Introduction to Cultural Studies
Analysis / Interpretation Paper Assignment
Requirements:
– 3-4 pages, one inch margins all around, double-spaced, 12pt Times font, page numbers
– Direct engagement with two sources (one from our class readings)
– All references and quotations are documented in a consistent style. Include a works cited page.
The objective of this assignment is to produce a detailed analysis or interpretation of a cultural object of your choosing. Your analysis should be responsive to the complex, theoretical understanding of meaning-making we have developed in class. The essay should present a thesis statement connecting specific aspects of your cultural object to a particular meaning or social function, paying attention to the way that meaning is constructed. In order to make your argument and explain how it responds to these ideas, you will need to engage with one of the readings from class.
Selecting an object. You have a fair amount of freedom here. Your cultural object can be a painting, advertisement, music video, poem, physical commodity, TV or movie clip, fashion trend, photograph, news article, or any other cultural product. It must be a discrete, manageable object, so it is best to avoid whole films or TV series or anything you can’t adequately deal with in 3-4 pages.
Selecting your source. This paper requires that you directly engage with at least one class reading. As you think about your chosen object and how you interpret it, try to select the theories and terms that best help you make sense of it. You might consider how the source can be used as a tool for analyzing the object or how it provides critical ways of understanding the process of meaning-making. Your paper should be written for a general audience, so make sure you introduce and contextualize any ideas or quotes from this source and explain them in your own words.
Description and Analysis. Work closely with your chosen cultural object throughout the paper. Avoiding overly general discussion and vague language will mean working with a detailed account of the object. Include careful description and analysis of your object’s form. If it is a TV or video clip, for example, try to focus on how it constructs the images (editing, narrative strategies, genre codes, camera angles, music, etc) rather than just what it is about. Think about the techniques and strategies utilized by your source to create meaning and how these rely on the general processes we have discussed in class. This will mean directly engaging and focusing on key parts instead of the work as a whole.
Argument about significance. Your essay must present an argument. This means staking out a position through your analysis. After describing and analyzing, try to answer the following questions: Why is it important or significant to understand this object in this particular way? Why is it useful to interpret your object using these particular tools or concepts? How does your reading or analysis function as “theory,” disrupting dominant or naturalized ideas or assumptions? Your objective is not just to describe the object and its meaning, but to make an argument about it.
Rubric:
Detailed analysis of object – 5 points
Fluency with key concepts / engagement with class reading – 5 points
Clear and complex argument about significance – 3 point
Writing / Formatting (including proper use of citation style) – 2 points
Total – 15 points
