Using diverse texts, this course has addressed the question of Origins, and how origins are created by different groups in order to construct and contest particular identities. Thus Leakey reconsiders the origins of mankind, Diamond examines origins of the modern world order, Rousseau theorizes the origins of inequality, Riefenstahl depicts the origins of national identity and Nazism, and Foucault explores the origins of discourses on sexuality. In the final project, you must approach the issue of Origins on your own, exploring the ways in which a particular origin and identity interact, and the implications of such interaction. While the project may be conceived as an argumentative essay, presentation in other media is a viable option. We encourage you to explore particular issues raised by the texts and lectures in ways that are relevant to your own reflections on identities and origins.
Final projects are due on Thursday, December 13th, no later than 12:00 noon at your Teaching Fellow's office. Papers should be 2500 words in length (8 pages stapled), double-spaced in 12-point font with proper citation, bibliography, page numbers, and a meaningful title. If you choose to use other media, the written component must be 1200 words (with all other criteria being the same as the 2500 word project). The media component must clearly and directly engage the topic. No late projects will be accepted. You are required to reference at least one course text in your project, making ample and critical references to that text. Also, be sure to orient your reader to the topic at hand and build a strong argument around a strong thesis. Find productive comparisons and contrasts, and be creative in your approach to the topic. As you build your argument, integrate examples from the texts and from lecture and seminar. You are welcome to use outside sources (e.g., books, articles, films) as long as these sources directly engage the course themes.
NOTE: There will be an abstract component to the project (due in seminar on November 29th or 30th), as well as an oral component (a 5-minute presentation of the project).
Sample Topics
1. What does it mean to identify? How can we identify any group -- present or past -- given the diverse nature of identity, the discursive aspect of culture, and the problem of our own biases? What are the implications of this process for scholarship in the humanities?
2. What are the origins of origin stories? What drives scientists and the general public on their various quests to find human origins? What explanation/mythology of origins (presented by lecture, reading, class discussion) do you find most compelling? Why? How so? Using specific class materials, discuss the problems and implications of Origins, and how we go about searching for them.
3. Rousseau (39ff) distinguishes between the physical act of sex and cultural aspects of it. Is there a fundamental biological identity to humanness, or is it all discourse and culture, as Foucault suggests? (You may want to incorporate other aspects of humanness in your response, such as eating, drinking, sleeping, exercising, birth, death).
4. How valid do you think claims about origin are in determining modern political boundaries? For example, think about Israel and Palestine: both parties employ often overlapping origin stories to connect themselves with a particular geographical area. What role, if any, should disciplines such as archaeology, political philosophy or film play in this debate?
5. How might our contemporary understanding and use of art influence the way in which we interpret the function and status of art objects in their own cultures? Can art be divorced from its social and political context? If so, how might it reflect the culture in which it is created? Can culture or art serve to exculpate its agents?
6. Why are there so many movies and documentaries about the Nazis today in the United States? How do the Nazis contribute to the construction of our own identity?
7. "Scholars and theologians alike have tried to insert as much distance as possible between us and the brutes" (Leakey 349). Do you agree or disagree with this characterization? What are the implications of Rousseau's argument, for example, in terms of how we think about ourselves as "unique"?
8. Foucault has been criticized for lacking a theory of resistance or agency. Can we escape from the power relations which society has imposed on us? Can Origin narratives help us do this?
9.
"We don't see things as they are -we see things as we are." - D. Pilbeam
"The data speak for themselves" - R. Leakey
Compare and contrast these attitudes about how we understand the 'things' that make up the archaeological and historical record. What do they reflect about the cultural context of the people who adhere to these perspectives? How might our understanding of the past be colored or distorted by these contrasting attitudes?