May 10

90 points + 5 point topic report + 5 point source report = 100 points

4 to 5 pages

MLA (Modern Language Association) style

At least three credible sources of information should be cited in your paper

At least three of your sources need to have orignated on paper

You may use internet sources, but do so with great CAUTION

Explanation and examples of credible sources:

A "credible" source is one that is written by someone who has studied the subject extensively and has some authority over the topic.  Importantly, credible sources take great care to credit the sources of their information, inspiration and research!

a work that has been written or edited by an authority on the subject (like a professor or someone who has been writing in the field for a number of years)

a work printed in a leading journal or magazine

a work found on a website written by an authority on the subject and that is regularly updated

Explanation and examples of sources that are NOT credible:

A source that is not credible has no obvious authority or scholarship in the subject. Sources without credibility will not give credit to their sources of information

Wikipedia

a pamphlet or zine that has no clear author and that does not cite it's sources

your friend's research paper from last semester

a blog (or any website for that matter) that does not cite its sources and provide full bibliographic information for its works cited

The research paper should reflect extensive research on the photographer and their work.  Your personal insights, interpretations and responses to the artwork should be a major component of your discussion.  You should examine a few specific photographs or series of works in detail.  The social, political and cultural context under which the artist was working should also be investigated as well as the artist’s personal approaches.

As you analyze your artist and their work, be sure to consider each of the following areas.

Interpretation: 

Reflect on what you think about the artist’s works.  Discuss any ideas or messages that are conveyed to you as you look at the work, as well as any things that the work makes you think about or recall.  Write about whether you agree or disagree with the artist’s ideas.

Form:

Discuss the media (i.e. strict photography, mixed media) that the artist uses.  Write about the artist’s handling of form and contrast as well as their compositional approaches.  Be sure to also consider what style (Straight Photography, Pictorialism, Snapshot Aesthetic, etc.) the artist works in and why.

Context: 

Examine the time and place that the artist works.  Consider how the politics and social struggles of their period relate to the artist’s work and whether the artist promotes or refutes any viewpoints in their pieces?

Iconography: 

Identify what symbols or iconography the artist considers.  Discuss what meanings these symbols may carry and how the artist handles these meanings.  Is the artist’s use of iconography personal?  Do the symbols the artist uses relate to their culture, personal biography/ history, philosophical approaches or politics?

Artist’s biography: 

Be careful to only write about biographical information that has some relationship to the artist’s ideas and art works.  This paper should be more of an analysis of the things the artist creates rather than a timeline of life events.

Giving credit where credit is due - Step by step

It is very important that you give credit to any source of facts, information or ideas that you did not completely create on your own.  Please consult your instructor’s Formatting a Research Paper pamphlet for further information on documenting your sources.

as a quote:

Traditional art history textbooks often grossly exclude the contributions of women artists. But as Whitney Chadwick notes, "The limitations of art history as a discipline have been articulated by many other feminist art historians.  Nevertheless, after almost two decades of feminist art historical writing, it is clear that critical issues of women's historical production remain unanswered."

as a reference point:

Traditional art history textbooks often grossly exclude the contributions of women artists.   Respected feminist art historian, Whitney Chadwick makes the important point that art history's failings have been duly noted by feminist critics, yet it is still obvious that women's art history has not been satisfactorily researched, documented and critiqued.

as an idea:

Traditional art history textbooks often grossly exclude the contributions of women artists.   Art history's failings have been duly noted by feminist critics, but it is still obvious that women's art history has not been satisfactorily researched and written about.

Whether you quoted the author, made reference to her idea or want to note her idea's influence on your own opinion you will need to note that you used her quote or idea in your sentence.  You do this by first inserting a paranthetical notation at the end of the appropriate sentence that tells the reader the author's name and the page that you found the information on.  Like this:

Traditional art history textbooks often grossly exclude the contributions of women artists. But as Whitney Chadwick notes, "The limitations of art history as a discipline have been articulated by many other feminist art historians.  Nevertheless, after almost two decades of feminist art historical writing, it is clear that critical issues of women's historical production remain unanswered" (Chadwick, 15).

Traditional art history textbooks often grossly exclude the contributions of women artists.   Respected feminist art historian, Whitney Chadwick makes the important point that art history's failings have been duly noted by feminist critics, yet it is still obvious that women's art history has not been satisfactorily researched, documented and critiqued (15).

Traditional art history textbooks often grossly exclude the contributions of women artists.   Art history's failings have been duly noted by feminist critics, but it is still obvious that women's art history has not been satisfactorily researched and written about (Chadwick, 15).

No, your citation is still not complete.  Now you need to give complete bibliographic information to your reader on a "works cited" page.  The works cited list should be the last page of your paper and provides your reader with the information they will need to find the information you used.  Here's how it should look:

Here is more information and sources that will help you with MLA style and writing your paper.

Adequate discussion of topic

__________ out of 15 points

Consideration of specific works of art

__________ out of 25 points

At least two artworks discussed in depth

__________ out of 5 points

Description

__________ out of 10 points

Use of art historical methodology

__________ out of 10 points

MLA format

 __________ out of 10 points

Margins, font, spacing, etc.

Works Cited Page

__________ out of 5 points

Citations

__________ out of 25 points

Use of credible sources

__________ out of 11 points

Three paper sources cited

__________   out of 9 points

Citations given when appropriate

__________ out of 5 points

Consideration of context

__________ out of 10 points

Style and clarity

__________   out of 5 points

________ out of 90 points