Wednesday evening, February 9th, 9 pm

Greetings--

Below you will find a copy of Out of Class Essay Assignment #1, distributed in class today.

Please note the date change on the due date for the optional rough draft.

It is actually Wednesday the 23rd, not the 16th, as I originally corrected in class today.

In other words, you have up until the 23rd to submit a rough draft to me. It will be returned to you on the following class session.

See you Friday.



English 20, Sections 1, 4, 7, and 11
Spring 2011
Catherine Fraga, Instructor

Out of Class Essay Assignment #1—200 points possible

Assigned: Wednesday February 9
OPTIONAL Rough Draft due (typed): no later than Wednesday, February 23
Final Draft Due: Wednesday March 2

(You have a total of three weeks to work on this essay. The quality of your final effort should reflect the time you were given.)

Let’s take a closer look at the issue of conformity/non-conformity.

The most interesting, focused and articulate essays I receive from students are ones where the students select their own specific topic and are genuinely intrigued by the topic.

The following prompts allow for a wealth of flexibility and choice. Your focus will be on art, literature or film. (or perhaps a different area than these three…see below) You will select one prompt only.

Voices against Conformity

Focus: the 1950s (or a time period of your choice)—

Premise: Many in the 1950s worked diligently for the comfort and conformity displayed on such TV shows as Father Knows Best and Leave it to Beaver. But regardless of the affluence of the new American middle class, there was still poverty, racism and alienation in America rarely depicted on TV.

Dozens of people rejected societal norms through their artwork, creativity and lifestyle. They used words, art, film and music to rebel against the cookie-cutter mentality of the established power structure and mass-marketed culture.

Prompt One:
Many writers during this time period (referred to as the Beat Generation) adamantly refused to submit to the conformity of the 1950s. (these writers included Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, Diane Di Prima, Sloan Wilson, J.D. Salinger, William Burroughs, and others) Select at least one writer from this era and write an essay in which you provide the following:

• a brief history of the country’s mood;
• background and details about the writer and his/her work;
• the impact of this writer’s work on readers and critics at that time;
• how the work challenged the status quo; and
• the repercussions/influences of the writing today.

Your essay will be both informative and analytical: your thesis will prove the value and influence of the writing, or not, on people’s lives, then and now.


Prompt Two:
Many artists during this time period adamantly refused to submit to the conformity of the 1950s. (these artists included Willem De Kooning, Hans Hoffman, Mark Rothko, Jackson Pollock, Clement Greenberg, and others) Select an artist from this era and write an essay in which you provide:

• a brief history of the country’s mood;
• background and details about the artist and his/her work;
• the impact of these artist’s work on viewers and critics at that time;
• how the work challenged the status quo; and
• the repercussions/influences of the artist’s work today.

Your essay will be both informative and analytical: your thesis will prove the art’s value and influence, or not, on people’s lives, then and now.

Prompt Three:
According to an Internet article on Conformity in U.S. History: “While the 1950s silver screen lit up mostly with the typical Hollywood fare of Westerns and romances, a handful of films shocked audiences by uncovering the dark side of America’s youth.”

Many filmmakers of this time period adamantly refused to submit to the conformity of the 1950s. (these films include The Wild One; Blackboard Jungle; Rebel without a Cause, etc) Select at least one filmmaker from this era and write an essay in which you provide:

• a brief history of the country’s mood;
• background and details about the filmmaker, his/her films, and their themes;
• the impact of this work on viewers and critics at that time;
• how the work challenged the status quo;
• and the repercussions and influence of the filmmaker’s work today.

Your essay will be both informative and analytical: your thesis will prove the filmmaker’s value and influence, or not, on people’s lives, then and now.

OTHER WAYS “INTO” AN ESSAY ON CONFORMITY/NONCORMITY:

1. you may want to focus on non conformity in a different era; for example, the 1960s (hippie movement, free love, etc.) might garner some interest in a particular area of fashion, photography, film, literature, music, art, or?

2. you may want to focus on non conformity in a different AREA not mentioned above…such as politics, sex, professional sports, or?


Things to Consider:

This is NOT an essay in which you write an in depth analysis of the literature, film, music or art of the time period you are focused on. To do that, you would need to carefully read, view, listen or view the works at great length.

Instead, you are conducting research to discover the mood of the country and the status quo during a particular time period—background about a non conforming artist/writer/filmmaker/musician—why and how his/her work was considered non conformist—and how his/her work influenced those living then…and now.

Your thesis might read something like this:

Although 1950s America appeared to be almost unrealistically content, many artists—specifically Jackson Pollock-- successfully combated the blissful charade by successfully using innovative methods and themes in his work.