PROSTITUTION: GENDER, SEXUALITY, LABOR, AND POLITICS
Fridays, 12pm–3pm, Sanford 103 SF Campus
FINAL PAPER ASSIGNMENT
Due: November 30 at the beginning of class
Studying prostitution in differing historical contexts reveals to us the ways in which the meanings that prostitution holds are not universal, but rather reflect attitudes towards gender, sexuality, race, class, and politics for a given time and place. For this paper, you are asked to demonstrate this idea, by comparing two of the topics we've studied in comparison with each other. For this comparison, you must choose one topic from Column A and compare to one topic from Column B. You might choose two topics that you felt shared common features, or you might choose to write about two topics that you feel differ from each other more than they resemble each other (or some combination). You may bring in features about the topic that were discussed in class and in lectures, beyond what was presented in the readings.
Column A:
White Slavery and the Progressive Era in America
Victorian Britain
Male prostitution
Column B:
Chinese prostitution in San Francisco
Colonialism: Prostitution in Nairobi
Colonialism: Philippines
Colonialism: Comfort Women
You will need a strong thesis statement for this assignment. You should state very clearly, in the introduction, what your chosen topics share or how they differ. You must then substantiate your thesis with specific examples from the texts we read, including quotations and your own analyses.
If you have any questions about this assignment, I am available to meet with you to discuss. It is much better to discuss this with me before the deadline, than to turn in an inadequate paper.
The draft option is in place, as it was with the first assignment. You may turn in a draft, meaning a paper that is completed to the best of your ability, by November 16. I will return your drafts on Nov 30, and you must then submit the revision by December 7.
As before, you must fully document your sources, using both endnotes and a bibliography, based on The Chicago Manual of Style. If you do not document your sources, I will not give you a grade for this assignment and you will need to re-submit it in order to pass the course.
This paper must be 7-8 pages (1750-2100 words), typed double-spaced, with normal margins and font size. The paper must be turned in on time in hard copy form, meaning at the beginning of class on November 30. I will not accept late work.