SOAN 309: Colonization and Development
DUE AT TIME OF FINAL:
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 14, 11 AM
Last Updated 12-6-99
Write a 4 to 5 page (1200-1800 word), typed, double-spaced, essay on ONE 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 3, 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 & Weson 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: Achebe's A Man of the People, tells, among other things, the story of idealism and corruption in a twentieth century peripheral, or third world, country. While the country is formally independent, there are clear legacies of former colonialism, what is often labeled "neocolonialism." The following topics ask you to analyze and discuss his account in much the way you have done for the other novels in the first two reaction papers. However, in this final reaction paper, you are also asked to bring to bear information from at least two of the ethnographies we have discussed. That is, draw on materials from the at least one ethnography besides the one you read in making your comments. You do not need to read the other ethnographies, but use what you heard in the class reports in writing your essay.
Topic A: Use Shannon and Memmi, especially
their comments on corruption in third world countries to analyze A Man of the
People. That is, how do Shannon and Memmi help you to understand the
events portrayed by Achebe and conversely how do the events in A Man of the
People illustrate the general processes Shannon and Memmi describe?
What does each add to the other? Do they contradict each other at any point?
What do the various ethnographies illustrate, add, or contradict with respect to the other
two books?
Topic B: Memmi notes how the effects of
colonialism might persist. What evidence do you find in A Man of the
People for the legacies of former colonial relationship? What aspects
of former colonialism persist and continue to distort the development of the country?
How general are these? What parallels--or contradictions--do you find in the
various ethnographies?
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.
If you have comments or suggestions, email me at thall@mail.colgate.edu