NSCAD University Department of Historical and Critical Studies
ENGL 2010 Writing Workshop: From Research to Essay Fall 2008
Instructor: Karin Cope Three LAS Credits
Office: S402; kcope@nscad.ca Classroom: Press 2
494-8187 (leave a message) Meets: Fridays 9am--noon
Office Hours: TBA and always before and after class and by appointment
Calendar Description
This course continues the development of skills learned in FNDN 1800 (Writing for the Arts), with emphasis on critical thinking, clarity of expression, research methods, and essay writing. Students will be encouraged to write about topics relevant to their own art, craft, or design practice.
Why write? What makes for good writing?
Like drawing, writing is first of all a practice. You can learn techniques that will make doing it easier and more enjoyable—we’ll explore some of those techniques here--but there are no real shortcuts. A polished piece of writing requires dedication of considerable time and effort on the part of a writer—and, often, of his or her editors and friends.
It may surprise you to think of writing as a group activity, for writing is often characterized as a solitary, even lonely undertaking. Sometimes it is: you might keep a journal for example, as a private, uncensored place to try out preliminary reactions and ideas; it is a good place to try to sound out what you are thinking about a particular problem, your emotional or intellectual state, life. But, particularly in its most public manifestations—essays, web-based publications, research papers—writing is also communicative. You might begin writing in order to learn more about a topic that puzzles or interests you. As soon as your writing is destined for someone else, however, you are engaged not simply in learning, but also in teaching, in communicating and exploring a question or problem with and for someone else.
One aim of this course then, is to enable you to become more experienced and comfortable with writing for yourself and others, particularly about the visual arts. Short in-class writing assignments, informal writing and journal-keeping exercises will help you develop longer, more public or formal writing assignments, including a brief presentation of some aspect of your own studio work, two short research proposals, a web-based publication, and a short research paper. We’ll also spend a bit of time in each class looking at, discussing and interpreting various kinds of readings; these will function as examples of several kinds of writing, as well as texts for instruction and interpretation. This is because one way of learning to be a better writer is to see how others write. It is worth asking, for example, what any particular text looks like and how it works. To whom does it appeal; what are its sources, its vocabulary, its style? How does a given author imagine his or her audience, develop a voice, an argument, or order and impart information and opinions? Are there aspects of any of these forms that you might borrow? What about texts that are difficult, on a first reading, to understand? How can sorting out what and how they mean help you to become a better, more experienced and informed reader and writer, particularly about your own work or in your art history classes?
Ultimately, the goal of this class is to give you more exposure to and experience with research methods and reading and interpretive skills, as well as further honing your practice of the craft of writing about the visual arts--for yourself and for others.
PREREQUISITE: FNDN 1800 (Writing for the Arts) or English equivalent
Things you’ll need to do (your general responsibilities):
Show up for class. Attendance is mandatory. Only one unexcused absence will be permitted.
Complete all assignments ON TIME, whether these are in-class or out of class exercises, readings, presentations, editing sessions, research projects, excursions to the library or formal, graded assignments.
Keep a journal. You must write at least five pages a week. I will not read your journal entries, but I will count the number of pages you write each week. Sometimes I’ll recommend topics you might explore in your journal.
Participate in class discussions and to do various projects and editorial work in small groups. Please come to class prepared to discuss readings.
Consult with me and/or a tutor when useful or necessary.
You may re-do any assignment after consultation with me, if you wish to improve your grade.
Please keep a photocopy of any graded assignment you hand in. All drafts and final papers must be word-processed and printed in 11 or 12 point type, double spaced, and single sided, in order to leave room for editorial comments.
Required texts--
Xeroxed reader for this class, available on reserve or in the copy shop next to the NSCAD store (texts in this reader are indicated by an (x) in the syllabus)
All in-class handouts and library or research assignments, as well as indicated reserve readings
Recommended:
o The best dictionary you can afford and easily use
o A thesaurus
Grades will be letter grades. Incomplete standing will be granted only in circumstances clearly beyond the control of the student.
Evaluation
Assignment 1 Artist’s presentation = 10%
Assignment 2 NSCAD research & web publication = 35%
(Annotated bibliography= 5%; Proposal=10%; Final=20%)
Assignment 3 5000 word Research Paper = 40%
(Proposal and annotated bibliography=10%; Final=30%)
Participation =15%
(including journals, in class assignments, and preparedness for and participation in interpretive and editing sessions)
Writing and ESL (English as a Second Language) Tutors are available, free of charge. Please call Heather McKean in Historical and Critical Studies at 494-8187 for an appointment.
Learning disabilities or special needs: If you think you need help for any reason, please contact the Disability Resource Facilitator in Student Services, 494-8313. And please let me know, as soon as possible, what I can do to help.
I. 5 September Getting Started: The Exercise of writing
To write: short in-class reflection on writing
To read/discuss: Ellen Lupton and J. Abbott Miller. “Body of the Book.” Design Writing Research. London: Phaidon, 1996: 50-1.
Julia Cameron. “Begin.” The Right to Write: An Invitation and Initiation into the Writing Life. New York: Tarcher/Putnam, 1998: 1-5.
Homework
READ: Anna Dezeuze, “’Do-it-yourself Artworks’: A User’s Guide. In Dead History Life Art? Ed. Jonathan Harris. Liverpool: Liverpool University Press, 2007: 187-207. (x)
PLAN/ORGANIZE/WRITE Assignment 1: (Draft) You have been invited to participate in a project entitled “Understanding the Arts” in a high school. You have been asked to contribute photographs of one or more of your art/craft/design works, along with a short essay that describes the work in detail. Include information about process and intent, so that grade ten students may better understand your work. (Approximately 2.5 pp or 500 words). Bring notes, pictures, sketches draft etc to class September 12.
Write at least 5 pp in your journal.
II. 12 September Drafting, Editing, Finding your Form
To read: Julia Cameron. “Form versus Formula.” The Right to Write. 162-166.
To edit: “Understanding the Arts” drafts
Handout: Glossary of “arts” words
Homework
READ: Lygia Clark. “Nostalgia of the Body.” October: The Second Decade, 1986-1996. Eds., Rosalind Krauss, Annette Michelson, Yve-Alain Bois, et al. Cambridge: MIT Press, 1997: 25-49. (x) What do you need to know or find out to make better sense of this reading? Do you need to test or try out any of the activities that are described?
WRITE/REWRITE “Understanding the Arts” Essay/Statement into final form. Bring drafts and preparatory material to class on 19 September to hand in with your final essay. Write at least 5 pp in your journal.
III. 19 September Research: Finding things out and tracking where you’ve been
Developing research skills and techniques: discussion of Lygia Clark (using your body and experimental abilities as a research tool) and library visit.
Introduction to Assignment 2: NSCAD Research and Web Publication
This assignment has three parts (weekly handouts will give more detailed instructions):
1) a research survey of materials about or touching on NSCAD (annotated bibliography due 26 September);
2) a focused proposal for a short essay about some aspect of NSCAD’s history (due in class 3 October); and
3) a short illustrated essay designed for web publication (essay draft due for in class editing 10 Oct; final must be posted online by 17 October for class review and public viewing).
Homework
RESEARCH/WRITE: Survey/Annotated bibliography. 5% of overall grade, due in class in correct form 26 September. Your task is to survey the information that you can find on the history of NSCAD, including accounts of particular works of art, movements, personages or programs, architectural elements, etc. Your bibliography should draw on print, non-print and online sources. See handout for details about annotation and correct bibliographic form. This survey will help you to select the topics that you want to focus on for your essays/web publication.
Write at least 5 pp in your journal.
READ: Randall Anderson, “Joyous Inquiry: A Memoir and an Appreciation of Sol LeWitt, 1928-2007.” BorderCrossings 26, no 3 (August 2007): 118-120. (x)
Lucy R. Lippard, “Escape Attempts.” In Ann Goldstein and Anne Rorimer, eds., Reconsidering the Object of Art, 1965-1975. Cambridge: MIT, 1995: 16-39.(x)
See text on reserve: Conceptual Art: The NSCAD Connection, 1967-1973 Bruce Barber, Curator. Exh cat. Halifax: Anna Leonowens Gallery, 2001.
The focus of these readings on conceptual art has to do with the peculiarity of this moment (at NSCAD and elsewhere), when writing became not only central to the practice of visual art, but, one could say, sometimes “replaced” a number of more apparently visual practices. Or did it? We’ll consider whether scripts and other ”conceptual” works really do trade images for text—or are these works calling for other modes of thinking altogether? How might we evaluate such works?
IV. 26 September Envisioning where you want to go: developing a topic, a timetable, an overall plan
Using the surveys/annotated bibliographies that you’ve produced, we’ll use the class to map out a collective web-based project that will contain individually authored pieces on some aspect of the history, architecture or productions of NSCAD. We’ll thus develop a general plan, time-tables and duties for our publication, as well as brainstorm about effective individual contributions. Class attendance is ESSENTIAL.
Homework
RESEARCH/WRITE: On the basis of the decisions you’ve made in class today, write a focused proposal for a short essay about some aspect of NSCAD’s history (this could include an account of particular works of art, movements, personages or programs (eg. where and when did the idea of the Foundation Program develop?), architectural elements, etc., (See handout for more details.) Your proposal is due in class 3 October.
Write at least 5 pp in your journal.
READ: Benjamin H. D. Buchloh, “Conceptual Art 1962-1969: From the Aesthetic of Administration to the Critique of Institutions.” October: The Second Decade, 1986-1996. Eds., Rosalind Krauss, Annette Michelson, Yve-Alain Bois, et al. Cambridge: MIT Press, 1997: 117-155. (x)
Stephen Melville, “Aspects.” In Ann Goldstein and Anne Rorimer, eds., Reconsidering the Object of Art, 1965-1975. Cambridge: MIT, 1995:229-245. (x)
V. 3 October Understanding and characterizing others’ arguments; summarizing, citing, finding your own words
We’ll review your proposals and our timetable, then spend much of this class practicing characterizing, summarizing and citing others’ arguments and points of view. We’ll use the Buchloh and Melville texts you read for your homework as both models and materials upon which to practice. How do these articles make use of illustrations? What might improve them?
Homework
PLAN and DRAFT: Short illustrated essay on some aspect of NSCAD designed for web publication (draft due for in class editing 10 Oct). Bring notes and images and typed, double-spaced text copy to class for editing.
Write at least 5 pp in your journal.
READ:
Mark Amerika, “Designwriting: A Postliterary Reading Experience” and “What in the World Wide Is Happening to Writing?” Meta/Data: A Digital Poetics. Cambridge: MIT Press, 2007: 407-411 and 413-416. (x)
Ellen Lupton and J. Abbott Miller, “McLuhan/Fiore: Massaging the Message” and “Language of Vision.” Design Writing Research. London: Phaidon, 1996: 90-101 and 62-65. (x)
Ingrid Jenkner. “Beyond Words.” Beyond Words. Eds., Ingrid Jenkner and Gaëtane Verna. Halifax: Mount Saint Vincent University Art Gallery, 2004 (?): 9-13. (x)
These articles will give us a chance to talk about different kinds of writing and effective text presentation, as well as to sort out what kind of difference writing for an online environment might make. When is writing an object to be looked at and when is it a more or less “transparent” communicative medium? How can we make best use of or take advantage of both of these sorts of functions?
VI. 10 October Content, Format and Design: Editing for Web Publication
The majority of this class will be dedicated to editing your NSCAD articles in order to prepare them (and you) for online publication. We’ll review our plans for launching and publicizing your publication, and make sure that everyone is on track for a launch next Friday. We’ll also make some formatting and design decisions, as part of our discussion about how these, too, are a part of the overall process and practice of writing.
Homework
Finalize and post your essay (see handout for additional details and instructions). Be sure you give yourself enough time to test it, to see if it works, especially if you have made use of any attachments, links, embedded images or videos etc. Make sure that you have clear rights to any images you use, and that your publication is NOT in violation of any copyrights (ie. you’ve made all of the images you use or secured rights for them). Essay etc must be up in time for publication launch of 9 am Friday October 17.
Write at least 5 pp in your journal.
VII. 17 October Launch!
We’ll begin class with a launch celebration—location to be specified. Of course we must have access to computer terminals, and room for any invited guests.
Having taken our bows, in the second half of the class we’ll pay a short visit to the AGNS and look at how museums and curators use galleries to set out arguments in space. Think about how the information is organized as a walk or a back-and-forth exploratory movement. Are some modes of display more effective than others? How? Why? What would you change if you could? What would you say is the work of museums? These questions will lead into your homework readings.
Homework
READ: Douglas Crimp. “On the Museum’s Ruins.” On the Museum’s Ruins. Cambridge: MIT, 1993: 44-64. (x)
Gustavo Buntinx, “Communities of Sense/Communities of Sentiment: Globalization and the Museum Void in an Extreme Periphery.” Museum Frictions. Eds., Ivan Karp, Corinne A. Kratz, Lynn Szwaja, Tomas Ybarra-Fausto. Durham: Duke UP, 2006: 219-246.(x)
How do changes in context challenge and change “museal” practice? What does Buntinx’s argument suggest about the political contexts of museum-building?
Randall Anderson, “Born Again: A Prosthetic You”. BorderCrossings Vol 26, no 1 (March 2007): 66-71 (x). How would you characterize Anderson’s piece: is it reportage, criticism or art? Or a little bit of all three? Does the article make you want to find out more about any of the things it discusses? Would you need a “research avatar” to do this work?
Write at least 5 pp in your journal.
Start thinking about the topic you want to address in your final research paper. You might use your journal this week to brainstorm about that topic.
VIII. 24 October How Wide the Net? Picking a Research Topic
We’ll discuss readings and do a bit of in-class brainstorming and writing. We may pay a visit to the library. You should leave this class with some ideas to explore for your final research project.
Homework
RESEARCH/DRAFT: What do you need to find out about in order to write your final paper? Do a survey of the best sources you can find, and write out a short proposal (1-2pp), accompanied by an annotated bibliography (at least six-ten entries) for your final research paper. Bring draft notes to class 31 October. Final proposal and bibliography due in class 7 November.
Write at least 5 pp in your journal.
READ: Catherine de Zegher, “Cecilia Vicuña’s Ouvrage: knot a not, notes as knots.” Generations and Geographies in the Visual Arts: Feminist Readings. Ed., Griselda Pollock. London: Routledge, 1996:197-216. (x) What are the kinds of information and stories contained in this text? How does the author make use of comparisons to help illuminate her discussions of Vicuña’s textile practices?
Mieke Bal. “Reading Art?” Generations and Geographies in the Visual Arts: Feminist Readings. Ed., Griselda Pollock. London: Routledge, 1996: 25-41. (x) What is Bal’s argument about the relationship between making sense of images and the practices of reading? See if you can characterize her overall argument. How do her examples work? Do you like Bal’s readings? Do you think they work? Why or why not? What can you learn about “reading” and writing about images here?
IX. 31 October What is a reading? Practice looking at interpretive arguments
We’ll comb through our readings and the examples they offer carefully in an effort to help you a) make greater sense of theoretical and art historical arguments and writings as well as b) develop a feel for where and how you might use interpretive glosses or “readings” in your own writing. We’ll also review your plans for your final paper. Are you having trouble? Why? What kind of help do you need?
Homework
WRITE: Final form of proposal for research paper and annotated bibliography. Must be typed, printed and handed in by the beginning of class on 7 November. Be sure to include copies of any crucial images.
Write at least 5 pp in your journal.
READ: Robert Enright, “The Incredible Lightness of Machines: An Interview with Reva Stone.” BorderCrossings, Vol 26, no 1 (March 2007): 56-65. on reserve in the library
Do you agree that we live in an post-human age? What does that claim mean? Where does it come from? What are its implications? Whose argument is this?
X. 7 November Provocation, evidence, proof: how should you treat various sources?
We’ll discuss the text you read for your homework and think carefully about how to develop your own paper’s argument. What is the advantage of beginning with a provocative contention? How can you develop adequate proofs? What kinds of evidence can you use? How should you treat an artist’s own words and testimony? What’s the role of your own experiences in “serious” writing?
Using your proposal, you’ll begin to develop an overall strategy for writing your draft of a research paper.
Homework
WRITE: Draft of your final research paper, due, in class 14 November. The draft you bring to class should be as fully worked out as you can make it, typed and double-spaced. (Aim for at least 5 pp.) Be sure to bring notes and any relevant images for review as well. If you are stumped, bring what you have.
Write at least 5 pp in your journal.
XI. 14 November Editing for sense, coherence, audience, effect, looks….
In-class editing session. Come prepared to work hard! We’ll develop a precise revision plan for each paper, designed to make your work as strong and effective as it can be. The better-prepared for this session you are, the more you will get out of it.
Homework
WRITE: Keep working away at your draft. Bring examples of sentences and paragraphs that you’re struggling to revise to class for fine tuning on 21 November.
Write at least 5 pp in your journal.
XII. 21 November Fine-tuning
Exercises in weeding out wordiness, catching grammar, sentence structure and punctuation errors. Be sure you bring any questions and problems you want to work on to class.
Homework
COMPLETE the final draft of your research paper. Does your argument make sense? Is it convincing? Do you have a good title, and strong, provocative opening and closing paragraphs? Are your examples appropriate? Have you revised problem areas, included necessary images, put sentences and bibliography into proper form? Do you know who your target audience is? Have you appropriately addressed that audience? Have you test-driven your paper with more than one reader? Final paper due (with drafts, notes, images etc.) in class on 28 November (8-10pp. + bibliography).
XIII. 28 November LAST CLASS
All rewrites due, in addition to final paper.
