Essay Guidelines
FALL 2017 - Greetings, O studious Students of HUM 101! Here are the Guidelines and Names&Dates for your typed Reader/Viewer Reflection-Response ESSAY of 3 (or more, if you wish - minimum = 2 1/2) pages on a topic of your own choice - defined by you and related in some way to EITHER Prof. Fiero's Humanities/Arts book THT, OR Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, OR R. Freedman's Lincoln - A Photobiography by itself as historical biography or in a compare/contrast Essay on Steven Spielberg's great film LINCOLN (2012) - or another film on Lincoln OR the Civil War film GLORY (1989) OR even The Muppet Christmas Carol.
First, for general, formal writing-aspects, read again the pertinent paragraph in our Syllabus (p.3) on your R/V R-R Essay - no need to repeat that.
# I] Regarding the LincolnPhotoBio option and your Essay's substance/content = your IDEAS - this is what I have in mind: I would like you to compose a Reader's Reflection-Response Essay on your reaction to reading LPB with a focus on any topic/theme/scene/character/... = ANY aspect that grabs your interest as a thinking reader reflecting upon what you learn about Lincoln.
Now, there's no single right or wrong topic/theme/... . All your individual choices will be considered valid. LET YOUR OWN READER'S INTEREST BE YOUR GUIDE as you make your choice in defining your Essay's focus - which, ideally, would be stated in your thematic/descriptive TITLE.
Now, your Essay will be divided into TWO PARTS: 1) An OBJECTIVE Part, in which you present - with quotations or in your own words - the feature (= the WHAT) that grabs your reader's interest = the X or Y or Z found in LPB, then 2) in the SUBJECTIVE Part, you explain WHY you chose WHAT you did choose. Feel free to stop by my office anytime - happy to offer guidance.
# II] OR you can, of course, using the same OBJECTIVE/SUBJECTIVE format, examine ANY feature/aspect/theme/character/... in ChD's ACC.
# III] OR you can define any topic of PARTICULAR INTEREST to you which is derived from our Humanities/Arts book by Prof. Fiero. In that way, you build an intellectual bridge between our course and your own personal subject of interest. ... Are you a Sculptor? Photographer? Do you paint? Enjoy architecture? Play an instrument? Compose music? ...
# IV] I do appreciate the personal/subjective dimension of Humanities Essays - the writing is more meaningful to you that way. For the academic/objective dimension, if you consult and/or quote from secondary print or WEB sources, cite the title & author in a Bibliographical Note at the end of your Essay. For ex., a review of Spielberg's 2012 movie LINCOLN www.rogerebert.com/reviews/lincoln-2012 Dated Nov. 7, 2012. Accessed Oct.10, 2015.
1. WHAT FOLLOWS are more detailed guideline-comments about your Reader/Viewer's Reflection-Response Essay relative to both the Arts and the various forms of Literature presented in THT, our HUM text.
2. Regarding your individual Reflection-Response Essay's topic, you can define your own subject/theme "inspired" by our HUMANITIES text. So, 1) You may write about a single Art-Work OR about 2 Art-Works for a Compare/Contrast (painting or sculpture or architecture ...), selecting from the Art-Works illustrated in our HUMANITIES text. So, you can pick 2 Art-Works that particularly interest/grab/intrigue you personally for a Compare/Contrast essay highlighting BOTH similarities/parallels AND differences/distinctions. OR 2) You may write on any topic that you define related to the Literature Reading-selections in our HUM book - see below #4. (Wm. Wordsworth or Walt Whitman or Emily Dickinson or ... may appeal to your literary curiosity.) AND, generally speaking, HOW will you write your Objective/Subjective Essay? Compose your thoughts into a logical sequence of paragraphs formed of complete sentences expressed with correct spelling and punctuation. Use 12-pt. standard font and standard margins with double-spacing. AND be sure to PROOFREAD! Points deducted for carelessness in this regard, understood?
3. AND how will you write about the ART-WORK/S? Well, certainly with logical ideas and clear sentences forming a coherent sequence of paragraphs. Be both SUBJECTIVE, explaining why you chose the art-works, and OBJECTIVE, using as jumping-off ideas the Questions given below. And always name a given work's creator, if known, and identify the historical period, and be sure to explain a work's original purpose or intended meaning, with its symbolism, if any. As for the jumping-off ideas -- to which you can surely add your own based on your own knowledge and interpretation as well as on any sources (books, web-sites, ...) that you might consult, acknowledging them in a Bibliographical Note -- here below are the basic ones. You don't need to "answer" them as such or in the order given; rather, just let them help you to focus your attention as guides to your own thinking & writing:
-- The PICTORIAL Arts (static = a painting or a photograph; dynamic = film = "moving pictures" = the movies): In what medium is the picture created (acrylic, canvas, wood, ...)? What are the picture's important lines/shapes = design, including human or divine figures? How does the picture use color and light? Are there any patterns of any kind - color-wise, shape-wise, image-wise, ...? How is the whole greater than the sum of the parts? Are there human figures? If so, their significance in terms of a story? ...
-- SCULPTURE: Is it in relief (high or low) or in-the-round (free-standing)? Of what material/s is it made and formed? What is its texture, and how is that aspect related to what it re/presents? Does it suggest movement or stillness or anything that conveys "life" or animation? Does the sculpture have a relation to the site/location where it is displayed, such as a church for a statue? ...
-- ARCHITECTURE: What is the structure's (= building, monument, ...) function/purpose? Of what material/s is it made? What is its design? Is there a significant relation between the exterior and the interior? Does the building/monument employ other arts, such as sculpture &/or painting? ...
-- Your PERSONAL Approach: How would I state/describe/explain my response/reaction to the Art-Work/s I have chosen? How was my encounter with it/them influenced/shaped by the work/s well as by my own knowledge and life-experience (travel, faith, ...)? ...
-- Some GENERAL Themes for the Artworks: How are WOMEN depicted? How are POLITICAL or RELIGIOUS FIGURES portrayed? How are different SOCIAL CLASSES presented? How does ARCHITECTURE or SCULPTURE serve religious &/or political purposes? How does Religious Art reflect a given historical period, or perhaps the artist's own beliefs/values? Is Social Reality (poverty, wealth, ...) dramatized/romanticized/made fun of or presented neutrally/objectively? Does the artist's style/technique reflect a conventional attitude for the era, or does it display a new approach - such as freedom of the brush as to technique in Impressionism and freedom of the imagination as to choice and depiction of subject-matter? And what personal meaning might you have discovered/perceived in the Art-Work/s you chose?
4. As for topics related to the different LITERARY extracts presented by Prof. Gloria Fiero: A few suggestions: 1) Think of a thematic connection between one Art-Work (from our THT text) and one of the Literary selections: totally open-ended; OR 2) Examine a theme/issue/idea that you identify in, say, Lincoln's "Gettysburg Address"; OR 3) Let your imagination explore a topic that grabs you in ONE of many extended Literary quotations in our HUM text; OR 4) ... = your unique essay-idea focused on one of the HUM-selection literary genres: poem, play, novel, ... . Consult with me, if you wish.
5. And then there's MUSIC!!! A number of 19th&early20th-century Romantic & avant-garde composers will "perform" their works for us: Chopin, Beethoven, Schubert, Debussy, ... . If ANY aspect of Musical Romanticism and Impressionism grabs your especial interest, then by all means please do choose to write about it! The LIFE of a composer - or, one of his WORKS - or ... - you decide.
6. I hope that the above is helpful. Feel free to come talk with me for guidance, if you wish. Your Essay should be a delight for you to compose and for me to read - with excellent grades guaranteed!
7. Here is the alphabetical order by last-name from A to Y of all your first-names with the due-dates:
-WEEK IV - FRI 9/15: Joseph A, Kyla A, Ryan B, Jacob B, Drew B, Austin B
-WEEK VI - FRI 9/29: Mikayla B, Jade B, Lucas C-B, Adair C, Max C, Shayla
-- WEEK VII - FRI 10/6: Courtney D & Walter E
-WEEK VIII - WED 10/11: Hannah E, Donna E, Brooke F, Bethany G, Annika G, Brandon H
-WEEK IX - FRI 10/20: Zachary H, Bradee I, Sydney J, Brady J, Alex J, Mikaela
-WEEK X - FRI 10/27: Dylan K, Nicholas K, Sydney K, Bradley L, Maxwell L, Ashley L
-- WEEK XI - FRI 11/3: Logan M, Max M, Theodore M, Hannah M
-WEEK XIII - MON 11/13: Ella N, Peter N, Jacob N, Kyle O, Bernt P, Joseph P
- FRI 11/17: Andrew R, Sean R, Savanah S, Alexandrea S
-WEEK XV - WED 11/29: Jordyn S, Adrianna S, Breck S, Trevor T, Alyssa W, Emily W
8. As you collect your thoughts in composing your Reflection-Response Essay to your chosen HUM/Arts/Lit topic, reflect upon the LASC #6 Competencies presented below. Ask yourself which TWO (or more) of these 5 were addressed, if only partially, in your Essay, and say so explicitly IN YOUR CONCLUDING PARAGRAPH. LASC #6: The HUMANITIES - Arts, Literature, and Philosophy. The GOAL of DC #6 is to expand students' knowledge of the human condition and human cultures, especially in relation to behavior, ideas, and values expressed in works of the human imagination and thought. Through study in such disciplines as Literature, Philosophy, and the Visual and Performing Arts, students will learn to place human expression in cultural, intellectual, and historical contexts. So, our course intends to encourage MSUM students to develop certain intellectual Competencies. These are: 1. TO demonstrate, in writing and/or discussion, awareness of the scope and variety of works in the Arts and/or Humanities. 2. TO explain how those works are expressions of individual and human values reflective of historical and social contexts. 3. TO analyze and/or critically evaluate works of human imagination and thought in discussion and/or writing. 4. TO articulate an informed personal reaction to works in the Arts and/or Humanities. 5. TO present informed aesthetic/literary judgments.
So, IN YOUR CONCLUDING PARAGRAPH, state explicitly that your Essay addressed, or touched upon, at least 2 of the 5 LASC Competencies. You will discover that, in the act of writing your Essay, you ARE your own best teacher!