Below please find the announcement concerning your finale paper due May 18. We will discuss it further in class. FINAL PAPER TOPIC In a three-page, double-spaced, paper please define and analyze the representation of Ithaca from Homer to modernity along the lines discussed in class. Why has it meant so much to ancient and modern authors? And what does it mean to you after reading all related material? In order to fully respond to this topic, it’s imperative you have completed reading critically: -the Odyssey (Introductions and Chapters 1-24) -the Power Point “The Allure of Ithaca” posted on BB -Cavafy’s poem “Ithaca” -My lecture/notes on Cavafy posted on BB -Edith Hall's chapter "Exile from Ithaca" from the Return of Ulysses. -Dante Inferno, Canto 26 -The final three readings/poems by Whitman, Baudelaire and Walcott Your task in this comparative paper is to evaluate at least two of these references and examine how the idea of Ithaca has been interpreted by other authors and artists than Homer. One of them, for example, is the modern poet Constantine Cavafy whose poem “Ithaca” is crucial to the modern understanding of it. If you are also going to discuss a film, please make sure you watch it and you don’t rely on online notes of the film without ever seeing it. Please cite specific examples from some of the above texts to demonstrate knowledge of theme and elucidate your points. In addition, you might need to look up a few things related to your topic on your own to respond insightfully and have a better understanding of the influence of the symbolic Ithaca on modernity. This assignment should not be about the geography of Ithaca, it should be MAINLY about Ithaca as a literary milestone. In other words, how has Homeric Ithaca inspired literature and art of subsequent generations? In my power point and in your readings there are several references to literature and art (Cavafy’s “Ithaca,” Walt Whitman’s “Had I the Choice,” Derek Walcott “The Sea is History,” or films like The Wizard of Oz and Gone with the Wind), that have interpreted and reinterpreted the idea of Ithaca and what it means to modernity. The final paper is due Tuesday, May 18 by 12 noon Please email the final paper to me on May 18 by 12 noon attached as a Word doc at In anticipation of your final paper please observe all the following rules we have discussed extensively: -Have a title that best captures your topic and the spirit of your paper -Remember to put main titles in italics -Insert page numbers -Do not jump from tense to tense, stick with one tense -Make sure your third-person verb forms are correct -Have transitions (paragraphs) -Do not ever address the reader as YOU -instead use ONE or WE: "As one/we may argue..." -Be aware of rules of punctuation -Know not only the forms of figurative language, but also how to use them -Introduce quotes properly: "according to...", or "as the author states/claims/argues/maintains/declares/ponders..." (a while ago I posted a link to a guideline of proper introduction of quotes) -Use specific examples in the form of quotes from the texts to illustrate your points -DRAW AN OUTLINE before you write the assignment -Have a clear thesis and personal perspective on the topic -Do not oversimplify or generalize and AVOID clichés. Be specific and think small -Use synonyms; never repeat the same word more than twice in a short paper. Please do not write in the comment’s column. Save in Word and attach as Box doc.

Participation Activity #3 Neoliberalism (film, lecture & readings)Reflection of a major theme of our film “The Sixth Sun: Mayan Uprising in Chiapas” in relation to what you’re learning from our lecture and readings from: “End of the Cold War, Democratization, Neoliberalism, Globalization 3.0 and the Remaking of the Americas in the late 20th and early 21st Century, Part I” (my important lecture, readings and articles)Once you’ve seen and taken notes on this week’s lecture, read our Chasteen ch. 11, “Neoliberalism” and accompanying articles, and seen our film “The Sixth Sun: Mayan Uprising in Chiapas,” write a short essay in which you address a major theme or issue from our film (you’re providing context from our lecture, chapter and articles, including Subcommander Marcos’ “Humanity Against Neoliberalism”) and why that theme or issue is important to our understanding of the End of the Cold War, Democratization, Neoliberalism, Globalization 3.0 and the Remaking of the Americas in the late 20th and early 21st Century.You have the full study guide for you to use and take notes on as you see the film, but I’ll list some of the major issues and themes that the film deals with below. Choose a major issue or theme, tell us all about it, develop it, provide context and tell us why that issue is important for our understanding of this entire sweep of the History of the Americas we’ve seen since week 2, from “Colonial Legacies” through “Neoliberalism” (this indigenous uprising against Neoliberalism in 1994, during our era of “Globalization 3.0, is in many ways an “aftershock” of the Conquest).Sample themes: how Native peoples have been impacted by Neoliberalism (this is our “globalization 3.0. Is this different or similar to the ways that native peoples were impacted by previous waves of Globalization?); Native continuities from pre-conquest times to the modern era (languages, religious traditions, political organization); Liberation Theology; Gender (there are many women participating in this rebellion); Guerrilla Warfare; Government’s responses to indigenous demands and to this rebellion; the role of the media and public relations (the rebellion explodes on January 1st, 1994, the day that the North American Free Trade Agreement, NAFTA is supposed to take effect and right when the world wide web is getting started); the ways that the Zapatistas gained international attention and became symbols of the larger “anti-Neoliberalism” movement; as well as the ways that Zapatistas came to organize and foster solidarity among other indigenous communities worldwide; Democracy- and who is included, who isn’t. There are more but those are the main ones I distilled from it.Length of this essay: Two well developed paragraphs should suffice.Write your essay in a word processing program so you can always have a copy. Proofread it. Spell-check it. Copy what you wrote and paste it onto the Discussion Board by this title.