#2005-2007

Man Crush Fandom: Made in Japan

Guidelines: 1-1 1/2 pages, double-spaced, in MLA format

Your response papers will be divided into two types: one will deal with a passage from one of the articles that we are reading for a given week and one will be a critical response to an image(s) in popular culture.

Textual responses: You will select one passage from the week's reading (no more than about four lines), type it out in full, and then write a commentary in which you aim to articulate your perspective on what strikes you as important in the passage. You may disagree with the passage, agree with it, agree with part of it but reject the rest -- in any case, establish a distinct perspective on it; do not simply summarize. Whatever your response, you should engage closely with the chosen passage and offer specific reasons in support of your response. If you devote careful attention to these response papers, you will feel more actively engaged in class discussions.

Cultural image response: You will find a visual advertisement in a popular newspaper or journal that corresponds thematically to the ideas we are discussing (i.e., issues of class, gender, or race). You will then work to interpret this image, to unearth the cultural message(s) implicit in it. Again, be sure to interpret, not just represent the image in textual form. Be sure to hand in the image as well as your analysis.

You may turn these in any order you please, so long as they arrive on the dates assigned on the syllabus for response papers.

Due dates: _____ and _____.