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Please note that, if you so choose, you are permitted to write the essay on one poem from the syllabus instead of The Tiger Flu. In this case, you will be formulating your own essay topic. Please consult with me regarding this topic before you begin working on your essay. This will ensure you do not select a topic that is not appropriate for the essay and could negatively impact your grade (e.g. topic is too superficial, too complex for an essay of this size, not relevant to the course, involves major historical/sociocultural analysis instead of literary analysis, etc.).

Essay Requirements

Essay Topics

Choose ONE (1) of the following topics for your essay. Your thesis statement and analysis of the text must focus on your chosen topic. The questions included under each topic are only meant to act as starting points to help you begin thinking critically about the text and formulating your thesis. Therefore, you are not required to answer a specific question listed here if you have a different research question/argument in mind.

a. How does the physical consumption of food relate to labour under capitalism and the consumption of goods and services?

b. What does the production of tiger wine and the effects of the tiger flu virus say about the exploitative capacity of capitalism, industrial processes, and consumption habits?

c. How do groups like the Grist Sisters, Tiger Men, Cordova Dancing Girls, and New Origins Archive compare in terms of their interaction with capitalist economies and their habits of consumption?

d. What do you make of the repeated instances of cannibalism facilitated by the upload to the Chang and Eng satellites?

a. Why do the Grist sisters forego technology and knowledge from “the time before,” and how has their own technology and communal knowledge affected their adaptability and survival in the wake of the tiger flu pandemic?

b. In what ways have the Tiger Men’s philosophy and culture been influenced by technology and transhumanist thought, and is this approach productive or destructive?

c. How has a rejection/embrace of technology and the natural environment differently affected the Cordova Dancing Girls and the Grist Sisters despite thefact that they are genetically related/similar?

d. Does the mind uploading technology used in the LIFT and the Dark Baths truly work, and why are the Grist Sisters believed to be the key to increasing its effectiveness?

a. In what ways do the Grist Sisters’ queer sexual dynamics and reproductive mechanisms influence (positively and negatively) their culture, relationships, and society?

b. As some of the last surviving men in Saltwater City, how has the masculinity of the Tiger Men been affected by the existential threat to their survival posed by the tiger flu?

c. How do love, family, and desire manifest in this post-apocalyptic world in which heterosexual reproduction is under threat?

d. How has the pandemic altered the gender roles of Saltwater City at large?

Late Policy, Extensions, and Plagiarism Reminder

Any assignment submitted after the due date will receive a 5% penalty per day late (including weekends). No assignments will be accepted 7 days after the due date, and any work submitted after this deadline will receive a grade of 0.

Extensions will be granted to students who request them 24 hours or more in advance of the due date. Any requests for extensions made on the day the assignment is due will not be granted. Extension requests must be made in writing via email. Students must specify the amount of time they require to complete the assignment when requesting an extension, up to a maximum of 3 days (including weekends). If you discuss the possibility of an extension with me in person during office hours or after class, please be sure to email me a formal extension request 24 hours before the assignment due date.

Students who commit or attempt to commit plagiarism/academic fraud will be subject to one or more sanctions, such as: c) zero for assignment; d) zero for the assignment and the loss of additional marks for the course; e) zero for the assignment, with a final course grade no higher than the passing grade for the course; f) an F or NS grade for the course.

Because this course is designed to develop students’ communication, planning, analysis, and writing skills, it is imperative that students complete all the assigned coursework themselves. AI usage is therefore prohibited for this assignment. Any usage of AI will be considered academic fraud and penalized according to the sanctions listed above.