Exams for Introduction to the Humanities I

Syllabus supplement

Written Assignments for Introduction to the Humanities I

William Jamison - Instructor

Directions: For this assignment you are to select any of three topics to address in an essay. Essays may be as long as you feel necessary, but must be at least 300 words each, and should demonstrate an understanding of the main point of the topic and it's relevance for us today. Avoid plagiarism!

Assignment 4 due October 31

Topic 1: Find a copy of Vincent Van Gogh's Starry Night (Google it) and imagine it without a) the cypress tree in the front, b) the town and church, or c) the swirls in the sky. First of all, how does this change the form of the painting, and secondly, how might this effect your interpretation?

Topic 2: Pick any movie and write about it in terms of the background. What role does architecture play? How is it filmed, in focus or out of focus? Does it look like it was filmed on a set or on location? Does the background tell us anything about the characters? Do they hint at themes in the story? For example: Movie sets in the thirties and forties did not have ceilings, but when John Huston directed the Maltese Falcon, he insisted on them. Why?

Topic 3: From Arts--World Themes, Pick a piece of artwork that you dislike, or that makes you feel uncomfortable, and describe what about it you dislike. Does it represent something you don't like? Is it ugly? Do you wonder how anybody could call this art? (I myself have some doubts about Piet Mondrian's Compostion, II on page 82). How would you change it?

The challenge is to write something that is beautiful, well written, and interesting! To help you may already start forming the group that will help with your term paper and use that group to edit your essay and make suggestions. Writing is a dialogue, not a voice crying in the wilderness.

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