Updated 10-13-04

Second Reaction Paper
DUE IN CLASS THURSDAY 11/4

Write a 4 to 5 page (1200-1800 word), typed, double-spaced, essay on  of the topics below. Be sure to consult the general instructions, How to Write Essays for Professor Hall.
Paper form: NO Cover pages or binders Name, course, paper, & topic in the upper LEFT-hand corner:

Your Name
SOAN 309
RP 2, TOPIC X, where X = topic letter
Page 1

If you do not know how to set running headers, you may write it in by hand!

References:  For references to class texts you need only put author and page in parentheses [e.g., "blah, blah, blah...." (Wolf, p. 133)]. For references to material OUTSIDE OF COURSE TEXTS use " blah, blah, blah,....." (Smith & Wesson 1938, p. 45) and a bibliography at the end (NOT on a separate page).

Remember:   Essays are FORMAL exercises, no slang, no contractions, correct spelling and grammar are required.  In your FIRST draft, work at getting your ideas on paper. In your SECOND draft, work on getting the argument in order. In your THIRD draft work on grammar, spelling etc. Keep the introduction, BRIEF, get right to the point.  Write it last!

*** NO Bibliography for course books ***
** Label Your Topic**

GENERAL:  Pramoedya Toer's Child of All Nations is part 2 of a four part series about live in Java, called the Buru Quartet.   It tells the story of a Dutch educated, Indonesia writer, Minke.  The events of the first book are summarized in the beginning of this one.  This book follows his early life as a writer and reporter and his attempts to expose some of the negative aspects of colonialism.

Topic A:   Memmi discusses how both the colonizers and the colonized are "deformed" by the colonial relationship.   Does Toer's account support this contention?  Give examples.  Is there any contradictory evidence in Toer's account?  How does the latter part of Ancient Futures illustrate this distortion or deformation?  How does it contradict it?  How do these accounts relate to Bodley's and Shannon's explanations for colonialism?

Topic B:    Memmi describes how the colonized must move through assimilation into revolt, and how that process often entails a special kind of racist thinking against colonizers or anyone associated with them.  How does the life of Minke in Toer's book illustrate this process?  What stage[s] does he pass through?  How is his life different from this pattern?  Where it is different, try to construct an explanation for these differences.  How do you think the pattern will finish for Minke?  Do think any of the residents of Ladakh will have similar experiences?  Why or why not? How do these accounts relate to Bodley's and Shannon's explanations for colonialism?

Topic C:   Use Child of All Nations and The Colonizer and the Colonized to critically analyze each other.  That is, how does Memmi help you to understand the events portrayed by Toer and conversely how do the events in Toer illustrate the general processes Memmi describes?  What does each add to the other?  Do they contradict each other at any point?  What does Ancient Futures illustrate, add, or contradict with respect to the other two books?  How do these connect, if at all, to Bodley's and Shannon's explanations for colonization?

NOTE:  Do NOT say that one is a novel, the other an analysis--I know that!  Indeed, that is why I assigned them!  Rather, what new insights or understandings can one gain from each book with respect to the other regarding the colonial situation.

Note: the answer to "WHY" is the heart of each essay. That is, logic and evidence, not position on the issue, is the key factor. Try to think of arguments FOR & AGAINST your position, and state why those FOR it are more persuasive.

Send comments or questions to tdhall@mail.colgate.edu
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