The final assignment for this course is a research paper of 10-15 pages on any topic dealing with the relation of people to the land in  America.  You may focus on literary texts, historical texts, cultural or political institutions or movements.  Here is a list of some past paper topics.  Those with asterisks were especially successful.
 
 

*Better Homes and Gardens as Suburban Pastoral Writing: Leisure, Safety, and Nostalgia in the Suburbs

*The Fresh Air Fund and Country Virtues

Pastoral elements in Hemingway's In Our Time and Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby

The Pastoral Myth, Environmentalism, and Social Elitism

Nature in Toni Morrison's Works

The Modern Midwife as Pastoral Figure

Myth and Reality: The Antiquated Cowboy, the Modern Cowboy, and the Industrial Cowboy

*Baseball and Pastoralism: The Emergence of the American Machine in the Garden

Explorers and Settlers: The Writings of Male and Female Adventurers

*Natural Motifs in Pablo Neruda's Poetry

*Outward Bound and Wilderness as the Outdoor Classroom
 
 

Thursday, April 11:  Hand in a few sentences describing your topic.

Thursday, April 25:  Hand in a thesis statement (remember the work we did on this early in the semester), a brief outline, and a list of at least five sources, three of which must be IN PRINT.

Friday, May 10:  PAPERS DUE AT MY OFFICE BY 5:00 P.M.