Essay 1:  Due March 6^th 2008
Choose one reading and one of the five themes.  Discuss the text’s connections to the theme.  Include how the text frames the theme, i.e. Democracy can mean many things.  Is the text supportive or hostile towards the theme?  Situate the text historically, socially, politically—how is this a 19^th century text?  What is the text’s critical assertion or question?  How is the theme made more transparent by the text?

Essay 2: Due April 3^rd 2008
Take one of the themes and look at it through 20^th century eyes.  Compare the understanding that exists in the 20th century with that of the 19^th.  Find a 20^th century text that articulates a modern or post-modern interaction with the theme and discuss the differences that exist between 19^th and 20^th century thinking.

Research Paper: Due May 6^th 2008
Topic TBA