Your first essay is due Tuesday, November 21. You must submit the essay via Blac

Your first essay is due Tuesday, November 21. You must submit the essay via Blackboard as an attachment, an MS Word file or the equivalent, by 11:00 at the latest, but you can submit it earlier if you like. The grading for late submissions will begin at 75, and PDFs will not be accepted.
The representation of a place is one that is constructed. That is, places are not “objective” realities but spaces already shaped by a particular understanding of the world. Moreover, as Tabish Khair notes, in Other Routes, any account of a place “also entails defining, consciously or unconsciously, the writer’s relationship to a geographical area” (4).
In view of that, for the essay, you will discuss how the “East” is represented or described in either a single account or two accounts. You can choose one of the following topics:
1) Discuss how India and China are represented in Ibn Battuta’s Travels
2) Compare Ibn Battuta’s account of India with the Wonders of India
3) Compare Ibn Battuta’s account of China with Marco Polo’s
4) Discuss how Siam is represented in Muhammad Rabi’s Ship of Sulaiman 5) Compare Muhammad Rabi’s account with the Abbé’s
* Or you can choose your own topic, but you must get my approval first.
In addressing the issue of representation, please consider the following questions: What sites and sights are recorded and emphasized? Is there a pattern to the way in which they are presented? And how relevant is the motive for travel to the overall tone of the account?
The paper this time should be 5-6 pages in length (or 1250-1500 words), double-spaced, and in 12-point font. Emphasis in grading will be placed on the clearness and conciseness of your discussion or comparison, with the appropriate textual support. So please do not just summarize, or give an itinerary of sites visited. If you do so, it will affect your grade negatively. There is also no need for you to refer to secondary readings not assigned for class. If you do intend to refer to additional works, this applies as well to Internet sources, please cite using the MLA Style guide. If it is obvious to me that you used outside sources without citation, your grading will begin at 65. The paper is worth 100 points total and constitutes 25 percent of your overall grade. If you have further questions, please do not hesitate to speak with me.