essay

Already covered: manifest destiny, north and south divided, world war two, civil rights, isms for America

This assignment asks you to write a 750-1000 word essay that engages with an issue facing the United States of your choosing by answering the question: How does art and/or visual culture shape, question or counteract (or otherwise affect) this specific issue?  

Your essay may engage with the themes of the course, but you may also choose an issue that we have not explicitly covered in class.  

Your essay should:

* have an introduction and conclusion

* clearly state the issue you are addressing (social, political, etc.)

* have an original argument in the form of a thesis statement in your introductory paragraph

* engage with 3-4 specific artworks, artists, architects or buildings, photographs, advertisements, and/or performances that address your issue (you may choose to focus solely on painting, for instance, or instead choose a range of visual media)

* include some visual analysis of the artworks you chose 

* cite at least two texts: two scholarly books or articles either from class material or outside of the class, but at least ONE should be an outside source

* use Chicago style for all citations 

* include at least TWO images

Course theme: This course offers an introduction to American art and visual culture—including architecture, painting, photography, sculpture, advertising, and performance art—from the nineteenth- through the twenty-first century. More than simply offering a survey of stylistic changes over time, the class will explore the social and political meanings of art. Students will acquire the tools necessary to analyze what art reveals about the nation’s values and beliefs. While offering students exposure to a range of issues that are of critical concern to American society, the course will pay particular attention to questions surrounding gender and race.

Due 6.6