Paper Assignment.

2000-2500 words, due June 28th.

You have TWO possibilities:

ONE:

Your assignment will be to trace the representation of (1) aspect of modernity through (3) works from different media from the mid-19th century to the present.  Of these 3 media, at least (2) must be "new"--new, that is, to the time period of this class.  That means (1) may be a traditional medium--painting, sculpture, architecture, printmaking, etc.  Moreover at least (1) of your media must be "physically" available--a print of a photograph, a painting, a video on the monitor--not a republication. 

For instance, we've "traced" the representation of the train--absolutely an aspect of modernity--through paintings, photographs, and films.  We could have chosen radio, television, and digital media to do the same, though you can imagine why it was probably best to do this with 19th and early 20th century technologies.  We also did so in a much more cursory way than I expect you to do in your papers.  The benefit of this tracing was that it provided our analysis with a constant among the different media, which in turn allowed their structural differences to show themselves more clearly.  Each work also revealed different complex attitudes about the train.  To what extent this is a function of the period, the artist, or the particularities of medium, will be a major part of your investigation--the ultimate purpose of which is to account for the medium's role in delivering a message.

Your tracing will involve research that takes into consideration the historical circumstances surrounding each work's production and time period--you will be footnoting your references and producing a works cited page.  It will also involve close and deep analysis of the work's aesthetics.  How does the work work?  And your paper must have an overall argument and thesis statement.  I do not want a book report--I want a clear statement of the problem, a deep historical and interpretive analysis, and a surprising resulting argument.

I also do not want you to regurgitate things I've said in class.  You may come to conclusions similar to what I or the readings have, or you may use things you've heard or read in class in your analysis for sure, but I want YOUR thoughts and analysis and research.  Their impressiveness is what you will be graded on.

Possible topics include but are hardly limited to:

Electricity
Steel and its use in architecture
Masses/Crowds
The Streetcar
The Motorcar
The Airplane
The Train
A particular medium like television itself
Industrial commodity production
Factory work
The theory of evolution
The theory of relativity
Nuclear technology
The threat and decimation of the Indian
The threat and extinction of the grizzly bear
Mechanized warfare
Superheroes
Advertising
National socialism
Etc.

TWO:

If you have a super great topic come see me in office hours for approval.