Sorry this is really rough...I am going to have to work on it more after class.
I am having trouble finding sources that talk about different functions of Guernica, other than as an anti-war sentiment....so I was trying to find sources that talk about art in general.
Argument Source 1: "Abstractions in art with implications for perception"
by Robert Zimmer
He talks about the purpose of art and how there is this "two-way effect" of how artworks are creations and yet we are also created by artwork.
Evidence 1: "Picasso's 'Guernica' in Its Historical Context"
by Werner Hofmann
This will help me get some background information on the bombing of Guernica/ what motivated
Picasso to make the painting.
Evidence 2: http://records.viu.ca/~lanes/english/hemngway/picasso/guernica.htm
Image itself
Evidence 3: http://www.isreview.org/issues/52/guernica.shtml
Picasso describes art as being "an instrument of war for attack and defense against the enemy."
Evidence 4: http://www.pbs.org/treasuresoftheworld/guernica/glevel_1/5_meaning.html
Picasso talks about the painting's anti-war sentiment and talks about the symbolic meaning of the bull/ other images in the mural.
Monday, April 6, 2009
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Straying from the Limelight: The Release of College Partying
For my research essay, I plan to explore how the partying culture of college operates as a form of release from societal pressures to succeed. Partying – being generally defined as sex, drugs and alcohol – allows one to enter into an alternate form of reality, essentially an escape from the intense pressure to be accepted into a good school, the pressure to get outstanding grades and an outstanding job. American society sets these intense pressures to succeed while simultaneously encouraging partying as an outlet. This outlet – this release – allows one to return to the vigorous, fast paced and burdening roles one is forced to carry due to societal pressures. I will specifically show how the April 26 2007 car accident of two high school seniors in Bellmore, New York demonstrates that persons extremely involved with societal pressures to succeed need a form of release. Two 17 year old seniors, intoxicated and reaching speeds up to 98 mph on the freeway, crashed and were ejected from their car on Long Island in April 2007. These teens were otherwise ‘perfect kids’: excellent grades, good reputations, volunteers, and were accepted to prestigious universities. This pressure to succeed forces young people – from middle schoolers to college students – to search for a way in to escape from this pressure. Historian John F. Kassoon makes a similar argument about amusement parks in his book Amusing the Million. Kasson says, “Coney Island acted as a safety valve, a mechanism of social release and control that ultimately protected existing society…In an age of mass culture, amusement emerged as the new opiate of the people” (109). In short, Kasson argues that Coney Island – and amusement parks in general – allowed a physical and psychological release from the new industrial pressures of society. I am building on Kasson’s message by arguing that partying in college offers the same form of release that amusement parks offered in a newly industrial society. It allows one to escape from the everyday pressures – and, through this escape, reaffirms these pressures. I will also build on Asher Roth’s latest song “I Love College”. This song’s chorus: “That party last night was awfully crazy I wish we taped it/ I danced my ass off and had this one girl completely naked/ Drink my beer and smoke my weed but my good friends is all I need/Pass out at 3, wake up at 10, go out to eat then do it again” illustrates that society actively encourages students to use this as a release. I will thus argue that just as industrial society of the early 1900s set Americans up in search of a release, societal pressures to succeed placed search of a release – to college students, what becomes known as partying.
research paper
For my research paper, I will continue to look at the issue of steroids in baseball using the exhibit of the recent Alex Rodriguez scandal. I want to see what impacts the scandals surrounding steroid use has affected the game of baseball. This is different from looking at the use of steroids itself, which has led to more power hitters, home runs, etc. I want to see whether or not the game has been tainted and how players, managers, and fans perceive the scandals and what it says about American culture and society.
Research essay topic
My topic is street graffiti and the controversial question weather graffiti is a form of expression or vandalism. My prime exhibit is an on-line article from BBC News listing the pros and cons that come along with the world of graffiti art. One distinction that must be identified is the idea of illegal and legal graffiti that takes place. Private property is an obvious situation of where graffiti is vandalism but the question is what about graffiti that is painted on empty walls within the city. Areas where there is a sense of dullness and available space to paint on a wall. The exhibit recognizes this and sympathizes with property owners, but graffiti art is a form of expression. This expression creates communication and color to the city therefore not all graffiti art is vandalism.
Research Essay Exhibit
For my conversation research essay, I will explore the world of drug trafficking and drug wars in Mexico and the countries it does the illegal business with. My exhibit will be a crime committed by a drug cartel against an innocent victim. This will illuminate the sources of the drug trafficking problem and its close ties to violence and politics. The conversation will be about the best possible solution to this severe problem. The conversation will be between experts who believe drugs should be legalized to take the money and power out of the system, and those who believe that legalizing drugs would cause an increase in junkies, further fueling the business. My own opinion will probably be a middle ground, with a heavy government involvement.
Blaise's Research Topic
For my research essay, I am going to look at the architectural advancement. My exhibit will be The country of Dubai because in the last 20 or so years they have become the frontrunner in the architectural innovation (ie. rotating buildings, underwater hotels, the world islands, etc.). There are many arguments on whether these multi million dollar investments are beneficial projects and I plan to take a closer look.
Emilia's Essay Topic
For the research paper, I would like to analyze Amazonian Indians and their role in the “eco-politics” of rainforest conservation efforts. Specifically, I will look at how the interaction of Brazilian Amazonians and Western environmentalists is creating a convergence of the two cultures; incidentally, the meeting of native and foreign societies has allowed Indian shamans to gain political leverage in the indigenous rights/rainforest preservation movement. Although the shaman’s emergence in global eco-politics has been beneficial in raising awareness of the Amazon’s environmental issues, it has also prompted local non-Indian Brazilians to label them as pawns of Westerners intent on implementing environmental “imperialism.” I was intrigued by the domestic issues at play here – namely, how the creating of a new political role for native shamans has led to an internal rift between different groups of Brazilians. To me, it was interesting to examine the merging of Amazonians and Westerners under the banner of environmental action as having possibly divisive implications for local Brazilian society.
Geoff's Research Essay Topic
For my research essay, I would like to investigate the role of mathematics education and how it is relevant to everyday life. The main question that I will try to answer is "Is Everyday Mathematics Truly Relevant to Mathematics Education?" My exhibit will most likely focus on a mathematical equation and its application to everyday life. One of the sources I will use to explore this topic is David W. Carraher and Analucia D. Schliemann's work in the Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, which I found at JSTOR.
Nicole's Research Essay Topic
For my essay, I think I would like to try to answer the question of what is the purpose of art. For my exhibit I want to look at the painting Guernica by Pablo Picasso and possibly some quotes written about the painting as well. I think that this painting will be an interesting exhibit for my topic because the painting itself has multiple functions: educational, cathartic, eye-catching, etc. It will be interesting to see what my conversation authors include and leave out of their analyses on the purpose of art and how the painting Guernica might add to their analyses.
essay idea
I would like to expand on the Kimmels idea of baseball as a way of reconstructing American masculinity and a way of teaching values and ethics and apply them to sports in general, particularly football. As an exhibit I would like to use ivy league football which was dominant and extremely popular at the time. I would use "Ivy league football, orgins of an American obsession" by Mark Bernstein for a possible source of evidence. I would also like to talk about why the Ivy league was so proud of athletics and why schools felt it necessary for a complete education.
Sarah's Essay Topic
I would like to examine street performers in society. So far, I have found evidence that street performers (buskers) do not merely perform as they wish, interacting only with their audiences; rather, they are heavily regulated by the government, which defines busking and restricts the times and places in which it may occur. This fascinates me--busking seems so spontaneous and free, yet there seem to be actors at play that might be shaping the spectators' cultural experiences on the street. For an exhibit, I would probably use a written government policy that I found from Ballina Shire, Australia, which lays out the Shire's definition of, and restrictions on, busking.
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