Name: ______________________________________________________ Photography of the Civil War: Visual Analysis In 1862, a man named Matthew Brady opened a photography exhibit in New York City called “The Dead of Antietam.” The first real photograph had only been produced as recently as 1839, and Americans had never before seen the horrors of war reproduced in photographic form until the Civil War. Matthew Brady’s exhibit was unprecedented. "The dead of the battle-field come up to us very rarely, even in dreams," wrote a reporter for The New York Times. "We see the list in the morning paper at breakfast, but dismiss its recollection with the coffee. There is a confused mass of names, but they are all strangers; we forget the horrible significance that dwells amid the jumble of type...We recognize the battlefield as a reality, but it stands as a remote one. It is like a funeral next door. It attracts your attention, but it does not enlist your sympathy. But it is very different when the hearse stops at your front door and the corpse is carried over your own threshold...Mr. Brady has done something to bring to us the terrible reality and earnestness of the War. If he has not brought bodies and laid them in our door-yards and along [our] streets, he has done something very like it." Your mission: select ONE powerful photograph from the Civil War era that captures your imagination and your heart. You will write about this photograph in a series of three short papers that approach the same topic (your chosen image) from multiple angles, and therefore through multiples genres: reflective, descriptive, and informative. Reflective Essay: Express your personal reactions to the image and offer a reflection on the significance you derive from the image. Go beyond a simple “I like it/I don’t like it” and elaborate on the deeper responses you may have. Descriptive Essay: Write a carefully crafted description that follows a logical organization (not just a list of random observations) and takes into account the obvious and less obvious features of the image. This description should be based only on what you can see. Note: even a descriptive essay should have a thesis. Informative Essay: You will formulate a research question(s) about your photograph. You will do some research into the artist, theme, topic, or context for this particular image, depending on what your question(s) is. Then, you will write a thesis statement and essay in answer to this question. Your paper should situate the image in its historical and social context and deepen our (the viewer’s understanding. You should cite at least three different sources you used in a Works Cited page. You will submit three essays together, capturing three different ways of looking at and writing about one photograph. Name: ______________________________________________________ Rubrics Reflective Essay (200-300 words) A Exceeds Standard __________/20 B Meets Standard C Approaches Standard B Meets Standard C Approaches Standard B Meets Standard C Approaches Standard D-F Below Standard Personal Interpretation and Emotional Response Organization—ideas are focused and the piece follows some sort of organizational scheme Language—sophisticated, deliberate diction; complex sentence structure and variety. Conventions— Polished and well-edited; free of spelling or grammatical errors. Descriptive Essay (300-400 words) A Exceeds Standard ____________/30 D-F Below Standard Objective, evidence-based analysis of photo’s visual elements. Organization—ideas are focused and the piece follows some sort of organizational scheme Language—sophisticated, deliberate diction; complex sentence structure and variety. Conventions— Polished and well-edited; free of spelling or grammatical errors. Informative Essay (400-500 words) A Exceeds Standard Factual, informative, and demonstrates thorough research; thesis statement answers a question around which the essay is focused. Organization—ideas are focused and the piece follows some sort of organizational scheme Language—sophisticated, deliberate diction; complex sentence structure and variety. Conventions— Polished and well-edited; free of spelling or grammatical errors. _____________/50 D-F Below Standard Name: ______________________________________________________ Visual Analysis Requirements: _________ 1) Submission Materials (final draft): Rubric Reflective Essay Descriptive Essay Informative Essay Copy of Photograph Works Cited page with at least three sources _________ 2) MLA Format _________ 3) Evidence of Critical Analysis: Do your papers show a real examination and understanding of your image? Has your analysis gone past the obvious surface features and examined all the relevant elements? Do your papers offer insight into the significance and broader meaning of your image? _________ 4) Effective Use of Different Genres: Does each paper clearly represent a different genre, a different way to write about the same image? _________ 5) Choice of Image: Was the image you chose to focus on an appropriate one for this assignment? ________ 6) Peer Response: Did you pay careful attention to your partner’s feedback and attempt to incorporate his/her edits and feedback? Have you listened/read your partner’s paper carefully and responded with helpful comments and questions? Deadlines: Reflective Essay Due (rough, typed): ______________________________ Descriptive Essay Due (rough, typed): _____________________________ Informative Essay Due (rough, typed): ____________________________ Final Draft Complete Project: _______________________________________