This research project consists of an interlinked annotated bibliography and research essay.
| PART 1 Annotated Bibliography (15% of course grade) Assignment Due: October 23, 10:00pm |
PART 2 Research Essay (20% of course grade) Assignment Due: November 13, 10:00pm |
Purpose
Your purpose is to summarize and evaluate the usefulness of 4-5 sources for your research essay.
Format / Documentation Style
Use MLA Style (9th edition) to format your annotated bibliography.
Skills
Format elements of a page following MLA Style conventions (e.g., header, heading, line spacing)
Use academic voice (formal tone and diction, concise language)
Task
Compose bibliographic citations and evaluative annotations for 4-5 sources for your research essay (at least two of your sources must be journal articles or books from the Lone Star College Library).
Organization
Compose a bibliographic citation for the first source listed in your annotated bibliography using MLA Style
List the bibliographic citations for sources in alphabetical order by authors’ last names (or names of organizations if applicable)
Just below the bibliographic citation for the source, write an evaluative annotation in which you complete the following:
Briefly summarize the main idea/argument of the source.
Analyze the purpose of the source.
Analyze the source for bias (e.g., cultural bias).
Evaluate the evidence (e.g., examples, facts) used to support the main idea/argument.
Evaluate the overall usefulness of the source for your research essay. For example, evaluate if the source provides important background information for your topic.
Repeat this process for your remaining sources.
Purpose
Your purpose is to draft a research essay in MLA 9th edition style about your topic using an analytical framework.
Format / Documentation Style
Use MLA Style (9th edition) to format your research essay.
Skills
Use MLA 9th edition format.
Compose an interesting title that expresses the main idea of your research essay. 
Compose a research question.
Draft a thesis statement.
Develop coherent, unified, and fully developed paragraphs.
Use academic voice (formal tone and diction).
Synthesize ideas from sources.
Draft corresponding in-text citations and works-cited-list entries for sources.
Follow edited American English conventions for spelling, grammar, and mechanics.
Tasks
Compose a 4-5-page research essay for your topic in MLA 9th edition style. The Works Cited page does not count toward the page-length requirement.
Integrate four to five sources into your research essay; at least two of the sources must be scholarly sources including articles and/or eBooks from the Lone Star College Library.
Do not use more than one tertiary source (e.g., encyclopedia article, dictionary entry) in your research essay.
Do not use Wikipedia (or a similar website) as a source.
The research essay provides an opportunity to analyze an aspect of Italian visual culture in art, architecture, or fashion. Choose a correlating topic for Option 1, 2, or 3 for your research essay.
Topic 1: Rhetorical Storytelling and Intellectual/Emotional Engagement
Analyze how Michelangelo Buonarroti or Raffaello Sanzio (Raphael) uses themes, motifs, and the painting medium of fresco to engage in rhetorical storytelling to promote intellectual/emotional engagement in viewers in the following works of art:
Buonarroti, Ceiling of the Sistine Chapel and/or the Last Judgment
Sanzio, School of Athens
Visual artists often attempt to connect with their intended audiences by using themes and motifs (reoccurring images) that are important to their time periods and cultures.
Avoid merely describing the themes and motifs. Your purpose is to examine the ways in which Buonarroti or Sanzio makes meaning through storytelling in both a historical and global context.
Resources
Topic 2: Visual Rhetoric of Women Artists (Renaissance/Baroque)
Examine the use of visual rhetoric by one of the following women artists from the Renaissance/Baroque periods to engage in storytelling in one to two thematically related paintings/portraits:
Plautilla Nelli
Sofonisba Anguissola (Renaissance)
Lavinia Fontana (Renaissance, Mannerist)
Artemisia Gentileschi (Baroque)
For instance, one could examine Gentileschi’s use of realism, chiaroscuro, the human form, and the motif of Judith and Holofernes to portray Judith as a physically/emotionally strong protagonist in her painting, Judith Beheading Holofernes (c.1620, Gallerie degli Uffizi).
In her article for Smarthistory, the Center for Public Art History, Esperanca Camara elaborates on Gentileschi's use of realism, chiaroscuro, and the motif of Judith and Holofernes: "Artemisia Gentileschi, Judith Slaying Holofernes".
In addition, investigate the limited access that women had to formal training as visual artists during the Renaissance/Baroque period. Research how the visual artist that you selected to research achieved success and contributed to the Renaissance/Baroque period respectively, despite the limited access that women had to formal training.
Resources
Advancing Women Artists (discusses both Plautilla Nelli and Artemisia Gentileschi)
Restoration Diaries: Artemisia UpClose Conservators and Scientists Share Highlights (Calliope Arts)
Topic 1: Renaissance Architectural Style & Humanism
How does classical Renaissance architectural style contribute to the visual culture of contemporary Florence, known as the cradle of the Renaissance primarily in the 15th century?
How did Renaissance architects such as Filippo Brunelleschi and Leon Battista Alberti apply humanist principles to their designs “to appeal to both emotion and reason” (Department of European Paintings, The Metropolitan Museum of Art)?
Resource: Architecture In Renaissance Italy
Topic 2: Conservation Methods in Historic Centre of Florence
What conservation methods are used in the Historic Centre of Florence to preserve the architectural integrity of palaces (e.g., Palazzo Vecchio, Pitti Palace, Casa Buonarroti), cathedrals (e.g., Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore), and/or basilicas (e.g., Basilica di Santa Croce) from the Medieval/ Renaissance periods?
How do such conservation efforts help the Historic Centre of Florence maintain both its visual culture and UNESCO designation as a World Heritage Site?
Focus your analysis on 1-2 palaces, cathedrals, and/or churches.
Resource: Historic Centre of Florence
Topic 1: Visual/Material Rhetoric of Renaissance Fashion
What rhetorical messages did Renaissance fashion convey about social standing and personal identity? How has Renaissance fashion influenced luxury fashion in contemporary society?
Topic 2: Eleonora di Toledo, Fashion, Portraiture, & Power
How did the Duchess of Florence Eleonora di Toledo capitalize on fashion and the genre of the portrait as a rhetorical tool to cultivate an image of elegance and power as a representative of the Medici family?
Resources for Topic 2