DARKNESS AND LIGHT: TALES FROM MEDIEVAL FRANCE AND PREMODERN JAPAN
The topic is about:
Topic 1: How does the theme of darkness and light intersect with the values of fin? amor in the
Lais of Marie de France and with the aesthetic of mono no aware in The Tale of Genji (Genji
monogatari)?
For topic 1 focus on a specific lais and a chapter or episode from The Tale of Genji as
you refine and sharpen your thesis. Here are some examples to choose from:
Focus on: The Queen and Kiritsubo: Love and Loss of Self [Lais of Chevrefoil and The Tale of Genji]
Length and format: Five-seven typed pages, 12-point font, doubled spaced, one-inch
margins. Submit your written work as a .pdf document.
Style: Use MLA citation style for ideas and quotations from primary and secondary
sources that have influenced your essay.
1. A clear thesis statement in the first paragraph of your paper (see Thesis Statements for
Research-Based Writing Projects);
2. Definitions of ambiguous terms or those rich in connotation (for example: fin? amor,
spirituality, mono no aware, beauty, truth, love);
3. A logical development of your thesis that uses a comparison/contrast methodology
and within which you weave a discussion of cultural contexts; [Include internal
citations to primary and secondary sources.]
4. A conclusion that brings your ideas full circle and shows how you have accomplished
what your thesis proposed; and
5. A bibliography that includes a variety of sources to which you have referred and
appropriately cited in the body of your paper. Use at least five well-chosen sources
(scholarly books, encyclopedia entries, and academic journals) in addition to your
primary texts, which you also should cite in your bibliography. Avoid basing your
research solely on texts that you find on the Internet. Visit the Library!
