丁香园AV

Extended Essay in Comparative Media Arts FPA 829 (6)

This essay is the final project of the MA, and is completed in the fourth semester of the program. The extended essay builds on knowledge students have gained in coursework. It requires them to research in-depth a topic in comparative media arts and develop and polish an original argument, with the goal of producing an essay suitable for publication. Alternatively, students can combine two essays written during their coursework in this MA, one of which must have been instructed by a faculty member in the School for the Contemporary Arts; however, the student is still expected to build upon and develop the topics covered in the coursework. The length should be that of a typical academic journal article in the media arts, about 6000-7000 words. Students may also write a catalogue essay or similar nonacademic publication, supplemented by an academic essay. The object of study may be a single work or a group of works. Methodological, historical, and theoretical approaches should be clearly identified. In researching these, students should identify other scholars who work with similar objects of study and approaches: this is the intellectual company of the extended essay. Students should clarify in what ways their project both belongs to this company and contributes something original. The Research Methods course will have established methods by which to do this. Students research the extended essay independently, but they develop and polish it in the Research Colloquium, FPA 822-4. In the colloquium they write the essay proposal and drafts, give and receive peerreview, prepare to submit the essay for publication,and prepare to make a 20-minute public presentation of it at the culminating research symposium. Students may enroll in the extended essay continuously beginning in the third (summer) semester if they wish, or they may enroll in it in the fourth (fall) semester only. Prerequisite: Enrollment in MA in Comparative Media Arts, FPA 821-4, Research Methods, and two electives.