Semiotics (literally "semantics") means "a sign of" or "a symbol of." As a field of study, semiotics attempts to understand people in a particular time and place by examining their popular culture (popular music, art, advertising, media, nowadays television and movies, fashion, fads, and other forms of expression). Analyzing trends/patterns (for example, recurring images of waif-like women in print advertisements or seeing young, unmarried couples making love just before some slasher hacks them up into little pieces in a number of horror films) can suggest what values and issues are in the minds or hearts of the intended audience.

As the first group of essays suggested, America (and many Americans, certainly not all) can often be characterized by distinctive values and activities. Write an essay on one of the following topics:

1. Are we really what we eat? wear? watch? surround ourselves with? Several of the essays we are looking at deal with American consumerism. They suggest that what we consume defines who we are and suggests what we value, feel, believe.

   Write an essay, based on actual specific examples (not on general statements or opinions) that shows how a person or a group of people are actually made unique because of what they wear, what they eat, the hobby they choose, a collection they have. Make sure that you focus on a unique, narrow group (or a single individual). Surfers is too broad a category (there are many sorts of surfers); Magic: the Gathering players in the gaming room at Wizards of the coast is more specialized (and they will allow you to include more unique details of their special language, the game-playing elements they use, etc.).

2. You could also write an essay which shows how our consumer choices suggest what Americans (or another culture if you perfer) value. You might, for example, discuss how Americans seem to be obssessed with toys (most of them high-tech), and you could give precise details of people "playing" with their computers, cell phones, WEB-TVs, etc. Another possible topic might focus on how although Americans characterized themselves as part of a "free" society, many are actually bound by very restrictive, Puritan values (you could look at current censorship trends to develop this topic). There are many other values you could focus on for this paper. Just saying Americans are often wasteful is not enough, you must support your essay with lots of specific, concrete examples (the way Andy Rooney does in "Wrappings"). Essays based just on general statements and opinions will not score very many points.

3. Several of our readings ("The Semiotics of Home Decor," "Fashion and Status," "Our Barbies, Ourselves," "Barbie, G.I. Joe and Play in the 60s," "Mad Magazine," "Interface," "Why the Computer Disturbs," "The Soaps: Anything but 99 44/100% Pure," "Why we Crave Horror Movies") show how popular forms of expression (decor, fashion, toys, computer games, television, etc.) can suggest or symbolize certain issues and values in America during different decades.

   Select some very narrow area of popular culture (the Goth look or the replacement of real pets with interactive electronic pets or...) and look at patterns/trends (NOT PLOT!) that suggest some issue or value or fear in America today.

   Here are some possible topics (you are certainly not limited to these):

   • "Teletubbies" and other television shows for children that stress compliance rather than exploration and individual achievement reflect America's movement from a pioneering nation to a nation seeking sameness and stability.

   • The increasing popularity of miniature activity toys, such as fingerboards and Cool Tools car sets, reinforce the value of experiencing life second-hand, without ever leaving the home. (Note: This is similar to the previous topic, and it could easily be written using video gaming or WEB surfing instead of miniature toys).

   • In large part, the popularity of Batman in various comic books suggests that people frustrated with crime and systems of justice in America secretly support vigilantism.

   • SUV's are not just large convenience vehicles; with their (generally unnecessary) 4-wheel drives and high profiles they allow normal, often-frustrated individuals to experience muscle and power.

Try to narrow your thesis to point up a significant quality of the person or group you are describing, and read the student essay "Patrons of the Arts" (Mariano 133) in our reader; it's a great sample of the sort of paper I expect for this assignment.

You've read a number of essays about gender and culture differences. For this paper, choose one of the following topics:

1. Little boys and little girls may or may not be significantly different, but they often are treated differently. Write an essay based on actual experience that shows how boys and girls in the same family were raised significantly differently. Focus on concrete incidents (do not generalize); include precise details, dialogue, anecdotes to bring the description to life. Narrow the focus to one area. You might consider any one of the following: toys, chores, restrictions, etc.--anything that demonstrates different treatment. One of my students, a young woman, for example, always wanted to help her father tinker with the family car, but he wouldn't let her because she was a girl; instead, he forced her brother (who had no interest in cars) to help him change the oil and spark plugs; meanwhile, she was required to help with cooking and cleaning--two activities she loathed.

   Be sure to speculate on the significance of the differences; what is the thinking of the parents and how might it reflect the values of the culture in which the children were raised? NOTE: you certainly may write about your own family but only if there were both boys and girls in the family and only if the the boys and were treated differently.

2. This question is like the one above only it is not limited to a single family. Write about some event, experience, activity that reinforces differences between (perhaps different expectations for) boys and girls. Choose one area (marketing of toys or clothing or ???, sports organizations, coming of age celebrations, etc.) and develop your paper with concrete (actual), specific examples. You might, for example, write about a baby shower you attended where the baby's gender was already known; include descriptions of all the pink (or blue) presents, the decorations, chat about decorating the baby's room, etc. which show that boys/girls are treated differently EVEN BEFORE THEY ARE BORN!

   Again, you would want to explore what this says about the culture that practices these differences.

3. The basic experiences of life (growing, learning, raising families, etc.) are similar, but often what people from other cultures do might seem strange and different. Examine some very specific event or value or behavior or attitude or practice of the Navajo as it is presented in Tony Hillerman's A Thief of Time and compare/contrast it to your own culture (culture is not limited to nationality; there are also religion, ethnicity, socio-economic group, etc.). Limit your comparison to one narrow area only. You could look at ettiquette relating to personal space on the reservation and in your culture, or you could look at "Navajo time" compared to how time and punctuality are stressed in your culture, or you could look at the death ceremony practiced by the Navajo and contrast it to funeral and bereavement practices in your culture, or (???). Again, do not base your essay on generalizations or opinions, and do not stereotype (phrases such as "Christians believe..." are not reasonable because they do not apply to all Christians; the phrase "My baptist grandfather raised me to believe..." is much more accurate).

   Include appropriate documented quotations from the novel, and use hard evidence, specific details, actual anecdotes from your own experience.

We've been looking at significant, defining elements of popular culture this semester. There is a great body of urban legend (which may be true...who knows?); much of this centers around conspiracy. In keeping with the semester's epigram: "The Truth is Out There" (from The X-Files) you are going to investigate one of the many conspiracy theories popular in America today.

Examine any one popular conspiracy theory. Based on your assessment of the evidence, either support the conspiracy claim or debunk the claim. You will need to use a minimum of five sources in your research (no more than one tabloid please, and if you DO use a Globe or Enquirer reference, realize that these are not credible sources--that doesn't mean they are true or false, just not reliable). You may use several Internet sources (the Internet is alive with all sorts of conspiracy sites), but you must use at least two print sources in you research. Some popular conspiracies to try to prove or disprove:

• Did the U.S. government hide evidence of alien life at Roswell?
• Did JFK have Marilyn Monroe murdered?
• Was Lee H. Oswald framed as the lone assassin of JFK?
• Were there cover-ups of the true facts behind the deaths of Robert Kennedy? of Martin Luther King, Jr.?
• Is Elvis or Morrison or Hitler still alive?
• Were the incidents at Ruby Ridge or Waco or Oklahoma City carefully orchestrated by the U.S. government?
• Was there really a Whitewater cover-up?
• Did the CIA help filter drugs into the inner cities of the U.S.?
• Are the Federal Reserve, the Bilderberg, the Tri-lateral Commission trying to set up a new world order that will create a global plantation?

I recommend considering a few topics; then go to the library (you are not limited to LAHC's library, of course) and make sure that there is sufficient material available. If you cannot find sufficient evidence to develop your paper, select a different topic

You will want to review the lecture material on research writing, refer to your handbook for tips on research techniques, and read the student essay "Science Fiction: A Mirror to our Universe" (Nordberg 137) in our reader and the sample research paper in Trimmer's A Guide to MLA Documentation.

IMPORTANT! Whatever topic you choose, your essay MUST take a side and MUST include very detailed, specific examples and documented evidence..

This is the first stage of your research paper.

For this assignment you will need to have investigated a potential research topic (or topics) at least a little. The goal is to determine two things:

1. if there is sufficient resource material available on your proposed topic
2. if there is something worthwhile to say about your proposed topic

Remember, your essay is to be an exploratory research paper; that means you must explore some significant issue of your topic that requires both expansion and proof. Be sure that you focus on a very narrow area. Aliens have visited the planet Earth, for example, is much too broad, and it has no clear direction. In 1947 the U.S. government hid evidence of an alien spacecraft crash at Roswell, New Mexico because they feared massive panic, on the other hand, is more focused and thoughtful.

With all of these requirements in mind, you are to turn in a worksheet that contains the following information:

• your heading (of course)

• your topic (be as specific as possible)

• your tentative thesis statement (be sure that it is a thesis statement)

• a general plan (written either as a list or as a formal outline) of what sorts of material you are going to have to put into your paper to prove your thesis.

• your sources (at this point make sure you give authors and titles and locations (library call #, internet URL, etc.) of at least five sources for your topic); you may not use a general encyclopedia (such as World Book or Britannica) for your sources.

NOTE: the items on your worksheet may change as you continue your research (you may significantly alter your thesis point, and you are likely to discover different sources as you continue studying your topic). At this point I am most interested that you have thought about your topic, have thought about a meaningful way of examining your topic (and have formulated those thoughts into a working thesis), and have checked to see that there is material available on that topic.

ALSO NOTE: the list of sources needs only to include authors, titles and locations at this point (articles should give both the article and the periodical titles where you found the articles); a formal bibliography in standard MLA format will be due with the finished paper.

One of the roles of science-fiction writers is to speculate (based on past and current trends) on the nature of the future. Just how believable is the future that Margaret Atwood imagines in The Handmaid's Tale? What material is actually based on the past and the present? Reviewing the Historical Notes will help you with this question.

Your task is to write a research paper in which you analyze The Handmaid's Tale . For this analysis focus on one narrow issue developed in the novel that is based a on real-life (historical or contemporary) issue. Describe the situation in the novel (be sure to quote and use standard MLA format); elaborate on the issue related to that situation and show how it suggests concerns/issues from past or present history. You might, for example, concentrate on the forbidding of reading which is shown throughout the book. Explain why the "powers" of Gilead feel reading is a threat; examine how Offred and others feel about censorship; compare this to some real-life instance.

There are many other topics that will work with this assignment:

• the problem of custody of children when a surrogate mother is contracted to bear the child

• ecological consequences of unchecked toxic wastes

• television as a propaganda tool

• the lack of freedom for women in certain monotheocracies

• etc.

Do, however, make sure you have a narrow, specific topic. "Women's rights," for example, is far too huge a topic.

For this mini-research paper you will need to use a minimum of three sources-- one will beThe Handmaid's Tale; the other two (or more) will be secondary sources (newspaper, magazine, textbook, etc.) which illustrate that the issue you are drawing from the novel is (or has been) a significant real life issue. You may not use a general encyclopedia (such as World Book or Britannica) for your secondary source. You must draw evidence (documented quotations) from all of your sources.

REMEMBER: This is an exploratory research paper that analyzes some issue in the novel; it is not a plot summary and a list of facts from reference books. You may want to review the sections discussing Research Papers in The Scott, Foresman Handbook for Writers and the Guide to MLA Documentation

NOTE: you may wish to look at suggestions for Handmaid's Tale essay for further information.