Scripts and the City: Unpacking the Look and Feel of
Explore how a particular non-Roman writing system is used throughout the City of Toronto (e.g.,
Arabic, Chinese, Hebrew, Korean, Cyrillic, Devanāgarī, Greek, Cree). Identify some of the economic,
geopolitical, or social factors that have influenced popular perceptions of this writing system. Why are
certain writing systems aesthetically valorized in our society and with what potential consequences (e.g.,
why are Chinese and Japanese characters so fashionable among tattoo enthusiasts)? Are some writing
systems perceived as somehow more threatening, more elegant, more foreign, or more lucrative than
others? What?s the historical context of these stereotypes? How do business owners capitalize on the
?exotic? appearance of certain writing systems? When English translations appear alongside nonEnglish signage, do they tend to be marginalized, prioritized, or given equal prominence? Your data
might include: restaurant signs and menus, newspapers, tattoos, diplomatic literature, travel brochures,
campus organizations? publications, billboards and subway advertisements, and so on. Draw upon both
course content and external sources to develop an argument. Attach an appendix containing a sample of
your data (e.g., photographs), including all specific examples that you discuss.
I. Format
Authorship. You may work in groups comprising a maximum of three individuals. If you choose to do
this, submit only one paper per group.
Title page. Your essay must include a title page that clearly specifies your full name and student ID
number (and the names and ID numbers of all group members, if applicable), the essay topic you have
selected, the title of your essay, and the course code.
Length. The body of your essay should be 5-6 pages in length, in size 12 font, and either double-spaced
or 1.5-spaced. The following components do not count toward the total page length: title page, table of
contents (optional), appendices, and bibliography/Works Cited. You may print your essay double-sided.
Citations. Your embedded citations and Works Cited section should follow the style employed by the
American Anthropological Association (AAA). For details and examples, see pp. 4-5 and 7-9 of this
guide: www.aaanet.org/publications/style_guide.pdf (?Quotations,? ?Text Citations and References
Cited,? and ?Reference Examples? are the relevant subsections).
II. Research and Writing
a. Choose a topic and collect observations/data. You may select one of the topics described below.
Alternatively, you may design your own topic in accordance with the criteria set out in Topic 8.
b. Explore what?s already been written on your topic and refer to it when developing your
analysis. Your essay should refer to both the course textbook and at least three scholarly sources
not discussed in class. These sources should be academically refereed sources (e.g., studies
published in academic journals, books published by university presses). Websites, popular nonfiction, and Wikipedia do not qualify as scholarly sources. For a discussion of what counts as a
scholarly source, see groups.chass.utoronto.ca/kalmar/choosingrefs.pdf. Many academic journal
articles are accessible through OneSearch, a resource that is embedded in the University of Toronto
Libraries homepage at https://onesearch.library.utoronto.ca/.
c. Mobilize evidence and reasoning in support of a clearly defined argument. Try to move beyond
the descriptive reports you were asked to write in high school, and take a stance on a specific issue.
Explain how your findings challenge or complement those of other researchers and contribute to
broader social debates. For some excellent advice on developing arguments within essays, see
https://www.writing.utoronto.ca/advice/planning-and-organizing
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