Update, expand upon, or complicate one of Lazzari and Schlesier’s themes presented in the textbook (Food & Shelter; Reproduction & Sexuality; Deities & Places of Worship; Morality & Immortality; Power, Politics, & Glory; Social Protest / Affirmation;
Mind & Body; Race, Gender, Clan, & Class; Nature, Knowledge, & Technology; Entertainment & Visual Culture; Art in Your Life)
-OR-
Create a new, original theme that you think should be added to their list (think of this like proposing a Chapter 16).
 
For whichever approach you choose, you must select at least 2 new artworks that are not presented in the textbook and that relevantly speak to your theme. In your paper, you will show that you can conduct formal analysis of these objects, analyze their larger historical and cultural meaning, compare/contrast them against each other; and discuss how/why these artworks contribute to your intervention.
You will also need to conduct some research outside the scope of our textbook. You should plan to use at least 2 academic sources in the form of books or articles (recommend at least 1 for each art object, historical time period, and/or culture you are working with). “Good” academic sources for this paper do not include Wikipedia! It’s an okay place to start your research, but don’t let it be where you stay — use the works sited section to track down better academic sources. All sources must be properly cited in MLA format, both in-text if/when you are quoting or paraphrasing them, and in a bibliography page at the end of your paper. Bibliography does not count towards your length requirements.
A good MLA tutorial can be found here.
 
In your final project, you must:
IDENTIFY your chosen artists, artwork titles, dates, countries/cultures of origin, art historical movements (if applicable), and medium or locations; identify which option you are choosing for the final project.
Remember that your selected artworks need to NOT have already appeared in the textbook NOR have already been discussed in-class. 
FORMALLY ANALYZE specific formal and stylistic elements within your chosen artworks.
Remember that formal analysis includes 3 steps: 1) correctly identifying formal elements using key terms, 2) describing the formal elements in specific detail, and 3) ALL IMPORTANTLY analyzing formal elements by connecting their use to specific effects, larger meaning, impact upon the viewer, and the artist’s message.   It’s a good rule of thumb to look for 2-3 specific formal or stylistic features in each artwork.
CONTEXTUALIZE your selected artworks within larger historical, cultural, and/or theoretical contexts.
Ask yourself: what was happening in society, history, and thought at the time; how do these artworks and artists reflect and/or speak back to these events or issues?
CONNECT your new artworks or theme to a larger CONCEPT or THEORY.
This can including applying iconography as a way to derive meaning out of any symbols,  subject matter elements, motifs, tropes, or other significant/meaningful visual elements found within your selected artwork.
COMPARE/CONTRAST your selected artworks.
Ask yourself: do these 2 artworks share meaningful similarities or differences in terms of historical or cultural context, formal choices, ideas, overall message, or perspective on my theme?
DEVELOP AN ARGUMENT as to how and why you are either updating one of the themes proposed by Lazzari and Schlesier, or how and why you are creating a new theme.
Show your reader how your selected artworks are speaking to and/or against your theme in a way that puts different images, time periods, cultures, and ideas into conversation with each other. You can be interpretative and have a POV, but your arguments should be supported by specific facts and evidence grounded in the core skills of our class (formal analysis; historical & cultural context; theory; comparative analysis and critical thinking).
 
Length and Format requirements for your Final Project:
~ 4-5 pages of written text; you can include images, but they do not count towards your page count.
12-point Times New Roman font, double-spaced, 1 inch margins.
A works cited page (does not count toward your page count).
 
Your grade will be determined by your ability to:
Conduct formal analysis by correctly identifying, describing, and connecting to meaning 2-3 key elements of form.
Apply historical & cultural contextualization to your analysis and overall argument.
Apply theoretical interpretations to your analysis and overall argument.
Compare/contrast 2 artworks against each other in terms of form, context, ideas, and messages.
Create a compelling argument that either updates one of Lazzari and Schlesier’s themes or offers a new, original one.
Meet the overall requirements of this project (including peer reply) and use effective rhetoric/grammar.
This is the link to the textbook: https://fex.net/s/yya14fc