WGS 330: Feminist Theory Spring 2014 Prof.

Ross Annotated Bibliography Assignment The purpose of this assignment is to begin the process of theorizing your research questions by conceptualizing the particular frameworks or perspectives that you will bring to bear on it. Unlike the research proposal, which asked you to introduce your topic, the annotated bibliography requires you to express an argument through the sources you are using to address your question. You may think of it as an unstructured outline: each entry must specifically say how the source will be used in your paper. Like the research proposal, the annotated bibliography consists of two parts: an introduction and the bibliography itself. Unlike the research proposal, the introduction should focus on sources by formulating a thesis that situates the work you are using in relation to one another, while also gesturing toward your own contribution. For example, if you are researching representations of women in film, an appropriate thesis could be something like this: Feminist theorists who have addressed womens representation in Hollywood film have focused on two primary issues: the quantity of representation vis--vis men and the quality of representation vis--vis men. Those who emphasize the former have argued that Hollywood needs to strive for parity, while those who emphasize the latter have demonstrated the ways in which certain tropes contribute to womens social oppression more broadly. Together, these two perspectives reveal the ways in which womens lack of representation actually is the primary cause of its problematic quality. Note that this thesis does not simply identify whether a group of work is of a particular type though it is implied but rather brings together scholarship that serves my own purpose. A brief (c. 2 page) review of the work you are addressing should then follow and should end with a clear conclusion. The bibliography itself follows a similar format as the previous assignment with the following differences: 1) You should separate your sources into at least three categories: Framework 1; Framework 2; and Other. 2) Each annotation must directly address how the individual source not only is a representative of each perspective but also how it directly relates to your own argument You may use text from the research proposal to complete your annotations. Each section should include at least four sources, for a total of at least twelve sources. You must annotate at least eight of them.