writing course paper

Using Camus’ “Create Dangerously” as a model for style and tone and a guideline for

structure, make an attempt to address the question “what does it matter who is

speaking?.

Camus’ talk/essay centers around the questions of what sort of art an artist should

produce, the role of the artist in society, and the role of art in society. He looks at the

position of the artist and reasons why artists might find themselves being criticized

for having produced particular works and then examines some assumptions that lie

beneath these criticism to see if those assumptions are correct. Based upon his

conclusions in those sections he then goes on to put together his own overall

conclusions.

I’m asking you to do the same sort of work in your essay, but rather than

considering the piece of art (the text) as the central part, we are thinking about how

the public’s view of the artist might shape the public’s opinion about the text.

Just as Camus ends up looking at the artist and society in his attempt to understand

what sort of art an artist should produce, I expect that you may need to think about

message, purpose, context, and audience when thinking about the way in which we

need to create our own ethos in communication.

Length wise, I expect that most writers would need to write for at least six pages

(double spaced, in MLA format) to attempt a satisfying, thoughtful and productive

response, and that a focused response would not go much longer than eight pages.

Your readers will all be familiar with the readings from our course, so those

readings would be useful for discussing examples of what you mean. You may also

use outside examples if you are trying to make a point not covered by one of our

class readings, but keep in mind that an outside text might require more explanation

and might push your paper longer that you prefer.

All examples that you refer to in your paper or that you use to help shape your own

explanations in the paper need to be identified in the paper and included in the

works cited.

You’ve had seven weeks to consider this question. Let’s see what you have come up

with. I’m looking forward to your input.