Good afternoon. Hope your week is going great. Today we will review the autobiographical essay and the summary piece assigned last week and discuss new assignments. I have handouts for the Gateway location and film review and a release form that you must sign if you intend to participate in the field trip.
A Report on an Event
Reviews and descriptions of cultural fare–of park attractions, films, art exhibits and fairs, live music shows, restaurants, bars, and clubs old and new, sporting events, lectures, book signings and discussions, community classes and workshops –serve to interest people in what’s going on about town and provide them a means to connect with the lives and activities of others. Special events and regular or ongoing culture fare also provide an opportunity for you to do some first-hand reporting. The particulars of your subject and your takeway impressions and ideas, the degree of interest and engagement with the subject shown–these are central to the essay’s success. Whether you are visiting a park, a beach, a museum, theater, restaraunt, etcetera–descriptions of the scene or environs, the activity, the individual artworks, performances, ambiance, food, service, etcetera will bring the piece to life and convey a you-are-there sensation to readers. But your readers will also learn about you, your view of the world and what matters, for the frame your create, the thesis idea controlling and unifying the work, will make for certain selections and emphases that reflect you the observer, your history, interests, tastes, etc.
We will talk more in class about how to put together an assignment of this kind. It is a species of primary research that goes hand in hand with background reading on whatever aspect of your subject requires exposition, background and context, to fully develop your thesis or main idea. This essay will require you actually go somewhere in person and record material facts and observations before putting the piece together. Your thesis tells you what to include, to emphasize, and what to ignore. The essay should run a minimum of 5oo-6oo words, including introductory, body, and closing paragraphs, title, and clear references throughout.
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If you were to visit an exhibit, you would include the museum name, location, and featured artist(s), including the exhibit’s run dates. Focus would necessarily be on some theme observed in one or more works or overall. You would identify representative works (by title) and present a verbal description–medium, size, subject, form, and color–so that readers can "see" the work and understand the conclusions you draw from it. If you were to visit a natural area, you might tie the visit in to some current news (a news "hook") or ongoing area of interest (natural history/studies, ecology, environmental justice, marine life, art) to create audience appeal, to lend purpose and weight to the piece. Food culture is of great interest to many these days and offers many choices for primary research or "eye-witness" reports–green markets, restaraunts, bars, etcetera.
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The place or event essay (#5), in 500 words or more, is due week 7, or earlier.
Workshop: Find a photograph of some place or stake out a location for a fly report on a place. Description may proceed like that of a still life painting or photograph in which a tableaux is created, all action removed or stopped. It may also include the visible action, the dynamic flow of movement and sound and light going on without, and the observer's passing thoughts and feelings.
In Amish Country
Note: The film review is a separate assignment (#4) and will be due week 6, when we return to class. I have a handout for you to refer to in writing the piece.
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