Western Civilization: Europe In The Modern Era
Argumentative Essay 1
Argumentative Essay #1: Building a Paper Block-by-Block
EUH 2030 – Fall 2018
Professor Peterson
Assignment: Write an original paper that answers one of the two prompts below. Instead of writing the paper as an organic whole, however, we want you to break it into its component ‘building blocks’: summary, analysis, and argument.
Your paper should include the following sections, with subheadings, in this order:
Summary: Introduce your readers to the theme of your paper and in no more than three sentences per text, explain each author’s most important or relevant ideas in your own words.
Analysis: Contextualize the texts and explain how they relate to one another. Why is each author writing, and to whom? Where do the authors share similar themes, biases, or claims, and where do they differ? Why are these similarities and/or differences important?
Argument:Make a claim in the form of a two-part thesis that answers one of the prompts below. Then narrate how you would make a case for that claim if you were writing a traditional essay:
+ What evidence you would draw from the texts to support your claim?
+ What sub-arguments will you need to make to help your readers understand your overarching thesis and how it connects to your analysis?
Do not structure these arguments as in a traditional essay; rather, talk us through how you would build your argument, as if you were explaining to your Professor, TA, or WA in class. What ‘moves’ do you need to make to build an argument, and why?
Clarification: In essence, the first two sections repeat what you did on the first and second papers; the difference here is that you need to be much more selective in summarizing and analyzing the texts in ways that address the prompt. The third section is new: it’s aimed at helping you think about how you might fit the first two sections into a traditionally-structured paper.
Purpose: In this assignment, you will learn to write the ‘building blocks’ for an argumentative essay or persuasive paper. In order to make an effective argument, you have to understand the works you are engaging, put them in dialogue, and use them strategically for evidence that supports your own assertions. You will do each step separately, so that you can get a sense of what each ‘building block’ looks like before you put them all together for the next paper.
Prompts: Choose one of the two following questions to answer:
What criticisms of European civilization emerge from Black Man’s Burden, All Quiet on the Western Front, and Goddamn This War!? Do these criticisms share a common theme?
The period from 1789 to 1918 witnessed a profound debate over the role of government in society – a debate you know as the ‘Social Question.’ Using three texts from this class (for example, Siéyès, Mill, Tristan, Nightingale, etc.) argue why you think this became such a central concern for European thinkers during this period.
When to submit:
A printed rough draft of at least 80% of your paper is due in class on Tuesday 10/23.
A final draft of your paper is due online on Canvas by midnight on Thursday 10/25.
Requirements and Guidelines: Your paper should be 1,000-1,250 words. In this course, all writing project should be formatted according to Chicago style: 12pt Times New Roman font, double spaced with one-inch margins. Please include your name and a short title at the top of the page.
You must include citations for all relevant examples, summarized information, or quotes.
PLEASE NOTE: you should not use any sources beyond those assigned in this class for this assignment. We want to see your own ideas about the assigned sources.
Grading Criteria: When we grade your analysis, we will look for you to:
Introduce the topic/debate at hand in one or two sentences
Summarize briefly the most relevant ideas from the assigned texts
Contextualize the texts and draw comparisons and contrasts between each author
Make a claim about the texts that answers the prompt and takes the form of a two-part thesis statement
Draw a few key examples from the texts that will support your claim
Explain how you will use that evidence to support your claim
Write clearly in a way that conveys your message effectively
Write concisely – i.e. explain the main ideas without too much supporting detail
Include proper citations for all relevant examples, paraphrased content, or quotes
Plz don't write too well and use more simple words plz. The information is in the document . Plz plz don't write too well.
Argumentative Essay #1: Building a Paper Block-by-Block -Western Civilization: Europe In The Modern Era
Name
EUH 2030 – Fall 2018 Professor Peterson Date
Q: What criticisms of European civilization emerge from Black Man’s Burden, All Quiet on the Western Front, and Goddamn This War!? Do these criticisms share a common theme?
Summary
The Eurocentric view that the European Civilization represented human progress above all other cultures downplayed how ideas of conquest and subduing other people affected progress and the western civilization.
Analysis
Edward Morel’s The Black Man’s Burden highlights the dangers of imperialism as reflected by the treatment of people of Congo by the Belgians. Morel wrote in response to the white man’s burden and sought to contrast the lives of the conquered people with that of the imperialists drawing attention to the problem of European conquest and prejudice are used to justify the killing of the Congo people.
All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque’ is an anti war story highlighting the horrors of war during WWI, as told by a volunteering soldier on the war front. Remarque' focused on the experiences of Paul Bдumer and his colleagues who had gone to the war as teenager, but then became disillusioned by the war because of what they encountered, and the notion of military heroism was far from what influenced them as they wanted get away from the horrors of the war
Goddamn This War!, by Jacques Tardi focuses on the experiences of French soldiers fighting against Germans in WWI, and the violence they experienced. the two anti-war books focus on the Great War/ WWI, Remarque’ focuses on the perspective of a young German soldier and Tardi focused on the experiences of a young French soldier, but both emphasize the downside and negative consequences brought about by the war. Even as Goddamn This War is a comic version of the story on the destruction in the battlefield and the lives of the soldiers provide insights on how those who experienced the war first hand were affected.
Argument
The brutality of the Belgians in Congo and violence of WWI highlight that European civilization was closely interrelated with conquest and Europeans were also prone to violence just like other people and cultures they considered barbaric. The beginning of 1914 was peaceful and even leaders could not imagine the war that would destabilize the continent for close to four years ​. There were great political and social upheavals, and Europe...