6ShortEssayQuestionsonthefollowingtwo-pages.pdf

6 Short Essay Questions, on the following two-pages The questions below should be addressed in short essay form, (two to three paragraphs each). 150-200 words. Remember to address each part of the questions. ​Each part is highlighted with number of points in red. 1. Name ​two​ individuals from history or today that you believe have ascended from the darkness of the cave (ignorance) into the light (knowledge). Include at least one that is of historical significance. ​(10 points)​ Why have you chosen these persons? Explain how you see these individuals as having experienced a change in their lives and how they became more enlightened. ​(​10 points) Example: Malcolm X- Born Malcolm Little, was orphaned as a child, he lived in foster homes, he went to prison at 20 for larceny and breaking and entering. He became a member of Nation of Islam in prison and later one of the most influential leaders of the organization and an outspoken leader of the radicalized wing of the Civil Rights Movement. Malcolm worked for a Nation of Islam that sought to create a separate society for its members. Malcolm and Martin Luther King were confrontational in the early years. As time passed Malcolm embraced the civil rights movement. He told MLK “"I'm throwing myself into the heart of the civil rights struggle." Near the end of his life Malcolm left the Nation of Islam. He advised black Americans to engage in smarter political voting and organization. 2.​ ​Using Roland Barthes explanations of ​studium​ and p​unctum​ find a photograph of your choice and analyze it according to how Barthes defines those terms. ​Myth of Photographic Truth, from Practices of Looking, reading, page 18.

1) Studium: documentary evidence of something that has happened. ​(​10 points) 2) Punctum: the emotionally piercing quality of a photograph. ​(​10 points) Write a paragraph explaining how the photograph can be analyzed using Barthes terms, studium and punctum. Describe the studium and punctum of the photograph. 3. Roland Barthes uses the terms ​denotative​ and ​connotative​ to describe different levels of meaning produced at the same time and for the same viewers of the same photograph. (In an earlier lecture we used these terms to analyze Robert Frank’s ​Trolley​) pp. 19-20. From the reading Myth of Photographic Truth. The ​denotative​ meaning of the photograph refers to the literal, explicit meaning. The ​connotative​ meanings are informed by the cultural and historical contexts of the image and its viewers’ lives. Choose one of Andrew Moore’s photographs of Detroit architecture and analyze it using Roland Barthes terms denotative and connotative. This short essay should include a description of the photograph and how it can be analyzed both denotatively ​(10 points)​ and connotatively ​(10 points)​. The link below will take you to Moore’s website click on Detroit 2008-2009 to find images. https://www.andrewlmoore.com/detroit.php

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4. How does Roland Barthes interpret Semiotics? (From the lecture/reading Images and Ideologies) What is the sign composed of? ​(5 points) Below is an example of how we read visual signs. I have used the iPhone as an example of a semiotic sign. All signs signify something. In the PowerPoint I explained that an iPhone could be interpreted as a semiotic sign, not meaning the phone itself, but signifying something about the owner being technologically advanced. Explain the meaning of the components of the sign. In this case the iPhone is a symbolic sign. Give an example of a sign and what the signifier and the signified are. ​(5 points) (Do not use the iPhone​). Example: The iPhone is the ​sign​ and the ​signifier​, it ​signifies​ technological advancement and possibly wealth and prestige of the owner. 5. In class we watched a number of YouTube shorts on synesthesia including a film on Daniel Tammet. Explain synesthesia as a perceptual phenomenon. What is it? ​(5 points) Describe 5 different ways a synesthete (one who experiences synesthesia) experiences the world​. (10 points) If you need to refresh your memory on synesthesia this link will take you to an article on

synesthesia that describes different synesthetic experiences.

Everyday fantasia: The world of synesthesia

www.apa.org/monitor/mar01/synesthesia.aspx 6. ​Un Chien Andalou ​translation: An Andalusian Dog. This film includes some of the most iconic image from film history. Describe in detail the visual aspects of the film.​ (15 points) *Extra credit: 5 points What do you think the quote by Greek philosopher Socrates means? V