Grant Proposals

Instead of exams you will write two grant proposals over the course of the semester. In each proposal you will argue for the inclusion of a work of art in the course museum that is not already part of the course material.

Requirements

Each proposal should consist of:

1) a written document – 70% of assignment

2) A separate visual document – 30% of assignment (more details and instructions listed below).

Grant Proposals & Museum Sections

  1. Grant Proposal #1: should argue for the addition of a work or art in the following wings: Prehistoric, Ancient Near Eastern, Ancient Egyptian, Ancient Aegean, Ancient Greece, or Etruscan.
  2. Grant Proposal #2: should argue for the addition of a work or art in the following wings: Roman (Roman Republic/Early Empire/High Imperial/Late Empire), Jewish and Early Christian, Byzantine, Early Medieval, Romanesque or Gothic Art.

Instructions for Grant Proposal:

More specific instructions (a formal CALL FOR PROPOSALS or CFP) on the content that specifies the eras/regions of art for each grant proposal will be sent out a week before each assignment is due.

A) Choose a work of art

  • Chose ONE artifact or art piece that should be included in one of the specified museum wings
  • The chosen piece CANNOT already be a part of the course material. There are many places on the internet to look for works – a good place to start is the Metropolitan Museum’s Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History.
  • Having trouble choosing?  Start with your favorite museum wing for this grant proposal.  Narrow it down from there by choosing your favorite medium–pottery, frescoes, sculptures, architecture, etc.  Then google search for that specific criteria and find a piece that is NOT in the museum wing already.  Find the museum/collection the piece is currently in (MET, MoMA, Vatican, Louvre, British Museum…) and check the resources that they list for that piece.

B) Written Document

The written document should include a cover page AND at least two pages of text double-spaced (12-point font) AND a bibliography/works-cited at the end.  So at minimum, your written document should be a total of four pages.

1) Cover page should include:

  • Title of art piece
  • The artist (if known),
  • The wing it belongs to
  • “Submitted to: The Doctor Jones Institute of Lost Treasure”
  • Your name
  • The date

2) Two pages of written content:

PLEASE NOTE: WE SUPPORT YOU TAKING CREATIVE LIBERTY TO THE FORMAT OF YOUR PAPER AND FLOW BUT THESE ARE THE BASIC ELEMENTS THAT SHOULD BE INCLUDED.

Should include an introduction, body, and conclusion:

The introduction should:

    • Clearly state and introduce the piece you are arguing for the inclusion, where it comes from, what time period it is from, who made it and why they made it(what function does it perform?).
    • Typically the final sentence of an introduction should state your argument.  For example: “This piece____ should be included in the museum wing of _____because it clearly demonstrates _____ which is unique to this culture.  (This is me just making something up so please format your argument according to how it fits you and your paper).

The body of your paper, after you intro can include the following:

  • Description of the object, materials, and place of origin.
  • Describe the background of the piece and the historical context which can also include the artist, who the piece is about, what it is about, or/and the culture it is related to.
  • Demonstration of relevance to course material. So bring 1-2 other specific pieces from the museum wing into your paper’s discussion briefly and how this piece compares to them and offers something they don’t. How does it further our understanding of the time period?
  • Discussion of the cultural, political, social, and geographic context and influence of the piece.
  • Do not limit yourself to these above bullet suggestions though.  
  • The written document should include AT LEAST 2-3 IN-TEXT CITATIONS 
    • You can use any format style (MLA, APA, or Chicago for example), just be consistent!
    • In text citations are used when you are referencing information in your paper that you pulled directly from one of your resources.  Here is a link to MLA In-Text Citations Basics.  We can narrow it down to two forms of in-text citations:
      • Referencing information from your sources.  This is typically information that you could not access or conclude on your own.  For example, there is now way you would know that Da Vinci originally had started a painting with a completely different composition that can be seen through x-rays taken of the painting.  How could you know this?!  You don’t have access to this painting or an x-ray machine!
      • The second form of in-text citations are the use of quotes.  Quotes should be reserved for when you could not possibly state something better than how somebody else already said it.  Quotes should be inserted into your text seamlessly and serve to enhance your text.  After you quote a source you should have a sentence or two that further explains the quote in your own words as well and it’s relevance.

Conclusion:

  • Reassert why you think this work should be added to the course museum (basically your argument from your intro), how does it further our understanding of the time period and culture?

3) Bibliography or works-cited page:

This is where you list out your references that you used to learn about this piece.  Any sources you used in your in-text citations and quoted should be listed here as well.  Follow the format of whatever style you have chosen–MLA, Chicago, etc.

  • Purdue Owl has a list of the common styles and details on how to format your papers.
    • For example to format your Works-Cited in MLA format follow the basics in this link.
Example of Written Document

Example

C) Visual Document

This is a separate file from your written document.  It can be a short video, slide show, or other media to accompany the written document.

  • Your visuals should be more than just one image of the piece you selected. You should also include:
    • A clear image of the work you are arguing for.  If it is 3-D then try to find additional images that show the work from multiple angles
    • Include close ups and details of the piece
    • Images of related items from our class material for comparison
    • If it is a cite or location you are arguing for – shots of the area
    • and any other images that help strengthen your argument.
  • Your visual material should also include captions which should contain information that:
    • States what the image is or of
    • why you are including it into the visual presentation:
      • it shows a close up detail of the piece that demonstrates something important about the piece
      • it is a piece from the museum wing that is similar, then describe briefly how it is similar.
    • You can even include quotes from articles you read (do not just post links to articles as your captions though)
    • and any other content that you feel supports/strengthens your argument
Example of Visual Document

D) Upload to Canvas

Please upload your files to Canvas by 11:59pm on the Sunday that they are due.