English 111 - Garcia: Topics & Research Questions

Your research question should be based on ONE of the following questions (you will likely need to narrow your focus and make your question more specific):

Zoot Suit:

1. How does the play illustrate one of the ten monster theses?
2. How does Valdez portray the events around the Sleepy Lagoon incident and/or “Zoot Suit Riots” compared to accounts from historians?
3. How does Valdez’ play speak to Chicano/e experiences of being manipulated or oppressed by powerful social institutions or systems, such as the criminal justice system, the U.S. military, globalization, OR the mass media.
4. What is message or moral of the play and how does it apply to current concerns?
5. What is the mythological and/or symbolic role of “El Pachuco” in the play? For instance, how does he relate to stereotypes about Mexican-Americans/Chicanos, Aztecs, and/or Pachucos? Or what kind of villain, hero, anti-hero, or something else is he?
6. How do gender roles shape the play? For instance, how are men and women represented or monsterized in different ways?
7. How is Zoot Suit animated by the concerns or objectives of the Chicano movement?
8. How does the play portray (or fail to portray) significant examples of cross-cultural solidarity among diverse groups happening at the time?
9. Other? (check with Prof. Garcia)

Chicano Frankenstein:

1. How does the novel illustrate one of the ten monster theses?
2. What is the message or moral of Chicano Frankenstein and how does it apply to current concerns?
3. How does Olivas’ novel compare in some key area(s), such as theme, plot, symbolism, characters, style, or genre, to Shelley’s original?
4. Is Olivas’ novel a “retelling” or “remixing” (or something else) of the Shelley original and why does he draw on Shelley's novel for his project?
5. How does Olivas’ novel compare in some key area (theme, plot, symbolism, characters, style, or genre) to a work based on Frankenstein by another writer or artist of color?
6. How does Olivas’ work speak to the modern experience of being manipulated, oppressed, or created by powerful social institutions or systems, such as ONE of the following: Big Science, Big Tech, Big Pharma, Govt. institutions, globalization, or mass media?
7. How do gender and gender roles play into the novel? E.g., how would it be different if the “monster” or doctor were represented as a woman?
8. Why does Olivas center the novel on reanimation? E.g., is he presenting a realistic future scenario or a metaphor for current situations?
9. How is Chicano Frankenstein animated by the ideas, objectives, or symbols of the Chicano movement?
10. How does the novel draw on and/or depart from the conventions of one of the following genres: Chicano Literature, Romanticism, Gothic Literature, Science Fiction, or Political Satire? Or how does it blend two genres? For example, is this an example of Chicano Gothic or Chicano Science Fiction?
11. How/why does Olivas' novel draw on a work of art (such as Rodin's The Walking Man), or literature (such as Rivera's And the Earth Did Not Devour Him) to convey its message or accomplish its aim?
12. How does the novel illustrate a psychological concept or phenomenon, such as the return of the repressed, the uncanny, individuation, etc.
13. Other? (check with Prof. Garcia)

The video below offers some tips for creating good, open-ended research questions to help guide your research: