HIS 313/GSS 350 Sec. J Bollywood and Beyond: Religion, Gender, and Politics in
South Asian Film
Topic
Pick a paper topic that has relevance to one or more of the following course units, which
we have explored over the semester.
➢ Film/Genre
➢ Religion, Myth, Politics
➢ Caste, Social Hierarchy, Social Relations
➢ Gender, Sexuality, and Cinematic Representations
➢ Modernity and Globalization: Nation, Citizens, “Others” and Indian
Cinema
Upload the assignment in the safe-assign box as a Word (.docx) file. Please do not use
any other programs such as pages or pdf format etc. You have two attempts to upload.
Use the first one to generate a safe-assign report to correct any plagiarism flags that come
up. You can ignore the flags in the bibliography or citations. The match should be under
15%. I will grade the second uploaded paper. You are welcome to submit it earlier than
the due date and time if you so desire. It is advisable to not leave it to the last hour, as
once the 11:59 PM deadline hits, the submission box will automatically shut down. Late
assignments will be penalized by a grade cut and not accepted after one week
following the submission deadline (except in medical emergency or other unforeseen
circumstances outside the control of the student. Documentation has to be provided
and will be at the discretion and judgment of the instructor.)
1. Research Paper topic and initial research outline: 15% – due Wednesday
November 3, 2021, by 11:59 PM in safe-assign box on Blackboard.
The Outline must be two typed (double spaced 12 font) page that highlights
the topic of your final research paper (it can go a little over, but not under the
page limit!) The choice of topic should be guided by interest, inspiration,
curiosity, passion, question, and desire to know more! The initial research outline
should highlight the main thesis question/questions you will research and
investigate in the final paper and the ways in which you will go about gathering
information on it.
Use any or all of your previous written work (Weekly homework reflections and
2
questions) that you have done this semester to develop your research paper
hypothesis. It should focus on any of the broad topics listed above. You should
develop a thesis argument on something concrete, specific, and narrow within the
broad themes that are listed above. As an example, if you choose film/genre you
could focus on any one of these ideas: a) non-film influences on Bombay cinema
(intertextuality) or b) “masala” films or genre/s as “rasaesthetics”, etc. c)
evolution of the film industry over time d) use of song and dance etc. etc
It should follow the alphanumeric Outline sample attached below as a guide.
There should be at least 4 numerical divisions (I, II, III, IV): I – Introduction
(your topic, why you chose it); II – Brief Thesis questions that will be addressed
in the final research paper; III – Sources that you will use – a preliminary list
with annotation; IV) Conclusion: a brief recap of what you hope to achieve
through this research and writing exercise.
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/544/03/
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/media/pdf/20081113013048_544.pdf
2.
Last Completed Projects
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