Choose one of the following topics as a prompt when constructing your thesis. In every case, you should work towards an argument about the eighteenth century that includes specific discussion of at least one Jane Austen novel and at least one non-Austen literary text.

It is important for your essay to have both a thesis and specific evidence from the literature to support that thesis. Remember: saying that there are “similarities and differences” does not a thesis make. When comparing two or more things we can always find shared elements as well as disparate elements. In your thesis you need to specifically identify the grounds of your comparison. Think of a thesis as the first step in proving your particular reading of a piece of literature.

The topics below are just that: topics. You will find an array of suggestions rather than prescribed questions. Furthermore, I have specified no texts. You will eventually “customize” the topic as you form your thesis. You need not feel compelled to answer all of these questions in your essay, and you should certainly also engage with questions of your own.

Do not return to the subject matter and the texts of your first essay.

  • The Eighteenth-Century Novel: Craft an argument addressing the debate around the value of the novel during the period.
  • Eighteenth-Century Gender Performance: Construct an argument about the role of gender performance in one of the texts we’ve read this semester, drawing upon prescriptions about femininity and the “ideal” woman in fiction and non-fiction works.
  • Eighteenth-Century Objects: Construct an argument around the narrative function of significant aesthetic objects in the texts we’ve read this semester. Some of those objects include novels, paintings, letters, miniatures, jewelry, armor, etc. etc. etc.
  • Eighteenth-Century Legal Practices and Traditions: Construct an argument that addresses representations of British law and tradition in relation to eighteenth-century inheritance, class, and gender practices.
  • Eighteenth-Century Aesthetics: Construct an argument that addresses the impact of eighteenth-century aesthetics on the work of British writers, inclusive of the sublime, the beautiful, and the picturesque.
  • Eighteenth-Century Educational Practices: What are the stakes of education during the period (narrative, psychological, national, and moral)?
  • Eighteenth-Century Social Hierarchies: Construct an argument about representations of social hierarchies during the eighteenth century.
  • Eighteenth-Century Empire Building: Construct an argument that addresses representations of British involvement in empire building, the slave trade, and the plantation economy.
  • You may choose to develop one (or more) of your weekly responses into a longer essay. If you choose this option, please be aware that depending on the scope of the initial writing prompt, you may have to expand the parameters of your initial essay. In other words, you still need to discuss at least one Austen novel and one non-Austen text. See below for further details.

Paper Length: 5-7 pages

Please follow MLA guidelines from the MLA Handbook. If you don’t have an MLA Handbook, you should probably purchase one. The Purdue Owl website has been updated, however, and may be sufficient.

Refer to materials posted on Thursday, February 10th for guidelines and expectations.

You will be asked to post a paragraph describing your essay on Tuesday, May 3rd in lieu of your Weekly Writing assignment. You will be evaluated here on the progress you make in developing a viable thesis statement in response to one of the prompts. If you are choosing to develop a weekly writing response, please do indicate that you’re doing so and note how you are developing your short response into a 5-7 page essay.

A good description will: 1. indicate your thesis 2. suggest the structure of the essay 3. provide some evidence so that I can assist you in developing your essay.

Final Draft due by Saturday, May 7th at 9:00pm 

Please turn all essays in electronically (google doc link or .doc to roxanne.eberle@gmail.com)