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        IPE 405: The Idea of Wine with Professor Michael Veseth

 

Mid-Term Paper Assignment (updated 9/19/09)

 

Your mid-term paper is "provoked" be the 2004 Jonathan Nossiter film Mondovino.

 

Mondovino is a classic statement of the conflict over the idea of wine. It takes a particular stand on this debate and argues it forcefully, using both the content of the film and the director's visual rhetoric.  

 

Your job is to write a review of the film that (1) identifies and examines the conflicting ideas of wine that are presented and (2) provides a critical response to the film's core argument.

 

 As with any review, some part of your essay will necessarily be purely descriptive, but I will be looking for you to go beyond this, to make a persuasive argument about the film and and to support it effectively (see grading information below). 

 

If you can, I would be interested to see if you can bring your regional Wine Identity into the essay -- to try to think about how the Mondovino conflict plays out in your region as actors and interests struggle to define the Idea of Wine.

 

The film's website

Dramatis personae

 

You won't have any trouble finding reviews of Mondovino on the internet, but I encourage you to think for yourself.  Mark Twain warned his readers not "to get drunk on the smell of somebody else's  cork" and I think this is good advice.

 

Guidelines for this assignment:

·        Length: no more than four single-spaced pages (approx 2000 words) plus required bibliography.

·         Format:  Single-spaced with an extra line between paragraphs.  Academic papers like this one need to include proper citations. Use whatever reference format that is standard in your major (for IPE students, for example, that would be the Chicago style with footnotes and a bibliography) but use it correctly and consistently.

·        Late papers are subject to a penalty of 5 points per calendar day.  This penalty may be waived under exceptional circumstances at the professor’s discretion. No email or electronic papers accepted.

 

Grading information:  My standard grading framework for essays is:

 

  • Argument (40%).  This grade is based on the strength and clarity of your thesis and the argument that you mobilize to advance your thesis.

 

  • Evidence (30%).  This grade is based on your ability to support your argument with supporting evidence.  Hint:  When you use direct quotes, be use to use them to support your argument (as evidence) do not use them to make your argument (that is your job).

 

  • Writing (30%).  Writing should be clear and free of writing errors or mistakes in making academic citations.  The paper should be well organized, which means it should be organized around your argument.  You may use either first person or third person.

 

 

 

These materials are intended for the exclusive use of my students at the University of Puget Sound.  No other use is permitted.