Greek & Roman Humanities Professor  Will  Adams  ·∙  Wadams5@valenciacollege.edu  ·∙  Hum2220.blogspot.com  Osceola  Campus  –  Building  2,  Room  232  ·∙  Mondays  &  Wednesdays,  1:30  –  2:45  PM  

 

Research Project Descr ipt ion  

For  your  research  assignment,  you  will  be  tasked  with  researching  a  piece  of  art,  

analyzing  it  in  the  form  of  a  4-­‐page  research  essay,  and  then  reinterpreting  it  in  your  own  

creative  way.  The  following  will  guide  you  through  the  recommended  process  to  complete  

your  assignment:  

1. You  will  choose  your  piece  of  art  by  drawing  a  topic,  at  random,  from  a  hat.  

2. Once  you’ve  chosen  your  piece  of  art,  perform  research  on  it.    

a. For  a  four-­‐page  research  project,  you  should  use  no  fewer  than  6  credible  

sources.    

b. With  the  exception  of  the  databases  available  through  Valencia’s  libraries,  

none  of  your  sources  may  come  from  the  Internet.  

3. After  you’ve  completed  your  research  and  have  a  good  understanding  of  the  piece  

of  art’s  meaning,  use  what  you’ve  learned  to  create  your  own  interpretation  of  it.    

• You  may,  and  in  fact  are  encouraged  to,  change  the  medium  from  the  

original  work  of  art  to  your  own.    

• For  instance,  if  you  choose  a  painting,  you  may  reinterpret  that  as  a  

painting,  a  song,  a  film,  etc.    

• Be  sure  the  medium  you  choose  caters  to  your  own  abilities  and  

interests,  not  the  original  artist’s.  

• Possible  media  to  consider  for  your  interpretation  include  photography,  

fashion  design,  painting,  dance,  sculpture,  modeling,  film,  or  poetry.    

• Be  creative  and  “think  outside  the  box”!    

4. Finally,  write  a  research  essay  that  first  discusses  the  original  artwork  as  you  

understand  it  from  your  research.    

• This  section  should  make  up  the  bulk  of  your  paper’s  length  –  at  least  4  

pages.    

• In  addition,  you  should  not  use  first  or  second  person  point-­‐of-­‐view  when  

writing  this  section  of  your  paper.  

• After  discussing  the  original  artwork,  then  discuss  your  own  

interpretation.  Be  sure  to  explain  your  own  perspective  and  artistic  

choices.  This  is  the  only  section  of  your  paper  in  which  you  are  allowed  to  

use  first-­‐person  point-­‐of-­‐view  (i.e.  “After  completing  my  research  on  

Michelangelo,  I  concluded  that…”).  

• Collectively,  the  written  body  of  your  essay  should  total  5  full  pages.  

• Your  text  should  be  double-­‐spaced,  set  in  Arial  size  12  font,  and  have  

standard  1”  margins.  Use  proper  MLA  style  citation  for  in-­‐text  citations,  

the  Works  Cited  page,  and  the  cover  page  (refer  to  attached  MLA  style  

guide  for  help).  

5. OPTIONAL:  You  may  email  in  a  draft  of  your  project  for  my  feedback  on  

Wednesday,  April  1st  to  wadams5@valenciacollege.edu.  

6. You  will  submit  both  the  artistic  and  the  written  components  of  your  project  in  class  

on  Wednesday,  April  15th.  

In  conclusion:  Have  as  much  fun  as  you  can  with  this!  This  assignment  isn’t  

meant  as  a  punishment,  but  rather  as  an  opportunity  for  you  to  synthesize  academic  

skills  with  personal  expression.  The  more  passionate  you  are  about  your  chosen  topic,  

that  less  “work”  this  assignment  will  be.