This is a Substantial Writing Component Course; therefore, demonstrable progress in writing will be required.
Collaborative work is always encouraged; plagiarism is not. 

Three assignments:

Paper One: a short description of an object, place, or structure. Preferably in simple narrative form, one sentence following logically on the one before. Should be as objective as possible. Do not read the caption; write only what you see with your own eyes. Use your visual faculties extensively: look from a distance, observing the overall shape or form.  Describe the material, if evident. What textures and colors do you see? Observe the use of light and dark, positive and negative space, foreground and background, presence and absence. Observe the composition and form, use of space, shape and line, moving generally from the large to the small, the immediately striking to the detail, top down, and left to right, if needed. Give your aesthetic reponse to it -- why did you select this work? -- but do not interpret. (You can if you want, but that's not the point of this exercise).  A draft and rewrite are MANDATORY.

Paper Two: a creative exercise in persuasive writing. Make sure you have a powerful argument, plea, complaint, threat, or other case to make. Concentrate on a very narrow focus -- again, a single object or event would be best. Decide on a narrative voice, or "I" -- you can take on the persona of an archaeologist, a child, a warrior, a reporter, a madman, a patron commissioning a work of art or object, a trader, a craftsman ... The form can be an ancient or modern letter to a relative, friend, client, patron, artist, architect ... ; a newspaper or magazine article; a commission; a letter of complaint or praise; a short play or screenplay; an obituary or eulogy; a diary entry; a dialogue; a public speech; a poem or song.... Argue your case persuasively and cogently -- convince me! Have fun but stick to facts.

Final Paper: a traditional research paper. Topics to be discussed. Outline, rough draft, revisions, final version. Draft REQUIRED. Very narrow focus. Must include real research (not internet surfing, although you can use internet bibliographical resources). Must ask a question and then find an approach to answering it. This means that you have to have studied your subject enough to begin to wonder about something. You can't just pick a topic and start writing down everything you can find about it. That's only a start; your research needs to go far enough for you to find a NARROW focus and structure.  You are not required to find definitive answers to your question, and I prefer that you not speculate wildly. You should be able to address your question based on the evidence, and if the evidence is insufficient, to outline a possible research plan to uncover the material required.

Important: See Paper Guidelines