Final Thoughts on Cion

I am not sure which direction I am going in with the final paper in terms of whether I will defend or argue against Cion as the common reader selection. I have some good points for each side so I know whichever one I choose can be supported. If I defend it, I will talk about the fact that it talks about Ohio University, the Athens community, and its surroundings and background. This is beneficial for incoming freshmen because they have a chance to learn about more than just the university, but the region in which they are going off to school and its past. On the other hand, I thought Cion was an odd book and I did not really enjoy reading it. If I argued against Cion as the common reader, it will probably be stronger argument because of my personal take after reading the book and my dislike for the book. I'm not sure yet if I will focus on meta-fiction and magical realism and the movie Stranger Than Fiction. Also, what are the page requirements for our final paper?

Writing Prompts for Cion

According to http://www.thefreedictionary.com/Sciolist, the word sciolist refers to "an amateur who engages in an an activity without serious intentions and who pretends to have knowledge."
Also, I found from http://www.worldwidewords.org/weirdwords/ww-sci1.htm that the word comes from verb scire, to know. "The immediate Latin original was the diminutive sciolus, a person who had only a smattering of knowledge. The related noun is sciolism, the practice of giving one’s opinions on subjects of which one has only superficial knowledge." When I came across the word sciolist in the text, I had no idea what it meant. If it is true that Zakes Mda is the sciolist in Cion, his appearance in the novel is like that of a storyteller, but not in a good way. I don't really like that he is referred to as the sciolist, it just makes me more confused about what is going on in Cion.

I would like to watch a movie about magical realism and/or meta fiction. I think it would help us all further grasp these concepts and make our final papers a whole lot easier to write. Cion slightly confuses me, so I think watching something relating to Cion would definitely be helpful.