Modern portrayals of witches, witchcraft, and criminals

Your essay should be word-processed, with page numbers in the header or footer. Length should be 6-8 pages double-spaced. No late papers will be accepted, unless you and I have agreed to this in advance of the deadline. You will be graded on
• argument: you need to have a clear, compelling argument made
• coherence: I need to understand what you are arguing; your argument needs to hold together
• organization: your argument needs to be clearly laid out, not wander and not raise tangential points
• ability to cite specific evidence: make direct references to texts (i.e. page numbers in books, where appropriate), and feel free to use quotations, but do not simply string quotes together.
Keep the following also in mind:
• your essay will be considered more persuasive – and receive a higher grade – the more primary source materials you are able to incorporate into your essay.
• be sure to cite all materials used for the essay and to specifically cite quoted and paraphrased material. I don’t care about the format of the citations, just be consistent. A simple way would be the following:
Asma points out that “monsters are icky.” (Asma, 51)
• do not plagiarize. I take plagiarism very seriously. I will report you, and you will receive an “F” as a final grade for the course. If you want to know more about what constitutes plagiarism, visit for a good summary.
• you may use additional sources not included in the course, but these must be cited where appropriate. That said, I strongly discourage you using outside materials, as your grade will depend solely on how well you analyze the materials we have covered this semester.

CHOOSE ONE ONLY

OPTION 2. Using Cohen’s (Week 2) criteria and ideas, explain how prevailing concepts/images of witches and criminals in the early modern and modern eras (Weeks 6, 7, 8, 9) have portrayed them as monsters. Be sure to make use of as many texts, videos, and lecture material as possible.