Work of Art in The Age of Mechanical Reproduction Textual Analysis

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Work of Art in The Age of Mechanical Reproduction Textual Analysis



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Description of Assignment: (The text file needed is attached)

As we have discussed in class, this first essay is meant to help you generate an argument that draws closely from textual analysis. Please follow the precedent of textual analysis you have practiced with the assignment for Benjamin’s “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction” and the activities in class. I encourage you to make use of the guidelines outlined here.

Essays are to be no fewer than 4 pages with 1-inch margins in 12-point Times New Roman font. Please include a title, your name, your GE’s name, and page numbers—and do not include a cover page.


First Paper Topics:

The following topic is meant to prompt your formulation of an argument. Keep in mind that I expect your papers to be rigorously structured around a clearly defined argument with a careful use of textual evidence.

  1. When, in Section III of “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction,” Benjamin references the destruction of aura, he describes “a perception whose ‘sense of the universal equality of things’ has increased to such a degree that it extracts it even from a unique object by means of reproduction” (223). Do you read Benjamin as nostalgic for aura or do you see him as embracing the potential that the age of mechanical reproduction offers? Choose one or two key passages from the text to discuss.

Argument:

You do not need to make a claim that is starkly on one side or another, but you do need to make your claim clearly using an “although clause” in articulating your thesis:

  1. “Although Benjamin acknowledges the progressive potential of mechanical reproduction, he writes nostalgically of aura.”
  2. “Although Benjamin might appear nostalgic for a time before mechanical reproduction, he ultimately celebrates the progressive potentials of new media.

Introductions:

  1. Name of the essay and the author in a short general sentence:

In “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction,” Walter Benjamin explores the transformation of human sense perception in modernity.

  1. One to two sentence summary of the part of aspect of the text upon which you hope to focus.

His essay contrasts photography and film with classical arts such as painting and sculpture. One key difference he cites between these various artistic forms has to do with aura. Whereas paintings are unique and demand contemplation, photography, Benjamin suggests, hits the viewer in a state of distraction.

  1. Problematic—what struck you in the text as unusual, interesting or contradictory.

Of the numerous ways that Benjamin describes aura, he often turns to metaphors that invoke natural beauty, distance and contemplation. It would seem that he is nostalgic for a classical understanding of art, but at other moments, he seems optimistic about the potentials of photography and film.

  1. Thesis or argument. Your answer to the problematic.

Although Benjamin might appear nostalgic in his description of aura, he ultimately seems to embrace the revolutionary potentials of mechanical reproduction.

Formatting:

Block quote

If you’re citing a passage of more than two lines, please indent and single space the passage:

Benjamin goes on in the passage to describe the surgeon,

…in contrast to the magician—who is still hidden in the medical practitioner—the surgeon at the decisive moment abstains from facing the patient man to man; rather, it is through the operation that he penetrates into him. (233)

The distinction he establishes between these two figures…

Citations

Please include page numbers in parenthesis at the end of the sentence quoted. See above for block quotes (page number after the full stop), and for citation within a sentence (page number before the full stop):

Benjamin describes the surgeon as “the polar opposite of the magician” and suggests that the surgeon “cuts into the patient’s body” (233).

Evaluation:

An “7” paper demonstrates a superior, sustained and consistent level of engagement with a sophisticated problem relevant to the assignment.

  • The argument is coherent, well argued and provocative.
  • The evidence is thorough and elucidates numerous facets of a passage in critical detail.
  • The paper demonstrates rhetorical finesse and holds together stylistically and organizationally.

A “6” paper demonstrates competence and an acceptable level of critical engagement with a problem relevant to the assignment.

  • The argument is adequately coherent, but may be lacking in some detail.
  • The evidence is structured and thoughtfully presented around the argument, and is, for the most part, well thought through and persuasive.
  • While there may be some minor problems with grammar and usage, they do not interfere with the persuasiveness of the argument.

A “5” paper meets the basic requirements of the assignment, and demonstrates a basic attempt to engage with a problem relevant to the assignment.

  • The argument may be weakly stated and not necessarily posed as an explicit, main idea.
  • While the evidence is relevant and drawn from the text, it may be underdeveloped and in need of elaboration.
  • The grammar and usage are sufficient to make sense of the paper’s general argument, but may not reflect much attention to rhetorical considerations.

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