Paper Assignment

Art Home | ARTH Courses | ARTH 200 Assignments

Paper Assignment:

2nd and 3rd Papers

As I talked about it in the class before vacation, I want to try an experiment for the next two paper assignments. Instead of giving specific assignments, I want to give general guidelines for the papers. I want you to write two, three to five page papers focusing on works of art of your choice that we have dealt with in the course. Your papers should respond to the general questions that I have asked you to consider since the beginning of the semester:

1) What is the role or function of the "work of art" in the social context?

2) What is the position of the artist in the social context?

3) What is the conception or nature of making "art" in the social context?

4) How do your answers to the first three questions help you to gain an understanding of the particular culture's conception of reality?

Although I do not forbid it, I do not insist on extra research on these papers. You should have enough material from what we have done in class to write a solid paper. If you do extra research, make sure your paper does not become a book report of other scholars' ideas.

Your paper can be a comparison of works of art, but be careful to make sure that your paper does not end up being two papers tacked together. The focus of a comparison paper should be on the meaningful similarities and differences between the works.

Please feel free to meet with me to discuss your choice of topics and the direction of your paper.

I want everyone to have completed the first of these papers by March 24, and the second of these papers should be submitted by April 23. But you can turn these papers in whenever you want before these deadlines. I will try to get the papers back to you as soon as possible, and you will have the option of revising the papers. The deadline for submitting revisions will be when you turn in your writing portfolio at the end of the semester.

I will be giving a specific assignment for the final paper which will be due at the end of the semester.