Please provide plenty of textual evidence in the body of your paper, and make sure that this evidence is introduced in both the context of the book/song and in the context of your thesis. Please go beyond the examples I have provided in my lectures. Although you are free to cite that lecture material, please aim for originality and supply new examples of your own.
Give your paper a unique and descriptive title. Provide an introduction that doesn’t merely describe your subject matter, but instead raises the stakes of your argument (say why your paper matters). Offer a conclusion that doesn’t merely restate your thesis, but instead moves the conversation forward. Your ending should prompt readers to explore the topic themselves.
Here are some suggested topics. Feel free to devise your own topic.
Reflect upon the dueling moments of solidarity and moments of confusion in the street protests enveloping East Los Angeles in the late 1960s. How do these alternating trends compare with what we’ve seen in recent social justice protests? Are there lessons to be learned from what you’ve read in Revolt of the Cockroach People? Does the book stand as a prophecy in any sense? How is justice served?
In what ways does Oscar Zeta Acosta’s outsized “gonzo” personality aid the Chicanx Movement? Alternatively, how are his personality traits detrimental to the cause?
Compare views of urban community in Acosta’s Revolt and Gaye’s What’s Going On.
Compare the three Marvin Gaye singles with the three Carpenters singles. What does it mean that all six of these songs hit the Top Ten pop chart in 1971? What does it mean that all three songs by Gaye all went #1 on the Soul Chart, and that all three songs by the Carpenters went #1 on the Easy Listening chart? Was radio more inclusive fifty years ago, when fewer options for listening existed? Where would these artists fit in today’s online/streaming formats?
What expression do Marvin Gaye and Karen Carpenter give to suffering and vulnerability, not just in the lyrics of their songs, but also in their vocal delivery?
View footage of Carpenters television or concert performances, or Todd Haynes’ controversial short film, Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story. How would you compare personal pressures exerted on Karen Carpenter with those we see today?
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