Comparative paper (due Friday, Dec. 5).

Your second paper for this course will be a comparison of two works of art, from any period of Asian history, and in any medium. At least one of them you must see in person this semester; the other can be any work of art (including something pictured in a book, something pictured online, or something you have seen in the past).

There is some Asian art on campus: on the second floor of Stern Hall, there is a painting by a Chinese artist on display (YANG Yanping, b. 1934, Autumn Lotus, ink and color on paper, 77 x 71 cm, Chinese, 1986-87, HWS Art Collection), and soon there will be a small study gallery of Japanese woodblock prints on display in the Davis Gallery at Houghton House. In addition, you might visit the Asian art collections of the Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art at Cornell University in Ithaca, or the Memorial Art Gallery at the University of Rochester. (Remember that I have scheduled a field trip on Sunday, Oct. 19, to the Johnson Museum.) Check out the hours that a museum is open before visiting—many are not open on Mondays, and many close at 5:00.

The paper should be about 900-1500 words long (roughly 3-5 pages of text, not counting pictures or bibliography). Your first draft is due Monday, Nov. 3. As in the looking paper, I expect to see both a description and an analysis of the objects that you choose. Start by describing the objects thoroughly, and make sure you identify what they are and where you saw them. Then use your analysis to discuss not only the artistic choices of the makers, but also the objects' style and function in relation to each other. Please turn in pictures of both objects with your paper. Many museums will allow non-flash photography of objects in their permanent collections (though not of things on loan, as in temporary exhibitions); alternatively, check to see if it is reproduced online. The ARTstor database may be a good place to start; I also have posted some links to Asian art online under Modules on Canvas. (It should be possible to find an online reproduction of something like a Japanese woodblock print, because they were produced in large quantities.)

Here are some elements that you may want to pay attention to (remembering that the absence of certain characteristics is sometimes important too):

• formal characteristics of the objects (including their form or composition; media; quality of line and/or color; texture; rendering of space, mass or volume; proportion or scale; perspective or viewpoint of the viewer);
• the objects' subject matter;
• where and when the objects were made (their provenance and date).

As in the looking paper, it is not necessary to do extensive research (although if the object you see in person has a didactic label, you might consider taking notes on that, and you might do the background reading on any object pictured in a book). Primarily, however, I want you to look carefully at both objects and analyze them in relation to each other based on what you see. The best papers will be about works of art that have something in common with each other, some element around which you can organize your paper, but will also be different enough from each other that they make a good contrast. Sylvan Barnet's A Short Guide to Writing about Art (11th ed.) refers to this kind of assignment as a "comparison," and Chapter 5 (“Writing a Comparison”) explains how to write this kind of paper. I expect you to read that chapter carefully, in addition to consulting all the relevant chapters on how to write about art and how to analyze art.

Develop a thesis or an argument around which to organize your writing, and put the thesis in the first paragraph. (Again, avoid inflated claims.) Please avoid judgment: I am not looking for an assessment or critique of whether the works of art are good or bad, but an argument about what you think the artists are trying to convey.

There is a second draft due Monday, Nov. 17; I suggest using this draft to refine your thesis and resolve any problems that became apparent in the first draft.

If you have further questions about writing papers, you might visit the HWS Writes website (http://www.hws.edu/academics/ctl/hws_writes.aspx).

Format for written work:
One of the things you will learn in an art history class is the importance of presentation. This applies to your written work as well:

1. Type all work in a 12-point font.
2. Double-space.
3. Leave one-inch margins on all sides.
4. Number your pages.
5. Put your name and the date on the first page.
6. Check that your spelling, grammar and punctuation are correct—these are crucial to effective communication of your ideas. Your grade will drop if you have excessive errors. A Short Guide to Writing about Art has a helpful chapter titled “Manuscript Form.” Read it.
7. If you cite another source, use either parenthetical references or footnotes. (See A note about cheating and plagiarism below.) Make sure that you follow one of the documentation styles explained in A Short Guide to Writing about Art (Chicago Manual of Style or Art Bulletin Style).
8. Include pictures with captions if appropriate.

You can submit written work via Canvas. Please upload a Microsoft Word document (.doc, .docx), Rich Text Format file (.rtf), or a PDF file (.pdf): these are the only formats that Canvas will accept. Alternatively, you can turn in a stapled hard copy, plus copies of any earlier drafts, to me during the class period. PLEASE NOTE:  I do not accept papers via e-mail.

A note about cheating and plagiarism:
I will not tolerate any form of academic dishonesty. It destroys the trust that I have in you to do your best, it is unfair to the other students, and obviously you will not learn anything if you resort to cheating. If I find that you have cheated on a test or on a written assignment, you will receive a zero for the assignment and I will contact the Deans and/or the Committee on Standards about your case. I follow the recommendation of the Committee on Standards; if it also finds evidence of cheating or plagiarism, the recommendation is usually failure of the course at a minimum. See the Colleges’ Principle of Academic Integrity and General Academic Regulations (http://www.hws.edu/catalogue/policies.aspx) and the Handbook of Community Standards (http://www.hws.edu/studentlife/pdf/community_standards.pdf), pp. 38-40.

Now, just in case you are not clear about what plagiarism is: plagiarism is the use of someone else’s words or ideas without giving that person credit.  In application, this means that in your writing assignments, you need to cite your sources. When quoting directly from a text—say, five words or more in succession—you need to put those words in quotation marks and include a parenthetical reference or footnote citing the source. When rewriting a passage from a text in your own words, you don’t need the quotation marks but you do still need the parenthetical reference or footnote. If you don’t understand exactly what constitutes plagiarism, or how to use parenthetical references or footnotes, please ask me. I would prefer to explain what it is and how to avoid it before it happens rather than after.