Short Essay 1 - Prompt
Asian Pacific Art, Music, and Literature
Fall 2020 / Dr. Conte
Requirements
● Due Friday, Sept. 18 by midnight on Blackboard
● 4-5 pages, 12-point Times New Roman font, double-spaced, including works cited page.
● MLA formatting for internal citations and the works cited page
● Must be submitted on Blackboard as a PDF or word doc
● You may incorporate work from your Weekly Responses in your essay
Description
This short essay will evaluate your critical engagement with the course readings by asking you to
form an argument and support it with evidence from the course readings. You should respond to
the question below in essay form and cite the readings in your response. You may use writing
from your Weekly Responses in this essay. You will have 3 short essays total in this semester.
Each Short Essay accounts for 10% of your grade.
Essay Question
What are some of Walter Benjamin’s fears concerning the “mechanical reproduction” of art and
its impact on society? Do you think that Paik Nam June manages to overcome some of these
issues with his essays and artwork? Explain how using examples from both Benjamin and Paik.
Evaluation
You’ll be evaluated based on:

• Clarity and strength of your argument (Position and Focus)
• Depth of engagement with the texts (Analysis and Understanding)
• Effectiveness of how you organize your ideas (Organization)
  See the “Short Essay Evaluation Rubric” for details on how each category is evaluated