Throughout the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, practitioners of the humanities have employed manifestos to declare their artistic principles and announce their break with established traditions. Manifestos are statements of beliefs, values, motivations, and intentions, and they typically strive to rally others to their cause. Writers of manifestos often create them in reaction to what they perceive as negative aspects of the previous generation, but they generally establish a vision for a new way to proceed as well.
Write an essay that uses at least three academic sources, analyze a manifesto and explain its guiding principles.
How to proceed:
Select a manifesto to analyze. You may choose one from the assignment folder in Canvas or locate one of your own (it should be on art, literature, music, etc. but not politics.) You may also want to conduct some preliminary research before beginning so that you are sure that you can find enough supporting sources.
Research sources that can help you understand the manifestos historical context, its principles, and its important artistic (musical, literary, etc.) works. The library databases are a great place to find such information.
Develop an introduction that outlines the manifestos key principles and that offers a thesis arguing why you primarily agree or disagree with the vision expressed in the document.
Begin the body with a paragraph that explains the manifestos historical context. How does the vision revealed in the manifesto differ from the mainstream art (music, etc.) of the time? What inspired the writer(s) to challenge that typical view? What other variables (socio-economic factors, ideological views, gender/racial conditions, technological/scientific innovations, etc.) contributed to the manifestos creation? Who supported/opposed the manifestoand why?
Complete the body by examining its key principles (one per paragraph; number of paragraphs will vary). Explain each principle and argue whether or not you agree with itand why. Be sure to use quotations from the manifesto when discussing its key principles. In supporting your argument, locate artistic works (performances, buildings, etc.) that represent the principles in the manifesto and discuss how successful they were in meeting the goals of the manifesto. You may use these works in helping to support your argument about the strength or weakness of the vision offered in the manifesto. If your manifesto has a lot of key principles, you do not need to cover all of them (choose the ones you feel are the most important.)
Conclude by reinforcing your thesis and explaining how influential the manifesto was and whether you still detect its vision in contemporary art (music, etc.)
Include a works cited (use MLA or APA) and use in-text citation in the body.
Upload paper to Canvas.
Students will lose 5% for every 50 words below the minimum.
