Anthropology
Response papers should be 600-900 words ( 2-3 typed pages) addressing the set of readings for the week. Response papers are meant to be commentaries that engage with some of the key issues raised in the readingsfor this course you have some flexibility in how you approach them.
Response papers should include only a small amount of summary as a brief, focused means of getting at the points or arguments you wish to deal with in your responses. You should not spend time going over the authors arguments in detail you can devote as little as 1-2 sentences to summarize each reading to cover the topic and main points or arguments. In total, summary should take up no more than one-half the total length of the response paper
You should devote most of your paper to analyzing or reflecting on aspects of the readings that you find most interesting, informative, or problematic. For instance, why do you find a particular point or argument convincing or not? What did you find compelling or worthwhile thinking about further? You may also choose to discuss how the points different authors make speak to one another or to a central theme, and present your own assessment. Or you may choose to focus on one main reading and refer to the others to enrich or extend your analysis of the main text or concept. As the course moves forward, you may want to discuss how the readings relate to or help you think about your developing destination project. In all cases, think about your response as a way to extend the points you encounter in the readings and develop your own thoughts.
