Composition One: it should be submitted via the link to Turnitin.com that is found in the Compositions folder in Blackboard.
Write 3-5 pages on the topic explained below. All compositions should be the work of the student. You should consult other students or the professor regarding spelling, vocabulary and grammatical questions, and about organization of your ideas.
You should summarize and include the ideas of published sources in the framework of your own analysis of the structure. However, plagiarism is strictly forbidden and will be reported to the proper university authorities. Compositions must be typed and double-spaced using Times New Roman, 12, and standard (1.25”) margins.
Be sure to organize your composition in essay form, including an introduction with thesis statement(s), paragraphs to develop your idea in the body of the paper, and a concluding paragraph.
You should cite at least three different published sources to support your ideas. Internet sources do not count for this requirement, but do note them appropriately if you use material from credible websites (use caution and good sense when citing from the Internet).
When citing ideas or passages from Fuentes’s The Buried Mirror or from the Cultural Atlas of Spain and Portugal, introduce the paraphrase or quotation appropriately and indicate source and page number immediately after the quotation or paraphrase in the following manner:
[Example of a paraphrase]: Hill explains that the many of the non-Muslim Peoples of the Book converted to Islam, probably to avoid paying religious taxes. (Hill 29) [example of a direct quotation] As Fuentes points out in The Buried Mirror, “the matador is a tragic representation of man’s relation to nature.” (Fuentes 23) [another paraphrase:] Although there is some debate about the exact date of the Iberians’ first appearance in the peninsula, virtually everyone agrees that it took place long before the arrival of the Phoenicians. (Cultural Atlas 75)
Include complete bibliographical information in a short ‘list of works cited’ at the end of the paper (author, title, publisher, place and date of publication, as well as page numbers of chapters or articles in journals or collections: see UHD library cite on ‘Writing and Citing’ for more information).
TOPIC 1:
A Cultural Analysis of Spanish Architecture (through 1700)
You may choose any building or structure (such as a bridge or an aqueduct) that we have discussed in class or that has been mentioned in course readings, as long as it was built in Spain before 1700. Your task is to explain the building’s form and function in terms of cultural importance. Items to include in your analysis:
• Location and name of the structure
• Historical period when built (use exact dates where possible, approximate dates if necessary and describe that period using terminology from readings or class discussions, i.e., During the Roman Conquest/ Roman Imperial period, the Visigothic kingdom of the 7th century, etc.)
• Name of cultural group(s) whose influence is important in the structure
• Function of the building and function’s relationship to the culture that built it
• Stylistic architectural or decorative traits that identify the structure with a particular cultural period or group; try to give as much cultural explanation of these traits as possible (i.e., why no (or so much) representational art on the walls? Why include horseshoe arches in a building made by and for Christians? Why might this people want to integrate flowing water into its architectural designs? Etc.)
• Brief cultural-historical overview that explains the context of this structure (try to relate the facts cited as directly as possible to the form and function of the structure that you are explaining); it is best if you can integrate one of the key cultural concepts we have studied (i.e., cultural syncretism, Romanization, convivencia, Arabization, ‘Europeanization’, etc.)
Format: In addition to the requirements mentioned above about font and margins, be sure to include the following standard practices in good academic writing:
• Introduction with thesis statement in the first paragraph (eg.: “In the funerary sculpture known today as the Dama de Elche one finds clear evidence of a key process that shaped the cultures of ancient Iberia: syncretism. “ The rest of the paper will explain this term and give specific details about the sculpture that exemplify its importance in the evolution of ancient Iberian cultures.
• Materials and argument are organized in logical paragraphs (usually no more than six to eight sentences long and no less than three); organize your thoughts logically!
• All cited materials are properly sourced with sufficient bibliographical information in MLA format (see notes above and consult the link called ‘Citing & Writing” on the UHD website for more about MLA style.
• An appropriate conclusion that follows from the evidence and arguments presented in the body of the paper
• An appropriate title that identifies the structure and suggests something about the paper’s thesis (main argument) about that structure
TOPIC 2:
A Cultural Analysis of A Spanish Painting, Sculpture or Literary Piece (through 1700)
If you prefer to write about another cultural expression or product other than architecture from Spain (up through 1700), you may also do that in this first paper. Just as has been explained for TOPIC 1, you must explain the work’s form and function from a cultural perspective.
Integrate one or several of the cultural topics we have discussed into your explanation of the painting, sculpture or literary piece that you have chosen. How does this work illustrate one of the key cultural trends that we have studied so far to understand the origins and early development of Hispanic culture?
Some items to include in your analysis:
• Location and name of the work and its creator (if known)
• Historical period when built (use exact dates where possible, approximate dates if necessary and describe that period using terminology from readings or class discussions, i.e., During the Roman Conquest/ Roman Imperial period, the Visigothic kingdom of the 7th century, etc.)
• Name of cultural group(s) whose influence is important in the work
• Function of the work in society and its relationship to the culture that created it: does it help support, criticize or lament its own culture?
• Stylistic traits, details about the work’s content, form, use, etc.
• Brief cultural-historical overview that explains the context of this work (try to relate the facts cited as directly as possible to the form and function of the structure that you are explaining); it is best if you can integrate one of the key cultural concepts we have studied (i.e., cultural syncretism, Romanization, convivencia, Arabization, ‘Europeanization’, anti-Semitism, Golden Age Spain’s seigneurial values, etc.)
Format: In addition to the requirements mentioned above about font and margins, be sure to include the following standard practices in good academic writing:
• Introduction with thesis statement in the first paragraph (eg.: “In the funerary sculpture known today as the Dama de Elche one finds clear evidence of a key process that shaped the cultures of ancient Iberia: syncretism. “ The rest of the paper will explain this term and give specific details about the sculpture that exemplify its importance in the evolution of ancient Iberian cultures.
• Materials and argument are organized in logical paragraphs (usually no more than six to eight sentences long and no less than three); organize your thoughts logically!
• All cited materials are properly sourced with sufficient bibliographical information in MLA format (see notes above and consult the link called ‘Citing & Writing” on the UHD website for more about MLA style.
• An appropriate conclusion that follows from the evidence and arguments presented in the body of the paper
• An appropriate title that identifies the structure and suggests something about the paper’s thesis (main argument) about that structure.