Unit 3 Essay Prompt: Art and Politics
Objective:
The purpose of this paper is to 1) demonstrate your ability to perform a close
reading of a text, song or other art object; 2) to present and analyze two pieces of
secondary criticism related to your close reading; 3) to demonstrate your ability
to form a coherent thesis statement that synthesizes the critical material with
your close reading.
Possible Paper Topics:
1. World War I and War Trauma:
Close reading of: Hardy’s “The Man He Killed,” Wilfred Owen’s “Dulce Et
Decorum Est” or Hemmingway’s “Big Two-Hearted River.”
Articles: Paul Fussell “The Culture of War” (or any of the war articles from Unit
2); “The Etiology of Combat-Related Post-Traumatic Stress Disorders,” by Jim
Goodwin.
2. Gender Oppression:
Close reading of: “Sweat,” by Zora Neale Hurston
Article: “Woman as Other,” Simone de Beauvior
3. The Politics of Race:
Text: Langston Hughes’ “The Weary Blues”; Bessie Smith’s
“Backwater Blues”; “Sweat” by Zora Neale Hurston
Article: Albert Memmi, “Racism and Oppression”
4. A Topic of Your Choice:
This is your chance to close-read an art object, text or cultural phenomenon of
your choice. Acceptable subjects for close reading include: songs, movies, TV
shows, photographs, poems and short stories, to name a few. If you choose this
option I highly recommend emailing me with your essay idea before you begin
writing.
Your paper’s thesis must make an argument about the political message that
your text/song/art object conveys. What is the artist/writer saying about race,
gender, war or globalization in this piece? You must then relate this message to at
least two critical articles on the subject. One of these articles may be something
from WATW or the Moodle site; the other must be from your own research.
These articles should be used to help you prove your thesis about the politics
conveyed by your art object.
Papers should be 5-7 pages long, including a references page. References must be
cited in proper MLA form.
Grading Rubric: Unit 3 Paper
Essay Criteria
Thesis (5pts): Demonstrates clear purpose,
complexity and originality; presents a statement about
the politics of the art object being analyzed; effectively
synthesizes the close reading with the 2 critical articles;
previews the structure of the essay.
Close Reading (10pts): Presents an analysis of
specific elements of the art object being analyzed. If the
art object is a text, then the student has cited specific
textual examples; if it is a visual art object, then the
student has cited specific visual elements. The close
reading ties each observation/inference about the art
object back to the student’s thesis.
Use of Critical Articles (10pts): The student
presents two critical articles related to their close
reading: one article may be from WATW or the Moodle
site; the second must be from original research.
Includes a summary of the article and links the article
back to the student’s thesis about the art object.
Organization (5pts): Sequence of material supports
the thesis and purpose; shows connections between
ideas; demonstrates writer’s control over organizational
patterns of information. Paragraphs effectively organize
main ideas and have clear topic sentences.
Style/Tone (5pts): Uses language with control,
elegance and imagination to suit the essay’s purpose;
maintains consistent, distinctive voice throughout the
essay.
Mechanics (5pts): Uses grammar, punctuation,
spelling, and syntax that are appropriate for standard
written English; demonstrates careful attention to
proofreading
Conclusion (5pts): Briefly reviews but does more
than simply restate the thesis; adds new insight to the
thesis in light of the evidence used.
References (5pts): Includes a reference page citing
all sources in proper MLA format.
Score: ____ /50 =
Score