Analytical writing comes in many forms. Regarding art, it concentrates on the components of the text as a whole to determine how they work together (successfully or not) to create a certain effect, evoke particular ideas or emotions, etc. This type of writing is also applied to specific characters we meet in life or literature. It may also come in the form of a film/television show, music, book, exhibit, or restaurant review, in response to an article, or as a cultural or political critique. And, of course, whenever we make an argument for our interpretation–analyzing the ideas and artistic objects of others to determine their logic, value, beauty, and rhetoric–which helps to inform our own claims. Some of these works curate collections based on larger cultural questions, and draw on personal narrative and description to reflect on our world.

ÁWá, CC BY-SA 3.0 <http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/>, via Wikimedia Commons

For the following ENG170 projects, students had the option of creating a museum, zine, or memory palace that respond to the wicked question: “Where should we live?” These works analyze and interpret but also share personal experiences as primary examples.

“A Reflection of Life Through the Color Grey” by Lillian Schaub

Note: to preserve formatting/images, these works are linked as files/PDFs that may require re-orientation on the top menu, once opened.

“My Journey: A Zine” by Hamima Opi

Forthcoming: “Heavenly Starvation: An Investigation into Christian Ideas of Hunger” by Katie Ondris