RETURNING FROM WAR

The major theme: Post-Traumatic Stress and Other Casualties 

Text choices :

1-Wilfred Owen, Dulce et Decorum Est (1917)

2-Thom Jones, The Pugilist at Rest (short story) (1991)

3-Phil Klay, Redeployment (short story) (2014)

Task: The aim of this proposal is for you to identify a topic, pose one or more research questions, and venture a hypothesis for your paper. At the very least, your proposal should clearly identify the primary text from the 3 above that youll be working with and relate it to a major theme ( post Traumatic stress ).  Include a 1-3 secondary sources.for a secondary source ,Below are some guidelines to help you write your proposal. Bear in mind that whatever work you put toward the proposal will help you with the final paper ( look in the attached files for final paper guideline ) .while you need only turn in a single page, you are welcome to begin filling in more details on your own.

 Proposal length: 1 page, double-spaced (no more than 1 pp.)

Outline: Your proposal should include the following three elements:

1. Title and subtitle

• Both eye-catching and clear. Ex: Proust in a War Zone: The Uses of Literature in Salar Abdohs Out of Mesopotamia

2. Background

• Provide 1-2 background sentences to contextualize your project and main inquiry. (Who, what, where, when, why, how). Here you might focus on the cultural, historical, or political contexts of your project before telling us about the work youre writing about.
• Identify the primary text you will be writing about (an essay, novel, short story, or other work from the syllabus). Optional: list any secondary sources you will (or might) investigate. These can be preliminary; you can always add or change later.

3. Objectives and Research Questions

• This is the most important part of your proposal clearly tell your readers what you plan to write about, how it relates to a course theme or trope of war literature, and why you think its important.
• State explicitly what your research questions are. These questions should be debatable, focused, and specific.
• What is your guiding (primary) question? (What/why/how)
• What are two supplementary (secondary) questions?
• Why is this topic important / what broader themes or issues does it help us understand?
• Venture a hypothesis what you think you will be able to prove or demonstrate about your topic. Again, its OK if this changes during the writing process.