Due Nov 20

Short Essay 2 of 2

In the first essay we looked at the role the heavens played in the mindset of ancient and primitive peoples. Today the stars, made dimmer by light pollution and irrelevant by the atomic clock, are far less vital to daily life than they were to shepherds watching their flocks by night in the year 2 B.C.E. Yet they continue to stir the human imagination, as witness the works of science fiction, space art and space music we explored in the last five weeks of class.

In an essay of roughly 5 pages (1200-1500 words, not including the list of works cited), draw on the fiction, art and music of the past century to achieve a deeper understanding of the role of cosmology in the mindset of the present day. How does it shape our understanding of humanity, of our place in the cosmos, of the meaning of life? Feel free to draw on cultural artifacts beyond those discussed in this class, so long as they date to the period 1900-2020.

The best essays will frame their thesis claim as a response to some prior understanding: often in the form ‘Not just X but also Y,’ where X is something fairly important but also obvious and Y is something more subtle or intriguing than X. The best essays will not necessarily reference multiple examples, but may instead focus on a single example to provide an in-depth analysis. Those that do focus on multiple examples will choose examples carefully, not haphazardly.

Essays will be graded on:

• Interpretive insights
• Evidence presented (evocative description of visual art, choice of quotations and evocative assessment of literary texts)
• Deepening of analysis from ¶ to ¶, communicated through ¶ transitions
• Clear sense of mission, communicated in the introduction and conclusion
• Documentation of sources, using MLA citation.

Submit to Prof Henebry via email by midnight, Saturday.