Our Previous Samples

GA's "Religious Liberty" Bill

1. In March 2016, the Georgia General Assembly passed a controversial "religious liberty" bill that was vetoed by Governor Nathan Deal. If not vetoed, the Bill would have allowed faith-based organizations to deny services to those who violated their "sincerely held religious beliefs and preserve their right to fire employees who are not in accord with their beliefs." In a nutshell, the  "religious liberty" bill was intended to shield opponents of the Supreme Court decision in Obergefell v. Hodges (2015) that legalized same-sex marriage.

In the video, Dr. Beverly Daniel Tatum talks about prejudice and racism in our American society. She published a book titled Why are black kids sitting together in the cafeteria? Watch the video and then reflect on your high school years about the voluntary social segregation you might have encountered or observed in your school cafeteria.  Does such an environment perpetuate any myths, stereotypes or prejudice? 

Your critique must be detailed and substantive. Length: at least 250

Think about the television you watch and the commercials you have seen.  What prejudices and stereotypes are reinforced? Why do the media continue to reinforce these prejudices and stereotypes?

Based on the Video on the 2018 Graduation Ceremony at Great Zimbabwe University in Zimbabwe, post a cultural critique, comparing and contrasting the American and Zimbabwean cultures in terms of their celebration of commencement (graduation). You can use your own High School graduation ceremony to compare and contrast cultural differences.

NOTE: Zimbabwe people find much joy in dancing. It's their unique cultural characteristic. The man wearing a scarf around his neck is the President of Zimbabwe. In his capacity as Chancellor, he attends all graduation ceremonies held at all the universities in Zimbabwe.

Your critique must be detailed and be at least 250 words

Two Contrasting Beliefs:  Critically discuss the pros and cons of these two contrasting beliefs. Which belief/view do you support and why?

In the United States, many people seem to endorse one or the other of the following beliefs:

A. “Where there's a will there's a way" (or some variation of that expression). Therefore, if anyone is poor, it's his or her fault. They haven't tried hard enough; they might even be lazy and irresponsible. There are jobs out there for anyone who really wants to work. Further, if a poor person needs and asks for help, it is NOT my obligation to help them. Let them help themselves by pulling themselves up by their own bootstraps just like I did. No one helped me or gave me any handouts and I wouldn't take them even if they were offered to me because I've got too much pride to take charity. So, I do NOT want my tax dollars used to help poor people, and I deeply resent it when the government takes my hard-earned money and spends it on these people.

B. "Nobody talks more about the best man winning than the man who inherited his father's store or farm." If anyone is poor it's probably because they were born into a low-income family, did not have the same advantages as those with more money, did not develop high expectations, and may even have dropped out of school. Since they will end up in the least desirable jobs, they are most likely to be unemployed during tough economic times. If a poor person needs and asks for help, we should give them a helping hand until they get back on their feet again, especially if it involves training or retraining for a new job or making sure children are getting food and shelter. I'm willing to have my tax dollars used to help poor people because I'd want to be helped if I ever found myself in such a situation.

CROSS-CULTURAL CONFLICTS: SEARCHING FOR A SOLUTION

Latino and African American parents are each blaming the other's group for their children's poor performance in school. At recent public events, tempers have flared and accusations have been exchanged. Some parents are afraid that worse things might happen at the school. The African American parents feel that the non-English speaking students are taking the teachers' time away from their children, as a result of which their children are not learning. The Latino parents feel that the teachers are too busy offering risk prevention activities to the African American children, depriving their children of adequate attention. A community organization was asked by the Latino parents to do something about the problem. The community builder, who was Latino, collected information about all the students' performance in an effort to resolve the conflict.

Find some strategies of how you could have resolved the above conflict. In an attempt to resolve the conflict, what do you think was done wrong from the very beginning?

The Return

1. What test does Utnapishtim propose for Gilgamesh, if he wants everlasting life? 
2. Does Gilgamesh pass the test?  What is his consolation prize?  And what happens to the prize?
3. What is the significance of the snake?  Why is a snake the symbol of medicine in the caduceus—the staff with two snakes twined around it that you see on hospitals and doctors’ auto tags?
4. How could Gilgamesh be the first psychological novel, as Kenneth Rexroth called it in The Classics Revisited?

The Search for Everlasting Life

1. After Enkidu’s death, how has Gilgamesh changed from what he was when he went to fight Humbaba?
2. “Going into the mountain” was a metaphor for dying, as well as the explanation for how the sun gets from the west back to the east.   Is Gilgamesh’s journey through the mountain a kind of metaphorical death?
3. Does the garden where Gilgamesh emerges remind you of anything from the Bible?  How is it different?
4. What is Siduri’s advice to Gilgamesh about his quest for everlasting life?  Is there a philosophy of sorts implied by her advice?
5. How does Gilgamesh get across the waters of death?
6. Who is Urshanabi’s counterpart in Greek and Roman mythology?
7. When Gilgamesh arrives at Dilmun, what does Utnapishtim tell him about his quest?
8. How is the story of the flood told by Utnapishtim like story in Genesis?  How is it different?

Ishtar and Gilgamesh

1. When Gilgamesh returns from his expedition against Humbaba, how does he look?  How does Ishtar react?
2. How does Gilgamesh respond to Ishtar’s proposal?
3. When you read Ishtar’s demand to Anu for the Bull of Heaven to kill the heroes, and Anu’s response, is there a passage in the Bible that comes to mind?  Which one?
4. When the heroes fight the Bull of Heaven, who wins?  How?
5. The right thigh of the bull may be a euphemism for his sexual apparatus.  What happens to it?
6. How does Ishtar react then?
7. As a result of the altercation with Ishtar, what ultimately happens to Enkidu?
8. What is the curse that Enkidu puts on the harlot?  Why would he curse her?  Why does he change his mind, and what is the blessing he calls on her instead?
9. What is the afterlife like in Enkidu’s dream?

The Forest Journey

1. What kind of mood are Enkidu and Gilgamesh in when they decide to go fight Humbaba?
2. Why does Gilgamesh say he wants to fight Humbaba in the first place?
3. What does Gilgamesh say to Enkidu’s warning about Humbaba?  Are his the words of an old, wise man, or a young, impulsive one?
4. How much to the axes that the heroes carry weigh?  The swords?  How much weight doe they carry altogether?  Is that possible?
5. What is the warning of the elders of Uruk?  And what is their final advice?
6. What are the allies that Ninsun (Gil’s mom) asks Shamash to provide for Gilgamesh and Enkidu?
7. When the heroes set out to find Humbaba, how far do they go before breakfast?  How far before supper?  How far in a day?  Is that possible?
8. Gilgamesh has several dreams before the encounter with Humbaba.  Who interprets them, and what do they mean?  Are they all interpreted?
9. Who is Lugulbanda?
10. How do the heroes defeat Humbaba?
11. What is Humbaba’s request of Gilgamesh?  Why doesn’t Gilgamesh do what Humbaba wants?
12. Are Gilgamesh and Enkidu really two different people, or could they be different aspects of the same personality?