ART HISTORY TERM PAPER

TERM PAPER:

The assignment is to write an academic term paper in relation to a theme. The intention is for you to think about a theme first, and then find artworks you can use to illuminate the theme of your paper.  The criteria are that these artworks are to be within the course curriculum, periods and cultures; that is American art and architecture. The paper is to incorporate research from college level academic sources. Read these instructions carefully and follow the directions for a successful paper.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR ESSAY:

Theme: The essay is to be thematic; comparing, based on the themes presented in the textbook exploring such topics as the impact of colonialism, indigenous histories, race, gender, labor, identity politics and so forth. Your essay should not be artists biographies. The artworks do not have to be from the same time period or in the same medium.
Artworks: Select at least five artworks or pieces of architecture to research and write about that further your thesis. Go beyond the textbook. Do NOT select the specific artworks discussed in the textbook or previous assignments. These artworks must have a body of academic published material (books, articles and academic Internet sources) to base your research on. You may write about a work by an anonymous (unknown) artist. If you cant find enough information on the specific art object, you can draw upon information about similar objects from the same culture and time period.
Museums online: Look on the museum websites as a resource to explore and choose artworks. You can look at the websites of local museums or you can virtually travel globally.
Essay: The essay should be primarily in your own words describing and analyzing the works of art in relation to the theme. Include your reaction and feelings about the artwork in addition to your research on the artist and/or artwork. Comment why you were drawn to the artworks or architecture, either by attraction or dislike. Incorporate supplemental material from additional sources, with an additional page listing the bibliographic references.
Descriptions of the artworks: Describe each artwork in as much detail as you possibly can, as if no photograph exists of the artwork.  By this process you will be able to further analyze the work in greater depth.  Include the following: the title, the style. Discuss the composition: including the figures or objects and their relationship to each other and the setting or background. When analyzing the artwork note the media (i.e. stone, bronze, oils, tempera, et cetera).
Research the artworks: Research and cite at least three (do not include the textbook) academic sources from books and/ or the Internet for each artwork. This can include researching similar artworks or architecture. The research material should be woven in with your own observations, but it should be clear when you are quoting (with quotation marks) or paraphrasing (which should be explicitly noted) facts or other notes from your research. Discuss the intentions of the artist, if known, and what the artist/artwork might be trying to convey. Was this artwork created for a particular purpose, such as religious, spiritual, political, portraiture, decorative or all of these? Who was the intended audience? Who was the patron who financed the artwork? Was the artwork created for display in a home, public space or was the art created to be part of a religious or ritual ceremony, a dance or a performance and originally not intended to be separated from that context to be in a museum? How did the culture and time period affect how the artwork was created?  How and what other art and artists influenced the artist and artwork? Unless relevant, exclude the name of the donors (the persons who gave the artwork to the museum).  Do NOT write a biography of an artist. Discuss the artists life only in relationship to the specific artwork in question.

Expanded Academic Index ASAP (Internet database of articles that are scholarly and peer reviewed) full text journal articles, not abstracts (brief summaries of research articles).

Web sources with the following endings: .org (museums), .edu (universities), .gov (government, including the Library of Congress).

Do NOT cite Wikipedia.  Wikipedia, other non-verifiable or non-peer reviewed websites will not be accepted! Use Wikipedia as a starting point for general background and then use the often, helpful links or primary sources listed on the bottom of a Wikipedia article for further research.

Timeline of Art History: The Metropolitan Museum of Art can be a good starting point for your research and you may cite this website for the term paper: www.metmuseum.org/toah/ (Links to an external site.)

Printed and digital books: by respected publishers; such as academic, university presses, or other established publishers.

FORMAT: In addition to the essay, the paper is required to have the following:

Introduction: Write an introduction presenting the paper topic/thesis at the beginning of the paper and introducing the two artworks with their titles and artists. Then write the description.  Have transitions between thoughts within the body of the paper and summarize your conclusions at the end of the paper. Keep in mind that good writing presents your thinking more clearly.
Length: The term paper is to be a minimum of 6 pages, double spaced, size 10-12 font (1 page = 360 words) in your own writing plus a citations page followed by illustrations.
Citation, references and additional sources: The citations from your research should be used to expand your own discussion of the art; they should be woven into your essay. The citations should be within quotation marks and be clearly referenced to the sources. Any information that you learn from your research must be cited. Include the page cited, either directly after the citation or with a footnote at the bottom of the page, with the full list of all the sources listed at the end of the paper. If you paraphrase from a source, note that you are doing so, and provide a citation. Cite within the body of your paper.
Quotes: A maximum of five separate quotes limited to fifty words each will be allowed. The paper should be primarily in your own words!
Academic style/ format: The term paper format, citations and the bibliography should follow the guidelines of MLA (Modern Language Association) or CMOS (Chicago Manual of Style) only.
Citation Page (Bibliography): A separate sources cited page in either correct MLA or CMOS style. In the list of sources include the name of the book, website or essay, author and date. Use a minimum of five appropriate sources on each artwork to gather information on the subjects, the artists, and the cultures (when and where) that produced the work. If you cite from the cite from the textbook, you still have to cite five additional appropriate sources on each artwork.  The sources must be of a substantial length, providing varying information (do not repeat the same information from more than one source).
Images/ labels: Attached to the back of the paper, after the citation page, correctly labeled clear images of the works of art that are the subjects of the essay. The images should be arranged in the order written about in the paper and should be labeled as follows:
artists name (if unknown write anonymous and or the culture if that is relevant)
title of work (in Italics)
date
medium
subject matter / genre
size, if noted (unless relevant, do not include this in the body of your paper for filler)
museum collection number (for reference, to identify the artwork)
Proofreading: Proofread your paper for spelling errors, typos, and grammatical errors before submitting your paper. Take advantage of grammar and spell-checking software, but also look for words that although spelled correctly may be misused or mistaken for similar words with different meanings.
– Will provide textbook mentioned above + plagiarism free + a page of citation and ark works that include in the paper!