The Work of Art

Research Paper Assignment

 

This term you will have the opportunity to examine closely a particular movement or genre in art as the focus of your research paper.  This could involve any kind or aspect of art that interests you, i.e., music, visual art, dance, architecture, cultural/communal art….the list is endless.  Each of you will need to get approval from me as to the area that you have chosen so that there is no duplication and also so that the topic is manageable within a 5-7 page paper.  The overall question (which would result in your thesis) that your paper needs to address is:  How is this art movement a reflection of its culture and time?  I must emphasis that your thesis needs to be your own original idea that you develop throughout your paper.  This is not merely an informational paper.

 

In order to fully answer this question you will need to have specific sections of your paper that address the following ideas.

 

• Explanation of the art itself which would include its origins, its unique aspects and key artists within this movement.

• How this art movement is/was both a reflection of the culture and/or a challenge to the existing cultural norms. 

• How this art movement has impacted other art movements which coincided with it or followed it. 

 

 

This paper will be 5-7 pages word processed.  You need a minimum of 7 refereed sources.  You can use either MLA or APA document style.  I would choose the documentation style that you will be using predominantly in your college career. 

 

Next Thursday, Jan. 21st, Kris Kern out library liaison will visit our class to help introduce to the various sources and databases available through the PSU library.  I STRONGLY urge you to come to class with two or three movements that you are considering.  The clearer you are on where you are going the more helpful the session will be. 

 

On Thursday, Jan. 28th, you will need to hand in a research prospectus which is a 1-2 page document which contains:  Your thesis (this should not be a question or a mere statement of a topic), a tentative outline of your paper’s organization and an annotated bibliography of the sources you intend to use.  There are very helpful links on d2l which should help you get clarity on each of these aspects.  In the annotated bibliography, I would like you to briefly summarize the source and how you intend to use it in your paper.

 

On Thursday, Feb. 18th, your polished draft is due.  A polished draft is NOT a rough draft.  By this point, you should have a clearly articulated thesis and, for the most part, fully developed essay including a Works Cited or Bibliography Page.  I will be conferencing with each of you on your polished drafts.  If you fail to hand in your paper on time, you will not receive a conference from me as I need time to read and respond to the papers.

 

Your final draft is due Tues. March 8th.  On this day, you will also produce a poster session of your research paper.  This poster session will provide a synopsis of your paper with specific examples/images of this particular movement. 

 

Please note that if you are dealing with a movement that would benefit by handing in your paper electronically, that would be fine.  For example, if you need to incorporate sound or videos that would be beneficial in showing your movement then you should consider submitting your paper electronically. 

 

Your grade on this is broken down as follows:

 

                  Research Prospectus                     5%

                  Polished Draft                                  10%

                  Final Draft                                        15%