Name ________________________________________________________
HUM 1020 Midterm
Instructions
Below, you will find five prompts. From those, select two and compose essay-style responses to
them (except in the case of prompt five, which is an in-practice prompt which asks you to
include images as well as written descriptions). Compose your answers in a word-processing
software and print them out, double-spaced, to submit during class on Wednesday, March 21st.
Be sure to include your name and the prompt number at the top of each response.
Prompts
Write your essay responses to two of the following five prompts. Any submitted midterms
containing answers to more than two prompts will be subject to the grader randomly picking out
which two answers to assess.
1) In our unit on painting, we talked a lot about distinctions between different ages of art
(classical v. modern; modernism v. postmodernism), assessing the role of the artist and the way
that the artwork engages the history of the medium and the public world the painting addresses.
Choosing two paintings from the list on the assignment page on Canvas, use close reading to
show how each painting is reflective of the periods to which it belongs and elaborate how the
work is meant to address the culture in which the work was produced.
2) One of the most important aspects of literary fiction is the use of narrative structure. Narrative
structure governs the ebbs and flows of dramatic action, lines of conflict, and character
development, often (but not always) falling into five- or three-act structures. Using specific
examples of the author’s prose, compare the narrative structures of two of the stories assigned for
the course (Chekhov’s “The Kiss,” Erdrich’s “The Big Cat,” Boyle’s “Are We Not Men?”, or
Fowlkes’ “You’ll Apologize If You Have to”), showing how each author (similarly or
differently) uses narrative structure to aid the stories’ larger point or argument about some aspect
of the world.
3) In addition to narrative structure, another significant way that writers instantiate meaning in
their texts is through the use of patterns and repetitions. Great readings of texts consider patterns
of meaning which, scaffolded on each other, enable a balance between very specific writerly
choices (of diction, phrasing, syntax, etc.) and the larger, global structure of a narrative. Using
either one of the four stories (Chekhov, Erdrich, Boyle, or Fowlkes) or one of the poems (Gay,
Prikryl), specify a formal pattern used by an author and describe the larger point the author is
making with it.
4) When we talked about Andy Warhol’s Marilyn Diptych in class, we read a short bit of Anne
M. Wagner’s “Warhol Paints History, or Race in America” essay. The bit we read concerned
whether it makes sense to call Warhol a painter, given his industrial production methods. The
rest of Wagner’s essay talks about Warhol’s Race Riot series, framing them as “history
painting.” Using Wagner’s text, use close readings of one of Warhol’s Race Riot works (there
are many different versions, but all of them use common methods and image sources) to describe
how Warhol fits (or doesn’t fit) within the definition of a “history painter.”
5) In-practice: We didn’t do an in-practice for installation and performance for the last test, for a
few different reasons. However, for those who are interested in putting the concepts of
installation or performance into practice, use this prompt as a space to do so. For this prompt, I
want you to come up with an idea for a performance or installation work and then contextualize
how you’re using either medium to a predesigned affect. Answers here should include a
thorough description of the performance or installation (including specific descriptions of
materials, costumes, spaces, or whatever else you’d use to make meaning), some hand or
computer-drawn imaging or photographs of the installation/performance as you’re envisioning it,
and then a short text describing how the artwork works as performance or installation (i.e. define
the medium and then spell out how your work fits it), as well as what your overall goal or point
would be if you were to put the installation/performance into practice.
Grading Criteria
Each response will be evaluated for its clarity, insightfulness, creativity, complexity, and use of
core course concepts and skills. Each response will be graded on a scale of fifty (two responses x
50 points each = a total scale of 100 points). There is no necessary length for answers, although I
think somewhere between 600-900 words will be adequate for most students. To be clear, your
response will not be graded by length, but according to the criteria spelled out below.
Responses earning an A-level grade (45-50 points) will have a clear central thesis, a thoughtful
and complete response to the prompt, and consideration of the total structure as well as the
specific details of the artworks concerned, as well as a considered perspective and position that
ties the answer to a larger stake in the artwork (those stakes might be political, philosophical,
personal, etc., so long as they’re described clearly and within the bounds of what the text can
support). A-level responses go beyond what we’ve already talked about in class, using the core
skills of close reading and larger conceptual orientation to elaborate something vital and
important about the artworks concerned.
Responses earning B-level grades (40-44) might have a clear thesis and some good uses of
specific textual details, but might not elaborate a new or insightful position in relation to the texts
used. These responses might have great ideas about the artworks concerned, but might not use
specific details and close reading sufficiently or to the extent necessary to involve the specifics
of the artwork as meaningful aspects of your total reading. Or alternatively, there might be
moments of breathtaking and insightful textual analysis within a confusing or unclear overall
structure. Or, perhaps, everything else being in place, the larger stakes of the analyses aren’t
clearly delineated. In general, B-level responses are close to A-responses, but fall short in an area
of considerable importance.
C-level (35-39) responses might have a clear but underwhelming central argument, or might
address details in an interesting way that isn’t well-contextualized within the prompt or the
context of the artwork. Significant aspects of the argument in these responses might be missing
or shoddy in their logic. Structurally, these responses tend less toward a unified central idea and
more toward a collection of ideas that aren’t tied together in the context of an argument with a
larger point to make and, correspondingly, a larger stake in the artwork’s overall meaning and
value.
Responses earning less than a C grade (D = 30-34 points; F = less than 30 points) are generally
deficient in two or more of the areas described above and generally have unclear or incoherent
argumentation, a lack of specific details from the artworks, etc. These responses are generally a
product of a rushed writing situation, so try your best not to put yourself in a bad spot.
Note: While the written mechanics of your prose aren’t a major area of assessment, you will be
docked points in cases where your prose style gets in the way of making your argument clear.
Major issues with prose (sentence fragments, run-on sentences, etc.) may also bring down your
overall score.
Advice: Since clarity is paramount here, I strongly advise you all to write out and specify a
central thesis for each response, perhaps even marking it out by bolding it or by marking a
“Thesis: ” at the top of each response. You aren’t required to have a proper
introduction and conclusion, but these facets do often aid the readability and clarity of your
responses.
One more word: Any outside sources consulted must be cited in your paper, with proper
bibliographic information presented in MLA or APA style. This, however, does not apply to the
artworks themselves. Responses using outside sources or ideas that aren’t cited will be deemed
plagiarism and will result in a 0/100 final grade, even if plagiarism is incidental or unintentional.
If you’re concerned that something might fall under plagiarism, please consult your instructor.
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