TBK: Research Prompts, 10/16

For Thursday (10/18), we will have three students present on the assigned and secondary readings. As with other presentations, the students will send their notes to the instructor before class.

The Brothers Karamazov

Prompt 1

What can you learn about the text from the front and back covers, from the table of contents, from the "Introduction" and "From the Author" sections? Read through these areas and pages closely.

A) Prepare an outline of the information covered in these areas.

B) Include in this outline section and paragraph headings, noting the key points we should understand for each section.

C) Create a list of ten concepts from these areas to call to the attention of the other students.

D) Students should include at the end of the outline a statement on how these portions of the text relate to his or her own interest in the book and course themes.

Prompt 2

The beginning is always extremely important in story-telling. What is important or unique about the beginning of the novel The Brothers Karamazov? Read through the Book One and discuss how the author sets the stage for the rest of the novel. What symbols and themes are immediately important in the novel? Explain what leads you to believe so? How does beginning of the novel set the stage for the plot? How does setting important in the beginning of the novel? Take two or three pages to outline answers to these questions.

Contingency, Irony, Solidarity

Prompt 3

Create a chart with the following information for chapter six of the Rorty text:

• Make a list of ten key points from this chapter. 
• Make a list of twenty or so terms that you are unfamiliar with from this chapter. (Every time you see a word you don't know, write it down.) 
• Write a rough draft summary of the chapter. 

Email a digital copy of this chart to the instructor before the start of class.