Assignment Paper

Write a 5-7 page (1500-2000 word) paper on an object that reproduces or refers to Hokusai’s Great Wave imagery.

Find an object that references Hokusai’s Great Wave (Figure 1.1, p. 18, in your text Hokusai’s Great Wave by Christine Guth). This can be the same object that you presented in class. Look widely for objects. These can include art objects, music industry art, clothing, utilitarian objects, and digital images. If it is a digital image, be sure to address the fact that this is not a physical item, and how that affects its meaning. Analyze the object using Prown’s methodology, including describing in detail your object and its image of the Great Wave, and then deducing/speculating upon the meanings that this object had/has for the culture that produced and consumed it. Highlight the differences between your object and its image of the Great Wave, and Hokusai’s print. Your paper should refer to Guth, using her analysis of various Great Wave objects as a model for your own. At the same time, you should be sure to pick an object that allows you to say something new.

Your paper should combine discussion of various aspects of the object into one argument, which is presented in a thesis statement, and developed in the paper. Ideally, your conclusion should contribute additional nuance to your argument, rather than repeat what you have already written.

Be sure that your paper includes:

Introduction containing a clear thesis statement
Well developed and well organized argument in the body of the paper
Conclusion
References to outside and class readings in MLA or Chicago style. In-text references or footnotes are both acceptable. Be sure to consult a style guide, so that you know how to format your references to books, articles, and websites. Use of outside sources (in English) is optional, but not necessary.
Bibliography
Word count on the first or last page

In grading your papers, I will consider the following:
1. Does the introduction effectively present the thesis, and evoke reader interest?
2. Is the argument logical? Are the ideas sufficiently complex?
3. Is the argument well developed, with appropriate details?
4. Is the essay well organized into a unified whole? Are there good transitions between paragraphs? Do the paragraphs have topic sentences?
5. Is the paper carefully edited?

Please put your name only on a back page after the Bibliography so that I can grade the papers anonymously.