Notes and Some Suggested Topics for the major academic disciplines of humanities, science, and social science" related to The Zookeeper's Wife.

Starting Notes for WR 65 Main Essays

Expository writing is part of almost all other kinds of writing. It explains (exposes...) the Why or How about something, a situation or a process, or What something is. Expository writing is not to be an instruction manual, list or recipe, but an explanation... Please define any technical terms--including what the field you are using studies--and direct the writing to a general reader, not an expert in the subject.

The themes and issues addressed in The Zookeeper’s Wife are many and complex: zookeeping, the nature of animals and the wild, war, genocide, prejudice, man’s inhumanity to man, eugenics, genetic engineering, courage, survival, the tactics and goals of the Nazis, to name a few. Because of this complexity, this text lends itself well to the type of in-depth analysis and research in Humanities, The Social and Natural Sciences and others. 
PAPER #1: Due Wk 6  Humanities Studies include:  literature; history; philosophy; archaeology; comparative religion; ethics and how this focus is part of or suggested by The Zookeepers Wife. Step-by-step Paper Guide | MLA Documentation style
Literary Focus might:
> Examine language use in ZW, specifically Ackerman’s word choice and use of the five senses, literary
  devices
> Research the function of “story” and “creative non-fiction” as a way of conveying information.
> Research/examine the role of personal diaries to portray the past.

History Focus:

> Research the history of the Warsaw Ghetto and the 1943 uprising and discuss what the details Ackerman offers add to our understanding and perspective of the Ghetto and the uprising.
> Research the German invasion of Poland
Ethics Focus:

> Research Nazi value system, beliefs.
> Research Jewish beliefs.
> Research the ethics of resistance groups and countries.
> Research the ethics of the treatment of animals in captivity.
> Research eugenics in Nazi Germany, as a concept.

PAPER #2 Due WK 10: The second main essay will focus on some topic from the Social Sciences or Natural Sciences and how this focus is part of or suggested by The Zookeepers Wife. . This essay will be in APAstyle | gen.APA GUIDEw/models  |  APA Position GUIDE  style, be 1000 wds in length and use at least 3 sources to support your observations and thinking.

Basic Social Sciences: economics, geography, history, political science, psychology, sociology, ethnic studies, women's studies  

          anthropology:  

o   Poland before and after WWII

o   Zoo before and after

o   Nazi goals for race purity

          geography:  

o   how proximity affected Poland's vulnerability to Germany

o   how Poland's natural resources would benefit Germany

      history:

o   Poland and Germany's traditional relationship

        political science:

o   how occupying Poland could have affected the political power of Germany

o   the power/political structure of the ghetto

          sociology:

o   how zoo occupants related to each other, made a society.

o   how the Warsaw Ghetto formed a social structure.

          psychology:

o   the affect of German invasion/occupation on the Polish people

o   how the survival instinct affected behavior in the ghetto, zoo occupants, etc.

o   how people deal with the realities of war

           ethnic studies:

o   how their traditional values and historical experiences made the Jews able to live even as a minority and made them discriminated against.

           women's studies: 

o   how Antonina (or another woman) was an example of a woman of her time, her expertise, and how she served as a stable force in war-time.

Possible Topics for Natural Sciences: astronomy, biology, chemistry, the Earth sciences and physics, and how this focus is part of or suggested by The Zookeepers Wife.

This paper will use  APAStyle | gen.APA GUIDEw/models  |  APA Position GUIDE

Astronomy--How study of the solar system/planetry movements, etc. influenced Nazi plans and actions

Biology- How various Nazi medical experiments affected the subjects genetic studies influenced--or planned to influence--animals, plants and humans.

Chemistry/Physics/Earth Sciences--How one or more of these hard sciences influenced weapons, rocket development, technology, etc., and perhaps how that information was used by Allies after the war.

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