RESEARCH PAPER 
(revised 1/10)

DUE

  MW Class - Monday, April 19, 2010
  TR Class – Tuesday, April 20, 2010


The Research Paper assignment will allow you to investigate the art of a specific period, culture, and/or movement related to one of the objects you researched for your Museum Assignment.  While the assignment will be a much broader study of a particular area or type of art, the originally selected museum object will be integrated into the paper.  This will give you an opportunity to learn more about the particular object by placing it within its cultural and artistic context.  In doing so, you should bring a new understandng to the object and/or redefine the specific category of art (period, style, object type, etc.) to which it belongs.

To begin, choose one of the objects you reviewed in your Museum Assignment, and begin your examination by identifying the cultural ideas from which it emerged.  Through your research you will learn as much as you can about the art of the period, the culture in which the artwork was produced, and the aesthetic considerations of the time period and/or specific art movement.  Familiarize yourself with the entire range of artworks related to the culture and discuss conventions and variations among those objects.  Then, assess how the particular work selected from the museum falls within this scope.  Remember that it will be just one of several selected works you will discuss in your final paper.  Among the artworks examined in your paper, you may want to compare and contrast objects in terms of their subject, style, function, and content.

Your final paper will be a well-written essay, approximately five pages in length (typed, double-spaced, standard 10 or 12 pt. font), with five or more properly cited sources in a Works Cited page or bibliography.  (Do not use your textbook or encyclopedias as a cited source, as both are far too general to be considered scholarly. )  No more than one of your sources should be from the internet, but note that any cited internet reference must be from a scholarly source--museum, publication site, or university (look for sites ending in .org or .edu).   A good rule of thumb is that if the information is not associated with a named author and/or institution, do not use it.

All sources must be properly cited in either the MLA (Modern Language Association) or Turabian style. Guides to both formats are available online: http://www.alamo.edu/sac/library/faculty/deosdade/WRITING.HTM  I have also put a guide on reserve in the library for our class (see Sylvan Barnet, A Short Guide to Writing About Art).  Your complete and properly cited Works Cited page (or bibliography) will constitute ten-percent (10%) of your final paper grade.