Blog Entry 8 - Due on Sunday, April 5

Write a reflection on gender relations and romance in The Hunger Games. Include the lecture by Dr. Raley and the required readings in your reflection. Blog is due by Sunday, April 5, 9 p.m.

Blog Entry 7: Panem et Appalachia

 In chapter 16 of Mockingjay, Collins writes about District 12 “We may have been the smallest district in Panem, but we know how to dance.” Discuss the importance of music in The Hunger Games compared to Appalachia. Make sure to talk about at least one of the 3 songs mentioned in the trilogy: “Deep in the Medow,” “The Valley Song,” or “The Hanging Tree.” Also include the talk by Mr. Walt Michael. Blog is due by Sunday, March 29, 9 p.m.

Term Paper

All students are required to write a research paper including in-text citations for all quotations, as well as a “works cited” list including all internet sites you used at the end of the paper, all in the proper MLA style. Please use the latest edition of The MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, seventh edition when citing sources or creating a works cited page. The Writing Center and the library have a copy of this book. Use the following source for “Citing Electronic Resources Using MLA Style” https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/08/

The term paper (at least 1,500 words) must be typed (double-spaced). Include a bibliography of all sources you have used, both books and Internet resources. Use Times New Roman, size 12 and leave a 1-inch margin on all sides. Title page, table of contents, pictures and bibliography are not considered part of the required word count. Please include a word count at the bottom of your paper. The term paper is due at the beginning of class on the day indicated on the syllabus. Unless I have explicitly granted an extension before the due date, late papers will be penalized one-third of a letter grade per day. (A paper that would have earned a B+ will receive a B if it is one day late, a B- if it is two days late, and so on.) Topic, Thesis & Bibliography (20% of grade) are due by March 12, First draft of paper (40% of grade) is due by April 14 and final draft (40% of grade) is due by May 5.

In the research paper, you should carefully choose a topic discussed in one of the secondary books and related to The Hunger Games and write an analytical paper about it. You must find scholarly articles about the topic and engage critically with one of or all three books in the trilogy and/or the two films made from the first two books. The bibliographies in the books we have on reserve have a good collection of secondary sources. However, you must apply one of the theories (disciplines) we have studied in the semester (political science, religious studies, sociology, philosophy, communications, literature, art, music, etc.) in your analysis. In addition to the primary sources (the 3 books and the films) You MUST use at least 3 scholarly print (articles, books, chapters in books) sources. Here is a list of some general topics (see pages 11-12 for a few specific topics):

·       Choose any topic covered by anyone of the various guest speakers, research it and write a paper on that topic.

·       The nature of evil and The Hunger Games

·       End of world scenarios and The Hunger Games

·       Christian themes and symbolism in The Hunger Games

·       President Snow, Hitler, Stalin and Saddam Hussein

·       The inequality between rich and poor

·       The Hunger Games and the Arab Spring

·       The Hunger Games and totalitarian regimes today

·       The Hunger Games and Colonialism

·       Suffering as entertainment

·       The importance of appearances

·       The Hero’s Journey by Joseph Campbell and The Hunger Games

·       Mentors and mentees in The Hunger Games

·       District 12 and Appalachia: Culture, history, geology, environment and more

·       The Hunger Games and dystopian literature (George Orwell: 1984; John Steinbeck: The Grapes of Wrath; William Golding: Lord of Flies; Aldous Huxley: Brave New World)

·       Katniss and other revolutionary figures: Similarities and Differences (Spartacus, Joan of Arc, Oliver Cromwell, Lenin, Gandhi, Che Guevara)

·       Weapons and weapon systems in The Hunger Games

·       Probability and Game Theory in the Hunger Games. See the following link for a good commentary: http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2012/04/probability-and-game-theory-in-the-hunger-games/

Blog Entry 6

How is it possible that we still have totalitarian regimes in our time? What makes a regime or government totalitarian? What are the features/ characteristics of a totalitarian system? Relate these questions to the two readings required for this week and The Hunger Games. Blog is due by Sunday, March 8, 9 p.m.