MY CHOSEN ARTIFACT IS THE ALBUM PUNISHER BY PHOEBE BRIDGERS
Here are the instructions:
250 points (25%): Your final project will be a cultural artifact analysis paper. It should be around 1000 words. You will pick a cultural artifact (for example: a film, an episode or two of TV, a novel, short story, a song/album, a painting, etc.) and use research to help you discuss it. You must pick something we did not discuss this semester. This artifact should be a creative work (see above for some examples; I will also send some examples in the announcements as we go along). It should also be unique – as in, one of a kind. Please let me know if you want to brainstorm or talk about your artifact choice.
You will be graded on: the use of 3-4 scholarly sources to support your analysis (50 points); timely submission of all materials throughout the semester (50 points); statement and analysis (50 points); clarity and flow of writing; as in, you want to make sure all of these elements flow and work together, creating a complete picture of your artifact choice (50 points); and submission of at least 1000 words (50 points).
In your paper, I will be looking for a few things:
(1) a statement about what you think the purpose of this artifact is. This should be informed by your observations and by your research. You must be able to support this statement with evidence.
(2) 3-4 scholarly sources that support your analysis.
(3) discussion of the ways your artifact reflects the culture it comes from. Your sources should inform this discussion.
(4) a works cited page
(5) MLA-style formatting throughout; pages numbers, in-text citations, works cited, etc. See here for an example: Sample MLA paper
(6) effective integration of the above information. This means you want to make all of this information flow together. Work on transitioning between ideas. Include short introduction and conclusion paragraphs.
As you work on this, ask yourself: what does this representation look like? Sound like? What kinds of choices were made (by actors, directors, writers, etc.) in the creation of this representation? Is there an (underlying) message conveyed by this representation? What is it? Who is the intended audience? How is the character/situation appealing to the audience? How might people interpret this representation differently? Is there something that makes this representation unique or different? In what ways? Is this representation like anything else you’ve seen or read? Does it have a precedent? Is it responding to anything in particular? What effects might it have on the viewer/reader?
These are just some questions to help you along. You don’t need to respond to all of them. I am trying to get you to think critically about what you consume. Hopefully you will pick something you like! That’s always more fun, I think. I recommend it.
