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Announcing the . . . OCUReads Essay Contest 2008!!
 OCUReads is a unique academic experience involving the entire Oklahoma City University community, providing a common intellectual experience to explore ideas in a community of scholars. In August, as a part of New Student Orientation, you will participate in a series of discussions and activities providing a deeper appreciation of Da Chen’s Colors of the Mountain and a careful examination of ourselves.
In addition to these activities, all incoming freshmen are invited to enter the OCUReads Essay Contest. Each student who wishes to enter will write a 750-1000 word essay in response to one of the topic listed on the back.
Print out the OCUReads Essay Contest 2008 Guidelines (.pdf)
Submission & Awards
Three Cash Prizes will be awarded:
1st Place, $250
2nd Place, $150
3rd Place, $100
Submission and Formatting Guidelines:
You may submit your essay either by mail or email as a Word attachment* to:
Mail:
Humanities Division
Attn: Dyan Shaw subject: OCUReads Essay Contest
2501 North Blackwelder Avenue
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73106-1402
Email:
dshaw@okcu.edu
subject: OCUReads Essay Contest
*If sending by email, you must attach your essay as a Microsoft Word document.
Deadline: Wednesday, August 6, 2008
All entries must adhere to the following format:
* Include a cover page with title of essay and your name; your name must NOT appear on the essay;
* Double space the entire essay;
* Use only a 12-point font (preferably Times New Roman or Arial);
* Use 1-inch margins all around;
* Do not justify the right margin;
* Pages must be sequentially numbered.
Entries that are mailed in must also be
* Stapled together at the top left hand corner (do not use a binder or folder);
* Be printed on one side of the page (single-sided), in black ink on standard white letter-size paper.
Contest Winners will be announced Thursday, August 21 before Da Chen’s lecture.
Essay Topics
To Enter the 2008 OCUReads Essay Contest write a college-level essay in response to one of the following topics and submit by Wednesday, August 6, following the guidelines on the reserve side. As you compose your essay, please pay attention to and address all the issues embedded within the topic you select.
1. On the first page of his memoir, Da says that “[T]he unfortunate year of my birth left a permanent flaw in my character: I was always hungry.” Da is hungry for food, but he also yearns for other things. Consider the “things” that Da yearns for, how do the times and circumstances he was born into shape Da’s hungers. What motivates Da to achieve his goals? Drawing from your personal experiences, consider how his goals and motivations compare and/or contrast to your own goals and motivations; explore the times and/or circumstances that shape your “hungers” and your motivations.
2. Are Da’s descriptions of his life at school unique to his circumstances? Or do his experiences, for example, his experiences about being excluded from the Red Guards (p 23) and reactions to Han and his gang (p 41) resemble incidents that might be experienced by every school age child? Pulling from your own experiences, explore how Da’s school experiences differ from or reflect the experiences of a child going to school in the United States (or your native country).
3. Why is praying to Buddha with his mother so important to Da? Beyond its religious significance, what role does it play in their lives? Why does the family maintain traditions liked the opulent New Year’s Day feasts even during the most difficult times? What events in the book show the extraordinarily close ties among the family members? For example, what do you learn about Da’s brother and sisters when he helps them in the field (pp 164-166)? Drawing on your own experiences, explain how the familial relationships in America (or other Western) families differ from the relationships Da describes; do the familial relationships share similarities? Explain.
4. Da’s mother explains that if he doesn’t want to work in the fields, Da needs to “study hard. You can choose your future, your sisters and brother can’t. You’re lucky. If they had blisters like yours, they would still have to be there till the last stem was harvested. It’s their life” (p 166). Why does Da have choices that his brother and sisters don’t have? What kind of lifestyle does he think an education will ensure? Do you think that you, like Da, have been given educational opportunities that have been denied to others? What kind of lifestyle do you think your education will ensure? Explain.
5. China is one of America’s largest trading partners and is often discussed in our media. Likewise, media stories about China have increased over the past year since China is hosting the summer Olympic Games in early August 2008. As you read Da’s memoir, reflect upon the political, social, and/or cultural images of China that Da creates; how do the images that he portrays in his memoir compare to the images created by our media? In what ways has China changed since Da was a young boy; in what ways does China still seem to be the same?
Print out the OCUReads Essay Contest 2008 Guidelines (.pdf)
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