This term you will write a 5-7 page research paper hat analyzes or is inspired by a specific Caribbean artwork. Providing relevant historical context, you will look through a specific theoretical lens in order to analyze a Caribbean text as performance. Follow the steps below over the first 4 weeks of the term, then put them together this week in a 3-5 page draft of your essay. I will give you feedback on your essay that you can incorporate into your final essay, due the last day of the term. (If you’re feeling ambitious, you can go ahead and write a 5-7 page essay and if you like the grade you receive, you do not have to do a final draft).
STEP 1: IDENTIFY ARTWORK: The first step is to identify the artwork you would like to analyze. You can choose a work of literature such as a poem, a short story, or a novel. You can choose a movie, a play, a painting, a sculpture, a song, an album, a dance performance (NOTE: if you choose dance it has to be a specific performance of a dance, not a whole type of dance — for example: not salsa, but X and Y person dancing salsa in a specific video or on stage or at a club on a specific night). The only requirement is that the work be created by a Caribbean artist or be a traditional or popular art form from the Caribbean.
For this assignment, you will:
1. Give the name of the Caribbean artwork, the name of the artist (if applicable), and the year or time period it was created or when it was popular.
2. Identify the Caribbean nation associated with the artwork, states the primary language(s) of the nation, the (former) colonial power, and the date of independence (or status, if not an independent nation).
3. Explain what characteristics of the repeating island this artwork relates to (for example, is the artwork an example of syncretism? does it use polyrhythms? does it refer to the history of slavery or the plantation or the maroons?). What is specifically Caribbean about the artwork?
Here are some resources to help you choose:
Caribbean Visual Art at the PAMM
Edouard Duval-Carrìe Links to an external site.
Other Side Now contemporary Caribbean art exhibitLinks to an external site.
Caribbean-crossroads-art exhibitLinks to an external site.
Caribbean Films
Caribbean Films on FandorLinks to an external site. Links to an external site.
Caribbean Film DatabaseLinks to an external site.
Third Horizon Film FestivalLinks to an external site.
Caribbean Music
List of Genres by CountryLinks to an external site. – once you pick a genre, then you need to pick a specific song
Caribbean Dance
Caribbean Dance IndexLinks to an external site.
Caribbean Theater
Dramaonline: Caribbean PlaywrightsLinks to an external site.
Caribbean Literature
Encyclopedia Britannica on Caribbean LiteratureLinks to an external site.
STEP 2: CONTEXT
research the context of the Caribbean artwork you selected last week. Focus on the context that shaped the artwork. (250-500 words)
1. Creation: Where and when was this artwork created? Was it created by a single artist or was it the popular expression of a community?
2. Biography: If the artwork was created by a single artist, look up the biography of the artist and write a summary of that biography in your own words. Focus on the details that will help you understand the artwork. [If you are looking at a popular dance or other folk form with no specific artist, skip this step.]
3. History: what was happening in the place that the artwork was created that shaped the artwork? What, if any, historical events does the artwork represent or draw inspiration from?
4. Culture: What is the cultural background of the artist or community who created this artwork? How does the artwork express this cultural background?
STEP 3: Find 2 SOURCES
Find and summarize two outside sources on your Caribbean artwork. A good place to start is with the research guideLinks to an external site. created by the Barry libraria. If you would like more help getting started, please make an appointment with a Barry Librarian who can guide you to sources. They are here to help! Of course, you can always contact me, your instructor, by email, text, or phone.
Depending on the artwork you choose, there might be many articles and books about your subject. In that case, pick the two that seem most interesting to you. But there might not be any sources about your artwork. That’s fine too. Then just find sources on topics related to your artwork. If you are talking about a sculpture by a Bahamian artist, but you can’t find a source on that sculpture or even that artist, then look for a source on Bahamian sculpture or Caribbean sculpture or another subject that is related to your topic. Similarly, if you are writing about a particular dance performance, but cannot find anything about dance style or that choreographer or that dancer, look for sources on related dance styles, choreographers, or dancers.
Once you have your 2 sources, read them carefully, maybe a few times. Then write a summary, IN YOUR OWN WORDS, of each source. Write 2 paragraphs for each source. In the first paragraph, summarize the main ideas in the source. In the second paragraph, use the source as a THEORETICAL LENS for looking at your artwork. Take the main ideas of each source and apply them to your analysis of your artwork. This is what we have been doing each week with the assigned readings or videos and the assigned theoretical lenses. You can do this!
STEP 4: THEORETICAL LENS
Now that you have carefully analyzed your artwork, explored the context, and reviewed outside sources, choose the theoretical lens from the course that best fits your artwork — or that you just want to try on. Identify and explain the theoretical concept you select, then analyze your artwork through that theoretical lens. How well does the theory fit your artwork? What does looking through this lens help you observe about the artwork? What about the artwork suggests that maybe the lens should be adjusted — and how?
In this course, we try on:
Caribbean Literature and Performance Theoretical Lenses
Benítez-Rojo, “The Repeating Island” (there are lots of concepts within this one, like syncretism, maroons, etc)
Taylor, “The Archive and the Repertoire”
Truillot, “Silencing the Past”
Fraser Delgado and Muñoz, “Rebellions of Everynight Life”
Bahktin, “carnival as world turned upside down”
Roach, “carnival as memory and identity”
Benítez-Rojo, “carnival as rejection of violence”
Jameson, “national allegory”
Cooper, “noises in the blood” and “erotic disguise”
