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 Paper – 100 points

2) A separate Presentation + Discussion – 50 points

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, or Ancient Aegean, .
  2. Grant Proposal #2: should argue for the addition of a work or art in the following wings: Ancient Greece, Etruscan, or Roman (Roman Republic/Early Empire/High Imperial/Late Empire).
  3. Grant Proposal #3: should argue for the addition of a work or art in the following wings: 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.

Below are the three basic steps to completing this assignment and specific details and requirements for each.

  1. Choose a work of art
  2. Write your paper
  3. Create your presentation
  4. Upload both to Canvas

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 Paper

The paper 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 paper 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 paper 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 Paper

Example

C) Presentation

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

Steps to completing the presentation part:

  1. Create your presentation
  2. Upload it to the discussion board in Canvas
  3. Comment on at least 2 of your peers’ presentations

For full credit, please make sure your presentation includes the following:

  • Title slide with your name, title of piece, artist/group/architect, date or date range, and museum wing the piece is being argued to be included into.
  • Clear and good quality image of the piece.
    • If it is 3-D then try to find additional images that show the work from multiple angles
  • Other Images to include:
    • Up close shots or detail shots that highlight unique and specific 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.
  • Captions – This will replace you presenting in person.  So walk us through your presentation in your captions and explain why you are showing the images you are showing and why they are important for your argument.  Consider the following:
    • 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)
    • Information about the artist(s) that is relevant to understanding the work
    • and any other content that you feel supports/strengthens your argument
Example Presentation

D) Upload to Canvas

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