As part of the assignment, you are expected to visit the Legion of Honor and study the object you select in person. I encourage you to take your time looking at the artwork and make sketches. It may also be constructive to do some free writing in the galleries as you study the object (be sure to bring a pencil and paper, because ink pens are not allowed). If you make some sketches, I would very much enjoy it if you included them with your paper.

We have spent a great deal of time in class thinking through how the representation of the human form changes over time within the different cultures of the Ancient World. This paper asks you to draw upon that thinking in your paper and develop an interpretation that relates to the narrative presented in your textbook.

A visual analysis paper should effectively describe how an artwork generates culturally specific meanings. The paper is short, but that doesn’t mean the exercise is an easy one. You will have to put a great deal of thought into the paper. The description must be succinct, selective, and demonstrate mastery of field-specific terminology. This descriptive part of the paper must also support a larger interpretation of the historical significance of the object in question. Your visual analysis paper should offer a specific argument, presented in the opening paragraph as a well-phrased thesis, and use compelling supporting evidence that gradually unfolds the thesis as the essay progresses. Pay close attention to the organization of evidence. Be sure to structure your paper so that there are key sentences in each paragraph (topic sentences), which treat discrete visual concerns but also clearly relate back to and refine your thesis. The paper should guide the reader through the image in a systematic way and flow from paragraph to paragraph. Your introduction and conclusion should say different things. The introduction anticipates the trajectory of the paper; the conclusion reflects upon the meanings that emerged and make it explicit how this interpretation relates to scholarly literature.

It is absolutely essential that these papers be thesis-driven, systematically organized, and logically argued. Grammar and efficacy of prose count! No late papers will be accepted.