AA100 The Arts Past and Present

Assignment Booklet

February 2010

Contents

1 Introduction 2

2 Preparing your assignment 3

3 Plagiarism 7

4 Completing and sending in your assignments 8

5 When your assignments come back 10

6 Grading criteria 11

7 At the end of the course 14

8 Special circumstances 15

9 After the course 16

Assignment 01 17

Assignment 02 20

Assignment 03 23

Assignment 04 28

Assignment 05 30

Assignment 06 33

Assignment 07 35

End-of-course assessment 38

Copyright © 2010 The Open University SUP 00232 3 *SUP002323*Printed in the United Kingdom 4.1

1 Introduction This booklet contains all the assignments which will you will be expected to

complete on The Arts Past and Present (AA100). Before reading it, it would be

helpful to make sure that you are familiar with the Course Companion.

These assignments have three different functions. First, they give you an

opportunity to put into practice the knowledge and skills that you have been

developing on the course. Secondly, they allow your tutor to give you feedback

on what you have produced. Writing assignments and making use of your tutor’s

feedback will play a key role in your progress. Finally, grading your assignments

allows your tutor to assess your progress and to make sure that you have reached

the level of achievement that you need to pass the course.

On The Arts Past and Present, there are seven assignments to be done as you

work through the course materials. Your tutor will grade these seven assignments

and provide you with feedback on your work. (In Open University documents,

you will find that assignments of this kind are usually referred to as tutor-marked

assignments or TMAs).

� Five of these assignments call directly on the skills and knowledge that you

have been developing as you work through the course materials. These

assignments have been designed to take you in gradual stages from relatively

short, focused exercises on a specific object or text to more substantial

essays.

� The remaining two assignments invite you to take a step back to focus on the

ways in which you study and write. These reflective assignments aim to

foster skills and habits that will help you to succeed in your studies, both on

this course and beyond.

The course concludes with a final assignment, which is called an ‘end-of-course

assessment’. (This is usually referred to as an ‘ECA’ in other Open University

documents.) The end-of-course assessment for The Arts Past and Present takes

the form of a 2000 word essay, and requires you to draw together material

relating to a number of different disciplines. Your end-of-course assessment will

be graded by a different tutor, who will also provide some feedback on your

essay.

Please note that The Arts Past and Present has no examination.

Before you start work on your first assignment, please read Sections 2 to 9 of this

booklet, which contain important information about presenting and submitting

your assignments and dealing with feedback. You will also find information

about how your work will be graded and how your overall result will be

determined. The assignment questions and cut-off dates (the dates by which your

assignments need to be submitted) can be found at the end of this booklet.

At certain points, you will be referred for more detailed information to two other

booklets: the Course Companion and the Assessment Handbook. The Assessment

Handbook is a booklet which contains general information about assessment on

all Open University courses. You can access it online at your StudentHome page

on the University’s website at www.open.ac.uk/students.

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Students with a visual or aural impairment

Whenever an assignment requires skills in visual or aural analysis, an alternative

question will be set so that you do not need to refer in detail to visual or aural

material. If this is relevant to you, please contact your tutor, who will request an

alternative assignment from your regional office.

Preparing your assignment For some assignments you will need to write essays and for others short,

analytical answers. Please refer to the Course Companion for detailed advice

about how to tackle assignments. In addition to the guidance given there, you

should bear in mind the following points.

Guidance notes

You will notice that every assignment is accompanied by guidance notes. These

notes do a number of things.

� They tell you what the assignment aims to assess.

� They provide some suggestions about how to interpret and approach the

question.

� They point you to relevant material in the course book and audiovisual

resources: this is the material on which you should draw in answering the

question.

It is worth noting that your tutor will take account of the guidance notes, as well

as the question, in evaluating your work. So it is important for you to read the

notes carefully and to take account of them as you plan your answer.

Nevertheless, where the notes mention approaches that you may wish to take, or

issues that it might be helpful to consider, they should be read as making

suggestions only, not as laying down requirements. Only when the notes specify

that there is some approach that you should or must take to the question should

they be read as laying down a requirement.

Understanding the question

The most important part of the assignment is the question itself. Before you start

work on your assignment, you need to think about the question and what exactly

you are being asked to do. You need to ensure that your answer addresses the

question directly. Different questions require different responses. For example, if

the question asks ‘Why did such a thing happen?’ you should answer that ‘it

happened because…’. If the question asks you to ‘compare and contrast’ two

texts, your answer should show the points at which the two texts are similar, and

those at which they differ.

Listed below are some of the terms most commonly used in assignment

questions:

analyse to analyse a text or an argument is not simply to describe it, but to

identify its most important elements, and to show how they work together to

produce a certain effect or support a certain conclusion.

assess to assess a statement or a document is to make a judgement about it

– a judgement that is supported by evidence.

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compare identify similarities and differences.

contrast bring out differences.

discuss explore a topic, statement or text from several angles, showing that

you understand its implications.

evaluate to assess the value of a document or an artefact as evidence for

something, or to assess the truth of a certain statement.

examine look closely at a topic, statement or text, exploring its significance

and implications.

explain interpret and give reasons for.

Answering the question

What makes for a good assignment answer? The grading criteria set out in

Section 6 indicate the qualities that your tutor is looking for. A good answer

� answers the question directly, without introducing irrelevant material

� is well organised and has a clear structure

� uses language clearly and precisely

� is supported by evidence and argument

� shows a good understanding of the course materials and how they relate to

the question.

For example, suppose that you are asked to describe a Cézanne painting. You

should not begin by giving a summary of Cézanne’s life story, or a history of

French art. Just concentrate on describing the painting. As you write, try to make

it clear to your reader what the purpose of each sentence and paragraph is, and

how they connect together. Try not to use vague or impressionistic terms, and

keep an eye on the length and shape of your sentences. You should support what

you say about the picture by referring to particular features of the painting or by

drawing on further evidence, especially evidence that you have found in the

course materials.

The grading criteria specify that a good answer will demonstrate that you

understand the course materials. This does not rule out making use of additional

materials that you have found in books or online. But we do not think that this is

necessary to achieve a top grade. In addition, the grading criteria make it clear

that you can be given credit for taking an independent or critical approach to the

course materials. Once again, though, we do not think that it is necessary to do

this in order to achieve a top grade at Level 1.

You can find detailed advice about how to write assignments in the Course

Companion, and we strongly advise you to consult that advice before writing

Assignment 01.

Quotations and references

In writing an essay, you will almost certainly need to quote from or refer to the

work of others (including the course materials for The Arts Past and Present) to

support your argument or to illustrate your point. It is important to let your reader

know where you are quoting from or what you are referring to. This is done in

two stages. The first stage is a brief reference in the actual body of your essay.

The second stage is to create a bibliography: that is, a list of the works that you

have referenced. This should go at the end of your essay. You should use the

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author-date (or Harvard) system of referencing, as described in Section 2.9 of the

Course Companion.

Quotations should be brief and should be used sparingly. It is not a good idea to

reproduce long passages from the course materials or related readings. You

should always make it clear where a quotation begins and where it ends, either by

using quotation marks or, in the case of longer quotations, by presenting the

quotation in a separate indented paragraph. (For an example of this, look at

Reputations, page 63: the quotation from Rivière is in a separate paragraph which

has been indented to mark it out from the rest of the text.) Remember to include

quotations when you are counting up the number of words you have used for your

answer.

If you are quoting or referring to material in one of the course books, state the

author(s) of the chapter, the date and the page numbers in brackets immediately

after you have quoted from or referred to the material. For example:

‘Pity and fear are the emotions that, according to the Greek philosopher

Aristotle, are aroused by the experience of watching a tragedy’ (Pacheco,

2008, p. 51).

If you are quoting from or referring to one of the extracts provided in the

resources section at the end of a chapter, give the name of the original author and

the date of publication before the details of the course book. For example:

‘Faraday did not view the physical world as an inanimate object to be

subjected to scientific analysis but instead as the work of God that

manifested its divine origin’ (Cantor, 1991, in Falconer, 2008, p. 120).

If you are referring to a discussion on one of the Audio CDs, DVD ROMs or

DVD Videos, you should give the title and date of the resource, and the track

number (where applicable).

‘People who constantly question tradition are in danger of reinventing the

wheel’ (Tim Chappell, speaking in ‘Plato’s Laches – a Discussion with

Tim Chappell’, 2008, track 1).

If you are quoting from a source outside the course materials, you should state the

name of the author(s), the date of publication and the page numbers. For

example:

‘When Plato was writing, there was already an existing tradition of using

prose dialogues to explore moral issues’ (Vlastos, 1991, pp.151–2).

If you are referring to a website, give the name of the author or of the

organisation responsible for the website, and the year in which it was created or

last updated. Here is an example:

‘Pugin is important because he made people think in a new way about

architecture.’ (The Pugin Society, 2009).

You may sometimes make use of ideas suggested by other students, for example,

at a tutorial or on an online forum. This is a perfectly legitimate thing to do,

provided that you acknowledge and reference your source. You can cite a

contribution to a forum as follows:

‘It might be suggested that Cleopatra was the Madonna of her time’

(Smith, 9 June 2008).

And you can cite a comment made at a tutorial like this:

‘It might be argued that relying on traditional moral beliefs is just lazy’

(Jenny Smith, in conversation, 19 May 2008).

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If you are quoting from or referring to the passage that has been set for an

assignment, you can give the author’s name and the location of the passage in the

Assignment Booklet, like this:

Cleopatra kept Antony ‘in constant tutelage’ (Plutarch, in AA100

Assignment Book, 2008, p.17).

Finally, in writing a reflective assignment, you may wish to refer back to one of

your own assignments or to your tutor’s comments on your assignment. Again,

you should give the writer’s name, the date and the page number. If you need to

refer back to more than one of your earlier assignments use a letter (‘a’, ‘b’, ‘c’

and so on) after the date to distinguish between them. Here’s an example:

In my first assignment, I assumed that tradition had no role to play in art

(Jones, 2009a, p.2) and my tutor questioned that (Evans, 2009a, p.2). But

when I came to write my third assignment, I had come to think that,

without tradition, art can have no meaning (Jones, 2009b, p.3). My tutor

noticed that my view had changed (Evans, 2009b, p.1).

Once you have added references to your assignment, you should create your

bibliography, which should appear at the end of your assignment.

Presenting your bibliography

In your bibliography, you should list all the material you have used in preparing

your assignment, including all the sources that you have quoted from or referred

to, though you do not need to mention face-to-face conversations that you have

cited in your essay. Your list should include, as necessary, course books –

including readings – set books, the Illustration Book and references to the DVD

ROMs, DVD Videos or Audio CDs. If you have quoted from or referred to other

sources, you should list these as well. As a minimum, you need to cover the

information needed to understand the reference in your text, including the title

and publisher. You might list a chapter of a course book like this:

Moohan, E., Jones, N. and Philip, R. (2008) ‘The Diva’, in Moohan (ed.)

Reputations (AA100 Book 1), Milton Keynes, The Open University, pp.

161-96.

You might list an Audio CD, DVD ROM or DVD Video like this:

‘Plato’s Laches – a Discussion with Tim Chappell’ (2008) (AA100

Audio CD), Milton Keynes, The Open University.

A typical format for a book reference is:

Vlastos, G. (1991) Socrates: Ironist and Moral Philosopher, Cambridge,

Cambridge University Press.

Here is an example of how to list an article in a journal:

Ellis, J. (1995) ‘“On the Town”: Women in Augustan England’, History

Today, vol. 45, no.12, pp. 20-7.

Here is an example of how to list an article that you have found on a website:

The Pugin Society (2009) Introduction to the Pugin Society, available

from http://www.pugin-society.1to1.org/index.html (Accessed 12

February 2009).

And here is an example of how to acknowledge an idea that you have drawn from

a discussion with another student on an online forum:

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Smith, Jenny (9 June 2008) ‘Was Cleopatra a diva?’, message to AA100

tutor group forum.

Here is an example of how you might list the passage that was set for the

assignment:

Plutarch, Life of Antony, 29–30; quoted from Plutarch’s Lives, vol. 9,

trans. Bernadotte Perrin, The Loeb Classical Library, Harvard University

Press and Heinemann, 1968.

Finally, for reflective assignments, here is an example of how you might list your

own assignments and your tutor’s comments on your assignments. (Notice again

how letters are used after the dates to distinguish between different assignments

or sets of comments.)

Jones, A. (2009a) AA100 Assignment 01, unpublished work.

Jones, A. (2009b) AA100 Assignment 03, unpublished work.

Evans, L. (2009a) Script annotations for Andrew Jones AA100

Assignment 01, unpublished work.

Evans, L. (2009b) Assessment summary for Andrew Jones AA100

Assignment 03, unpublished work.

For further advice on setting out references, see the section on presenting your

bibliography in the Course Companion.

On The Arts Past and Present, we want you to get into the habit of always

recording the sources you have used to prepare your work. As you move on to

higher level courses, you may be asked to use particular referencing systems that

are suited to the subject you are studying.

Word lengths

Each assignment question states how long your answer should be. The word limit

includes quotations and references but does not include the bibliography.

It is a good thing to be able to make your points concisely, and you will not lose

marks simply because your answer is a little shorter than the maximum length. In

contrast, you must not exceed the word limit. The task set by an assignment is to

answer the question in a certain number of words, so if you have exceeded the

word limit, you have not carried out the task that you have been set.

The first time you submit an answer that is substantially (more than 10 per cent)

over length, your tutor is asked to remind you of the importance of sticking to the

word limit. If you then submit another assignment that is more than 10 per cent

over length, your tutor will deduct 7 marks from your grade. For answers that are

very seriously over length, the penalty may be higher.

Plagiarism Plagiarism is the deliberate use of someone else’s words or ideas without proper

acknowledgement. Like all academic institutions, the Open University regards

this as entirely unacceptable and takes cases of plagiarism very seriously indeed.

If you plagiarise someone else’s work unintentionally, your tutor will advise you

on how to avoid making the same mistake again. You should make sure that you

understand and act on your tutor’s feedback. However, if there is evidence that

you have plagiarised intentionally or in the face of your tutor’s advice, marks will

be deducted, and you may be awarded a mark of zero.

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We appreciate that students new to academic work may not always realise what

counts as plagiarism. You will find detailed advice on what constitutes

plagiarism, and on the benefits of good referencing in Section 2.9 of the Course

Companion. Please do spend some time reading through that section of the

Course Companion now. You can also find helpful advice on the ‘Developing

Good Academic Practice’ website at http://learn.open.ac.uk/site/DGAP001.

Finally, there is also further advice on avoiding plagiarism in the Assessment

Handbook (Appendix 1). But if you are in any doubt about what constitutes

plagiarism, please consult your tutor.

In order to help us to guard against plagiarism, you should not circulate your

assignments or even your essay plans to other students. When you participate in

online forums, you must not post your assignments on the site, either before or

after the submission date. This does not mean that you should not discuss your

work with other students. You may well wish to discuss how you plan to

approach the assignment, which positions you intend to adopt, which examples

you intend to use, and so on. But if you draw on the ideas of another student in

writing your assignment, you should acknowledge this and provide a reference. It

is worth bearing in mind that AA100 assignments will be processed through

plagiarism detection software that can detect copying between students, no matter

which tutor group they are assigned to, as well as answers that copy from the

course materials.

Finally, there have been cases in the past where students have bought their essays

from websites that claim to offer custom-made answers. This is cheating and, like

other forms of copying, it can be detected by plagiarism detection software. It

will not help you progress in your studies and it may affect your ability to study

with the Open University in the future. Remember that the work you submit on

The Arts Past and Present – as on all university courses – must be your own.

Completing and sending in your assignments

Should you submit all your assignments?

One of the main purposes of the assignments on any course is to help you to pace

your study. However, there may well be situations in which you fall behind or

find yourself having to skim a particular chapter to catch up. This may mean that

you are unwilling to submit one of the assignments because you feel you will not

give of your best. However, it is always in your interests to send in an

assignment: not only will you receive feedback from your tutor, but even a poor

grade will improve your overall result. If, for any reason, you do not submit an

assignment, you can only be awarded a zero for that assignment.

If you do fail to submit one of the first six assignments, this will not necessarily

mean that you will fail the course, provided that the grades for your other

assignments are high enough to compensate. If you think that you may be unable

to submit one of the first six assignments, you are strongly advised to contact the

Learner Support Team at your Regional Centre to check what this might mean for

your overall result.

Nevertheless, you should keep in mind that Assignment 07 and the end-of-course

assessment are both compulsory: you cannot pass the course without submitting

both these two pieces of work unless there are special circumstances that prevent

you from doing so (see Section 8).

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Submitting Assignments 01–07

At the beginning of each question, we give you the date by which your

assignment should reach your tutor; we strongly encourage you to keep to these

dates. If you think you will be unable to complete an assignment by the cut-off

date, you should follow the procedures for the late submission of assignments

outlined in the Assessment Handbook (Section 2.5).

Please note, however, that in the case of Assignment 07, your tutor can grant only

a limited extension and can do so only in exceptional circumstances. This is

because Assignment 07 is the last assignment on the course. If you think that you

will be unable to complete Assignment 07 by the cut-off date, you should contact

your tutor as soon as possible.

You are expected to submit your assignments electronically. In exceptional

circumstances – for example, if your computer breaks down or if you have a

disability that means that you are unable to use the Electronic TMA system – you

should consult your tutor. In these circumstances, your tutor may allow you to

submit your assignment on paper.

Electronic submission

In preparing your assignment, please leave wide margins, so that your tutor has

space to add comments, and use double spacing. To submit electronic

assignments, select ‘eTMAs’ on your StudentHome page and follow the

instructions. The eTMA system allows you to submit a ‘dummy’ assignment

(TMA 00) early in your course, before you submit any real assignments. This

allows you to test your access to the system, the software you will be using to

submit your assignments and to familiarise yourself with the actual process of

submitting an assignment. It also enables your tutor to check that the format in

which you will be saving your assignments is compatible with his or her own

computer software. If you haven’t already had a go at submitting a dummy

assignment, it would be a very good idea to try it now.

Further details on how to use the eTMA system can be found in the booklet

‘Using the Electronic TMA system: A Guide to eTMAs for Students’. But please

note in particular the following points:

1 Your file should be in one of the following formats:

� Microsoft Word document (.doc file extension) Note: If you are using Word

2007 you must use the compatibility mode to save as a Word 97-2003

document.

� Microsoft Write document (.wri file extension)

� Rich text format (.rtf file extension)

� Text file (.txt file extension)

� Word Perfect 5.1 (or earlier document) (.doc or .wpd file extension)

Files saved in other formats may not be accepted, since your tutor may not be

able to open them. In particular, please note that an Open Office document

(file extension .docx) is not an acceptable format. For more information

about this please see ‘Using the Electronic TMA system’, page 6.

2 Your assignment must be submitted as one file. If you try to submit more

than one file, the second submission will over-write the first file. For more

information about this please see ‘Using the Electronic TMA system’, page 7.

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Paper submission

If you are unable to submit an assignment electronically and have your tutor’s

permission, you may write, type or print your answer on A4 paper, using one side

of the paper only. As with all assignments please leave wide margins (say, five

centimetres) and use double spacing. If your work is handwritten, make sure it is

legible. For advice on how to submit assignments on paper, see the Assessment

Handbook, section 2.5.

Submitting your end-of-course assessment

Please note that submission of the end-of-course assessment is governed by a

different set of procedures.

Your end-of-course assessment must be submitted electronically. As with your

other assignments, please be careful to submit your end-of-course assessment as a

single file, using an acceptable file format. These are listed on the previous page.

It must be uploaded onto the eTMA system by midday on the cut-off date. Four

to six weeks prior to the ECA cut-off date we will send an email to your OU

email account (or preferred email address) to remind you of the cut-off date and

to give you a link to a booklet called Information for Students submitting

Examinable Work Electronically. If you do not receive this email, please note that

the booklet can be accessed at http://www.open.ac.uk/assessment/pages/eECA­

submission-info.php.

In certain exceptional circumstances, you may be able to submit your end-of­

course assessment up to three weeks after the cut-off date or to defer submission

until the next presentation of the course. Full details are provided in the online

booklet mentioned above. However you should note that neither your tutor nor

staff at your Regional Centre have the authority to give you permission to submit

your end-of-course assessment after the cut-off date. All applications for an

extension or deferral must be in writing and must be received at Walton Hall

before the cut-off date. The University will not accept telephone requests. You

can either write a letter or complete an extension/deferral request form, which is

available from either the Learner Support Team at your Regional Centre or from

the Projects, Portfolios and Dissertations Office at Walton Hall. Please send your

request and supporting documentary evidence to the Assessment Policy Office,

P.O. Box 83, Walton Hall, Milton Keynes, MK7 6BF. Alternatively, you can

send an email to: Eca-Extension@open.ac.uk.

If you are unable to use the Electronic TMA system, the online booklet includes

instructions for submitting your assignment by email. If you need further advice

about submitting your end-of-course assessment, you should contact the Learner

Support Team at your Regional Centre.

Don’t forget to keep a copy of your end-of-course assessment for your own

records.

When your assignments come back Your assignment will be returned to you with an ‘Assessment Summary’,

presented on a ‘PT3’ form. Your tutor will use this to record your grade and to

provide feedback on your assignment. Your assignment will have been given a

grade between 1 and 100. (100 is indicated by ‘HU’ in the grade box on paper

PT3 forms.) Where an assignment has more than one part, each part will have

been graded separately so that you can see whether you have fared better in one

part than in the other, but you will also be given one overall grade.

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Your tutor will have added comments and questions to your work. Please contact

your tutor if you cannot see the comments on electronically submitted work. In

addition, he or she will have written a report for you as part of your Assessment

Summary, commenting on what you have done well and making some

suggestions about how you might improve your work.

The grade, of course, is the first thing you will look at, but remember that your

tutor’s feedback is more important in the long run, and you should set aside 10–

15 minutes to study it. The Course Companion includes useful advice on using

feedback to improve your writing. You should also bear in mind that you will

need to make use of your tutor’s feedback in preparing Assignments 02 and 07.

You will receive some feedback on your end-of-course assessment, though this

will not be at the same level of detail as the feedback you will receive from your

own tutor for Assignments 01 to 07. Your essay will not be returned to you.

Grading criteria Below we have set out the criteria that are used to grade all your assignments and

your end-of-course assessment. Your work will be marked at a level appropriate

to students who have not previously taken a university-level course in any

subject. Tutors will take account of spelling, punctuation, grammar, choice of

words and sentence structure if they affect your ability to express your meaning

clearly.

85–100

(Distinction)

Grades within this band are awarded for work that is well

constructed, well-argued and clearly written; which is well

supported by evidence or argument; and which shows an

intelligent grasp of the course materials. In addition, your work

will also show some special distinction in one of more of the

following ways:

� You presented a particularly clear or forceful argument or a

particularly perceptive interpretation;

� You used evidence in an especially imaginative way.

� You expressed your ideas in a particularly effective way.

� You took a critical approach to the material, in a way that

was appropriate to the subject matter and went beyond the

commentary provided in the course book.

Reflective Assignment 02

Grades within this band are awarded for work that shows you

have an intelligent grasp of how to improve or develop your

work in response to feedback, evidenced in a creative approach

to the changes you have made to your Assignment 01 answer

and in a well-constructed, well-argued and insightful reflective

commentary.

Reflective Assignment 07

Grades within this band are awarded for work that shows you

have an intelligent grasp of how to improve or develop your

work and your study skills, evidenced in a particularly lucid,

broad-ranging or enlightening review of your progress.

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70–84 Grades within this band are awarded for work that is well­

constructed, well-argued and clearly written; which is well

supported by evidence or argument; and which shows an

intelligent grasp of the course materials.

Reflective Assignment 02

Grades within this band are awarded for reworked Assignment

01 answers that show a solid grasp of how to improve and

develop your work together with reflective commentaries which

provide clear evidence that feedback has been understood.

Reflective Assignment 07

Grades within this band are awarded for work that shows a solid

grasp of how to improve or develop your work and your study

skills, evidenced in a well-constructed and accurate critical

review of your progress, supported with solid evidence.

55–69 Grades within this band are awarded for work that uses points

and examples provided in the course materials in a way that is

relevant to the question. In addition, you will have shown a

fairly accurate understanding of this material and used it to

make a fairly coherent case (though perhaps with some gaps or

irrelevant points) in support of your answer.

Reflective Assignment 02

Grades within this band are awarded for answers that succeed in

using feedback or advice to improve your work to some extent,

together with reflective commentaries which show a fairly clear

account of the impact of the changes that have been made.

Reflective Assignment 07

Grades within this band are awarded for critical reviews that

draw on relevant evidence to provide a fairly clear and

thoughtful review of your progress.

40–54 Grades within this band are awarded to work that presents some

relevant course material in a reasonably clear way and shows

some understanding of how this material relates to the question.

In addition, you will have provided some argument or evidence

for your answer. But you may not have put it together in a

coherent way.

Reflective Assignment 02

Grades within this band are awarded to answers that use

feedback or advice to make some improvement to your work,

though with only limited success, together with reflective

commentaries that are rather unclear, narrow or lacking in

thought.

Reflective Assignment 07

Grades within this band are awarded to critical reviews that

draw on some relevant evidence but are rather unclear, narrow

or lacking in thought.

30–39 Grades within this band are used for work that presents some

relevant course material, but in a way that is so inaccurate or

incoherent that it suggests that you have understood only a part

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of this material; or which is so unclear that it is not possible to

tell whether or not you have understood more than a part of it.

Reflective Assignment 02

Grades within this band are awarded to answers that make some

use of relevant feedback or advice, but in a way that suggests

that you have only a limited grasp of what it means or how it

applies to your own work, together with reflective

commentaries that are very unclear, narrow or lacking in

thought.

Reflective Assignment 07

Grades within this band are awarded to critical reviews that

draw on some relevant evidence but are very unclear, narrow or

lacking in thought.

15–29 Grades within this band are used for work that presents only a

very small portion of the relevant course material; or for work

which presents some relevant course material, but in a way that

is so inaccurate or incoherent that it suggests that you have

understood only a very small part of this material. Work in this

band is often scant or severely under length.

Reflective Assignments 02 and 07

These marks are used for work that shows:

� Little grasp of how feedback or advice might apply to your

own work.

� Little willingness to act on feedback.

� Minimal engagement with the task of writing a reflective

commentary (Assignment 02) or a critical review

(Assignment 07).

� Little insight into personal progress as a student

(Assignment 07).

0–14 Grades within this band are used for work that makes only a

poor attempt to answer the question without reference to the

course material; or which presents some relevant course

material, but in a way that is so inaccurate or incoherent that it

suggests that you have not understood this material. Work in

this band is often scant or severely under length.

Reflective Assignments 02 and 07

These marks are used for work that shows:

� No grasp of how feedback or advice might apply to your

own work.

� No willingness to act on feedback.

� No engagement with the task of writing a reflective

commentary (Assignment 02) or a critical review

(Assignment 07).

� No insight into personal progress as a student (Assignment

07).

13

7

Tutors will grade your work according to these grading criteria, together with

advice given on particular assignments. Sometimes, however, they will need to

exercise some discretion in deciding how to apply the criteria to a given piece of

work.

At the end of the course The AA100 Examination and Assessment Board has the task of ensuring that

your work has been marked according to a fair and consistent standard, and of

recommending your overall course result. The Board consists of the team of

Open University staff who set the assignments and one or more external assessors

(independent senior academic staff from other UK universities). Your overall

result will be considered by the Board at an award meeting.

Depending on the grades that you have achieved on Assignments 01 to 07 and on

your end-of-course assessment, you will be awarded a distinction, a pass or a fail.

The criteria for achieving a pass or a distinction on the course are explained

below.

How is your overall result decided?

Your overall result is determined by two factors:

� your overall continuous assessment score

� the grade awarded for your end-of-course assessment.

Your overall continuous assessment score is the weighted average of the scores

that you receive for Assignments 01–07. The weighting for each assignment is as

follows:

Assignment 01 10%

Assignment 02 10%

Assignment 03 15%

Assignment 04 20%

Assignment 05 15%

Assignment 06 20%

Assignment 07 10%

Under certain exceptional circumstances, the Examination and Assessment Board

may make an adjustment to your overall continuous assessment score or your

overall result. This might happen, for example, if your tutor’s grading is found to

be out of line with the standards expected by the Board, or if a serious problem

has arisen with an assignment question. For this reason, you cannot be absolutely

sure what your overall continuous assessment score is until you receive your final

result.

To pass the course:

� You must have submitted Assignment 07.

� Your overall continuous assessment score must be at least 40 per cent.

� The grade awarded for your end-of-course assessment must be at least 40 per

cent.

14

8

Please note that, when it comes to passing the course, the grade awarded for your

overall continuous assessment score and your end-of-course assessment are of

equal importance.

To be sure of being awarded a distinction:

� You must have submitted Assignment 07.

� Your overall continuous assessment score must be at least 85 per cent.

� The grade awarded for your end-of-course assessment must be at least 85 per

cent.

You may be awarded a distinction if you are close to achieving these criteria

and the Examination and Assessment Board judges that this is appropriate given

the standards achieved on assignments 01 to 07 and on the end-of-course

assessment. In this situation, the Examination and Assessment Board will give

greater weight to your overall continuous assessment score than to the grade

awarded for your end-of-course assessment: the weighting will be 75%: 25%.

Special circumstances The University allows you to inform the Examination and Assessment Board of

any circumstances that have seriously affected your performance in assignments.

The Board can give only limited weight to this information, but if there is

evidence that your performance has been seriously affected, the Board does have

the power to allow you to pass even though you have not met all the requirements

listed in the last section. It is important to let us know of special circumstances

affecting any of your assignments; but it may be crucial if circumstances have

prevented you from submitting Assignment 07 or from submitting or doing

yourself justice on the end-of-course assessment. If circumstances have prevented

you from submitting either of these pieces of work altogether, it is essential that

you let us know. Your tutor cannot submit this information on your behalf. The

more evidence (a medical note, for example) you can supply to support your case,

the stronger it will be.

If your circumstances have affected your performance on Assignments 01-07,

you should submit a PT39 form. PT39 forms can be obtained from the Learner

Support Team at your Regional Centre and must be returned to them no later than

14 days after the cut-off date for Assignment 07. If, exceptionally, you cannot

comply with this ruling, contact your Regional Director, giving your reasons.

If your circumstances have affected your performance on the end-of-course

assessment, you should submit an E39P form, which you can find in the

Information for Students Submitting Examinable Work booklet. You should

return it to the address on the form to arrive no later than seven days after the cut­

off date for the end-of-course assessment.

In either case, please read the instructions on the form and keep proof that you

have posted it. Further information about special circumstances can be found in

the Assessment Handbook, Sections 2.10 and 3.4.

15

9 After the course

Finding out your result

You will be informed of your result by post after the AA100 Assessment Board

has met. You will be given your overall result and two scores:

1 The overall continuous assessment score (OCAS) is the weighted averages of

the grades you achieved on Assignments 01–07.

2 The overall examination score (OES) is the grade awarded for your end-of­

course assessment.

Please do not ask your regional centre, tutor or course team members for your

results. Information about results cannot be given over the telephone or by email.

After course results have been sent out by post you will be able to find your result

on your StudentHome page on the University’s website at

www.open.ac.uk/students. You are strongly advised to ensure that you are able to

sign in to view your StudentHome page before the issue of course results.

Detailed on-screen help is provided.

Pending results

For a few students each year the Assessment Board is unable to come to a

decision about the course result to be awarded. If this happens to you, you will be

given a ‘pending’ result. There are various reasons for this: for example, an

assignment score might be missing from your assessment record. Urgent action is

always taken by the University to provide the Board with the information it needs

so that a final result can be sent to you as soon as possible.

Course result queries

If you want to query your course result, you should write to the Head of

Examinations and Assessment, The Open University, PO Box 720, Hammerwood

Gate, Kents Hill, Milton Keynes, MK7 6ZQ within four weeks of receiving your

result. Before doing so, please read carefully Section 4 of the Assessment

Handbook which explains how course results are awarded, and how to query your

result or make a formal appeal to the Complaints and Appeals Office.

Resubmission

If you fail to submit Assignment 07 you cannot pass the course, unless there are

special circumstances that prevented you from doing so. Assignment 07 cannot

be submitted at a later date.

If you have failed to submit your end-of-course assessment or if it has been

awarded a grade of less than 40 per cent, you may be eligible to (re)submit it at a

later date. This will involve choosing from a fresh set of questions, rather than

revising a piece of work that you have already submitted. Whether or not you are

awarded this opportunity depends upon your circumstances, including your

grades. Your course result letter will tell you if you have been awarded the

opportunity to resubmit your end-of-course assessment, and a new Assignment

Book and advice on how to resubmit will be sent to you after the issue of course

results.

16

Assignment 01 Cut-off date: 12 March 2010

This assignment is in two parts: you should answer both parts of the assignment.

You should write no more than 1000 words in total: 500 words for each part.

Your tutor will give you a grade out of 50 for each answer. These will be added

to produce a grade out of 100 for the assignment as a whole.

Please write out the question in full at the head of each answer. However, where a

piece of text has been set out for you to comment on, there is no need to

reproduce it.

Before beginning work on this assignment, please make sure that you have read

the advice on preparing your assignment and on plagiarism in Sections 2 and 3 of

this booklet.

Part 1 Cleopatra

Compare and contrast the depictions of Cleopatra in the 1934 and 1963 movies as

shown and discussed on the DVD Video. Then, explain how the similarities and

differences between these depictions of Cleopatra reflect the historical

circumstances in which they were created. Your answer should be no longer than

500 words.

Guidance Note

The main aim of this question is to test your ability to examine closely and

interpret modern visual images of the ancient world and to relate these depictions

to the historical and social contexts in which they were produced.

To complete this task you will need to view the DVD segments on the 1934 and

1963 Cleopatra movies several times carefully (you may also want to read the

transcript for the DVD Video which can be viewed on the course website). Whilst

viewing this material you may want to think about such issues as the costume and

staging of the scenes and what impression of Cleopatra these give; the way

Cleopatra is depicted in any promotional material such as posters or trailers for

the movie and what expectations this sets for the audience; and the nature of the

dialogue in the movies and how this represents Cleopatra through her interaction

with other characters. You may find some elements of the depiction of Cleopatra

have remained fairly constant and others have changed quite a lot. Explain why

you think some things have changed and some have stayed the same. How might

these depictions be related to the historical and social circumstances of the 1930

and 1960s?

You may also find it useful to consider Section 1.5, ‘Reassessing Cleopatra’, in

the Cleopatra chapter. This section provides some thoughts on the issues involved

in modern interpretations of Cleopatra and the motivations behind them.

Writing to a tight word limit of 500 words is not easy. You need to be very clear

about what the question is asking you to do. You should

� compare and contrast these two depictions of Cleopatra

� explain similarities and/or differences in terms of the historical circumstances

in which these depictions were produced.

To answer the question successfully you will need to make sure that you answer

both elements of the question.

17

Part 2 Christopher Marlowe, Dr Faustus

Read the following passage from Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus. Discuss Marlowe’s

use of language in the passage and how it contributes to the characterisation of

Faustus. Your answer should be no longer than 500 words.

GOOD ANGEL: Faustus, repent yet, God will pity thee.

EVIL ANGEL: Thou art a spirit. God cannot pity thee.

FAUSTUS: Who buzzeth in mine ears I am a spirit?

Be I a devil, yet God may pity me;

Ay, God will pity me if I repent.

15

EVIL ANGEL: Ay, but Faustus never shall repent.

FAUSTUS: My heart’s so hardened I cannot repent.

Scarce can I name salvation, faith, or heaven

But fearful echoes thunder in mine ears:

20

‘Faustus, thou art damned!’ Then swords and knives,

Poison, guns, halters, and envenomed steel

Are laid before me to dispatch myself;

And long ere this I should have slain myself 25

Had not sweet pleasure conquered deep despair.

Have not I made blind Homer sing to me

Of Alexander’s love and Oenone’s death?

And hath not he that built the walls of Thebes

With ravishing sound of his melodious harp 30

Made music with my Mephistopheles?

Why should I die, then, or basely despair?

I am resolved Faustus shall ne’er repent.

Come, Mephistopheles, let us dispute again

And argue of divine astrology. 35

Tell me, are there many heavens above the moon?

Are all celestial bodies but one globe,

As is the substance of this centric earth?

Christopher Marlowe, Doctor Faustus, Act 2, Scene 3, ll.13–38; in John O’Connor

(ed.) (2003), Doctor Faustus: the A text, Pearson Longman, p.49.

Guidance Note

This close-reading exercise is intended to test your ability to understand and

discuss the language of a play.

The question asks you to do two things: to discuss how Marlowe uses language in

this passage from Doctor Faustus and to consider how this contributes to the

characterisation of Faustus. In relation to the first of these, it would be a good

idea to read the passage carefully several times, noting any aspects of the

language that strike you as significant. Now you need to think about how any

poetic techniques shape the meaning of the passage. Do you think the distinctive

features of the language you have identified encourage a negative or a positive

response to the protagonist, or something in between?

500 words is a tight word limit, so you will need to organise your discussion

carefully. Don’t try to comment on every aspect of the language; instead

concentrate on the features of the extract that strike you as really crucial. Keep

your quotations from the passage short and to the point. The key task here is to

think about how the language of a play actually works. Remember that your tutor

will be looking not for a list of poetic techniques and devices but for a discussion

of the passage that shows awareness both of the main features of the language

18

and of the way in which these contribute to the way in which Faustus is presented

to the audience.

There is plenty of relevant material in Book 1, Chapter 2, especially in the section

‘Reading a Renaissance Play’ (in Section 2.1) and all of Section 2.2. You might

also find it useful to listen to this part of the play on the Audio CD. Your

Longman edition will give lots of help with the language of the extract.

19

Assignment 02 Cut-off date: 16 April 2010

Responding to feedback

The purpose of this assignment is to provide you with an opportunity to reflect on

the work that you did for Assignment 01 and to give you some experience of

using your tutor’s feedback to improve your work. Learning from feedback is a

crucial part of developing as a student; in many ways, it is the central study skill

which this course aims to give you. Your tutor has considerable expertise in

marking the work of students new to university level study. This assignment tests

your ability to understand and respond to your tutor’s advice.

For Part 1 of this assignment, you are asked to take one of the 500 word answers

that you wrote for Assignment 01, and make some changes to it in the light of

your tutor's comments. For Part 2, you are asked to write a reflective commentary

explaining why you have made these changes. You will receive a single grade for

the whole assignment.

Part 1

Look back at the two answers that you produced for Assignment 01, and read

carefully through your tutor’s comments. Remember to check what your tutor has

written on the PT3 form as well as the comments in the margins. You should then

choose one of your answers to rework.

Your answer to this part of the assignment will need to be produced in two

stages:

� First, you will need to present the original version of the answer that you

have chosen to rework. You should include the comments your tutor made on

this question, and any relevant comments from the Assessment Summary

(PT3). The easiest way to do this might be to use your word-processing

programme to copy and paste this material into your answer. You should use

subheadings (for example, ‘Original version with comments’, ‘Comments

from the Assessment Summary (PT3)’) to make it clear what everything is.

� Secondly, you should produce a new draft of your answer, drawing on your

tutor’s comments. You can also draw on the Course Companion and on your

own ideas about how it might be improved or done differently. Again, you

should use a subheading (for example ‘New draft’) to make it clear that this

is your new version. This new version should be no more than 500 words.

To give some examples, you might:

� change the structure of your answer or of a particular paragraph to make it

easier to follow

� change the way in which you have expressed a particular point to make it

clearer or more precise

� change or add to the points that you made to make your answer fuller, more

relevant or more accurate. You might choose to omit one or more points to

create space for others.

� add an in-text reference.

How many changes you should make depends on the size of the changes that you

have chosen to make: restructuring a paragraph is a larger task than changing a

20

few words or adding a reference. As a rough guide, you might aim to make six or

seven small changes to your answer or three or four major changes.

You should include a bibliography. As with other assignments, the bibliography

is not included within the final word count. Nevertheless, you may decide to

make some changes to it in response to your tutor's feedback. If you do that, your

tutor will take these changes into account in grading and commenting on your

assignment.

Part 2

Once you have produced your new draft, you should write a reflective

commentary of between 150 and 200 words. You should use this commentary to

identify and explain the changes that you have made. This might involve quoting

your tutor’s feedback, discussing the ways in which you have tried to address it

and explaining how the changes you have made improve your answer. You

should also identify one element of your writing that you would like to improve

or something that you would like to do differently in a future assignment.

Further guidance

This section contains some further guidance about completing this assignment,

presented in question and answer form.

What if I disagree with one of my tutor’s comments?

It would be best to choose to respond to comments that you agree with. But even

if you disagree with a comment, it is worth trying to respond to it. Sometimes this

may be a matter of making something clearer (perhaps you did not get your

meaning across the first time) or just trying out a different approach.

What if my tutor has told me exactly how to change my answer, so that

making a change is simply a matter of copying my tutor’s suggestion word

for word?

There is obviously nothing wrong with responding to tutor’s comments by doing

exactly what he or she has suggested. But you should make sure that not all the

changes that you make are of this kind. Even if your tutor has made a very

specific suggestion, it might be worth seeing if there is an alternative way of

responding to your tutor’s comment – for example, if it is a matter of phrasing,

perhaps there is yet another way of phrasing your point.

How will my tutor grade this piece of work?

In grading this assignment, tutors will assign roughly equal weight to Part 1 and

Part 2. Tutors are not asked to evaluate the standard of the redrafted piece of

work that you have produced. Instead they are asked to consider:

� your awareness of some of the ways in which a piece of written work can be

improved through redrafting

� the extent to which you have understood, and successfully addressed, the

criticisms or suggestions that you have chosen to address, as evidenced in

your reworked answer and in your reflective commentary

� your ability to reflect on your work and to identify areas for future

improvement

The grading criteria set out in Section 7 of this booklet include some specific

references to the two reflective assignments on the course.

21

Planning for Assignment 07

Assignment 02 is the first of two reflective assignments. Once you have your

tutor’s comments on this assignment, you should begin planning for Assignment

07. Begin by reading the description of Assignment 07 later in this booklet. You

will note that, in order to complete this assignment, you will need to gather notes

and evidence about your work on earlier assignments. You will find it much

easier to complete Assignment 07 if you take time to do this at intervals as you

work through the course, rather than leaving it all to the last minute.

22

Assignment 03 Cut-off date: 14 May 2010

This assignment is in two parts: you should answer both parts of the assignment.

You should write no more than 1200 words in total: 600 words for each part.

Your tutor will give you a grade out of 50 for each answer. These will be added

to produce a grade out of 100 for the assignment as a whole.

Please write out the question in full at the head of each answer. However, where a

piece of text has been set out for you to comment on, there is no need to

reproduce it.

Part 1 The Diva

The passage below is a newspaper review of Maria Callas’s performance in the

role of Tosca. Read it slowly and carefully. After reading this review, listen to the

recording of Callas singing the aria ‘Vissi d’arte’ from Tosca, to help you

understand the style of performance the reviewer is describing. You will find this

on Track 6 of the ‘Assessment Material’ Audio CD. Then answer the question

that follows in no more than 600 words.

Tosca ………………………….Maria Callas

Cavaradossi……………………Giuseppe Campora

Scarpia…………………………George London

Sacristan……………………….Fernando Corena

Spoletta………………………...Alessio De Paolis

Angelotti……………………….Clifford Harvuot

Sciarrone……………………….George Cehanovsky

Shepherd……………………….George Keith [Debut]

Jailer……………………………Louis Sgarro

Conductor………………………Dimitri Mitropoulos

Director…………………………Dino Yannopoulos

Designer………………………...Frederick Fox

Maria Callas’ appearance as Tosca last night – her first at the

Metropolitan – illuminated quite a few matters that had been left obscure

by her recent interpretations of Norma.1 Thus, on the basis of her present

performance this much is sure: her soprano is not big, nor is it of a

quality even approaching velvet. Indeed, there are moments, especially in

the top register, when the tints in her voice prick the ear like barbs. Also,

she has a perceptible wobble and her scale is neither even nor smooth.

The question then arises, what does it all mean? And the answer, as I read

it, is simply that when Miss Callas is shaken with nerves or is otherwise

ill at ease she passes as a perfectly respectable singer of no enormous

distinctions; but when she warms to a role, squares her shoulders, digs

her nails into her palms and pitches in, she can set a house afire with a

single jabbing gesture or a single withering look.

Strangely enough, too, last night’s performance of the first two acts of

Puccini’s masterwork quite strikingly revealed both sides of Miss Callas’

remarkable dual nature. In the first act – though she looked like Audrey

Hepburn2 and could easily have walked out of a bachelor’s dream – her

portrayal was rather pale, her entire manner somewhat vague and

unfocused. The grandeur of the part was not with her, and she seemed

23

distant, remote, her voice as well, taking on precisely those qualities. In

consequence, the electricity native to the act was no brighter than that

produced by a five and dime store flashlight. A pity, one thought; Callas

is not the Callas we have heard of for so many years.

And then, in the roar of applause, the curtain descended. Twenty minutes

later it rose again and there for all the world to see, transformed as if by

witchcraft, was Maria Callas as she is known to legions of admirers

throughout the world. Her voice steadied, its pitch punctured notes like

so many tooled arrows, and its color lightened, brightened and finally

glowed. But actually there is no need for a further discussion of Miss

Callas’ vocal abilities, since its sound stage is scarcely different from its

echo on records. But records, even the best of them, are cold, mechanical

devices and Miss Callas is anything but a cold or mechanical creature.

In the second act, for instance, she reacted to the hideous net of events

gathering around her exactly, I imagine, as any major actress absorbed in

playing a part. Her despair at Cavaradossi’s torture, her revulsion over

Scarpia’s lust, her resignation as she realises that she is lost were all

tightly etched in her face; and even her muscles grew visibly tense as she

moved from one tormenting scene to another.

Despite this, however, Miss Callas is a very feminine Tosca, never an

Italian Brunnhilde3 out to beat her way into the listener’s sensibility with

train-whistle blast of sonority. In fact, a quite convincing argument could

be made out of the condition that the soprano’s youthful femininity

detracts a mite from the more regal, majestic and mature aspects of the

role. But, no matter. A singing actress is a joy to behold; and at her best

Miss Callas is just such a joy.

The remainder of the principals fared exceedingly well which is all the

more laudable as Maestro Mitropoulos placed obstacle after obstacle in

their way. The orchestra was coarse and loud beyond endurance and the

tempos were so sluggish that frequently the opera seemed to be moving

in slow motion. Still, Mr. London was a ringing and resonant and darkly

evil Scarpia, and Mr. Campora sailed through his lines, even the highest,

with the ease of a wind-swept kite. The evening, largely though their

efforts was, as a result, a handsome one. And Miss Callas, while her

Tosca could by no means be termed spotless, began to grow comfortable

on the Met stage and spares not a single effort to prove it.

Jay S. Harrison (1956) review of Tosca at the Metropolitan Opera House, New

York, New York Herald Tribune, 16 November; available online at

http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/frame.htm (Accessed 1 July 2009).

Notes:

1 Norma is another famous operatic role sung by Callas at the Metropolitan

Opera House.

2 Audrey Hepburn, a film actress of the 1950s and 60s.

3 Brunnhilde is a notoriously difficult soprano role that requires great stamina

from the performer.

Question

How does the newspaper review help us to understand Callas’s reputation as a

diva?

24

Guidance Note

This question is intended to test your ability to understand a historical source. In

particular it asks you to study a newspaper review, in the light of what you have

learned about Maria Callas in Book 1, Chapter 6, and to consider what it can tell

us about her reputation as an opera singer. The review is of Callas’s first

appearance in the role of Tosca at the Metropolitan Opera House, New York on

15th November 1956. Her debut at this opera house was just seventeen days

earlier in the role of Norma, the work referred to in the first sentence. After

reading this review, reread the relevant sections of Chapter 6 relating to Callas

and the use of historical documents, noting any areas of endorsement and/or new

evidence that informs our assessment of her reputation. In writing your answer,

you should make sure that you relate the material in the review to the discussion

of Callas and her reputation in Chapter 6. You should also consider the value and

reliability of this document for music historians today.

The recording of ‘Vissi d’arte’ is provided (as Track 6 on the ‘Assessment

Material’ Audio CD) to give you a better idea of the type of performance the

reviewer is writing about. In this aria, Tosca is broken with grief having just

heard the sound of drums accompanying her condemned lover to the scaffold.

She cowers, praying in a corner, watched by Scarpia. We learn that she has lived

for love and art, has offered humble prayers to the saints, laid flowers on the altar,

and given her jewels to bedeck a statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary and now asks

why God has forsaken her. You are not required to make specific reference to this

recording in your answer, although credit will be given if you do so. In particular,

you might try to identify one or two aspects of Callas’s performance that accord

with her reputation as a diva: for example, you might think about the dramatic

qualities of her performance or the opportunities the aria gives her to display her

virtuosity as a singer. You will find some useful guidance on how to listen

closely to a piece of music in Section 6.3; however, it is possible to comment on

the recording without using the technical language introduced there. You should

relate any points that you make to specific material in the review or in Chapter 6.

If you wish to refer to a particular moment in the recording, you should identify it

by referring to the CD time reference as shown in Section 6.3.

Part 2 Plato on Tradition and Belief

The passage below is adapted from a passage in Plato’s dialogue the Protagoras.

(Some details of the text have been changed.) Protagoras (c.490-20 BCE) claimed

to be able to teach aristocratic young men how to achieve personal and political

success. In the dialogue, he is presented as denying that virtue is a form of

knowledge. In the passage, Socrates investigates the relationship between

courage and knowledge.

Read the passage below slowly and carefully. Then, in no more than 600 words,

answer the questions below. There is no need to worry if you do not understand

everything on your first read through: the questions are designed to help you to

analyse the passage.

Note: the reference to divers who plunge into tanks continues to puzzle scholars.

It is not known what the purpose of this activity was, but the discussion makes it

clear that it was a dangerous job.

PROTAGORAS: My view is that justice, holiness, temperance, wisdom

and courage are all parts of virtue, and that four of them resemble each

other fairly closely, but that courage is very different from all the rest.

The proof of what I say is that you can find many men who are quite

unjust, unholy, intemperate, and foolish, yet outstandingly courageous.

25

SOCRATES: Do you consider the courageous to be confident?

PROTAGORAS: Confident, yes, and keen to meet dangers from which

most men shrink in fear.

SOCRATES: And do you consider their confidence to be admirable?

PROTAGORAS: Yes.

SOCRATES: Now, do you know which men plunge fearlessly into tanks?

PROTAGORAS: Yes, divers.

SOCRATES: Is that because they know their job or for some other

reason?

PROTAGORAS: Because they know their job. And this holds good

generally, if that’s what you are after. Those with the relevant knowledge

have more confidence than those without it.

SOCRATES: But have you ever seen men with no understanding of some

dangerous occupation who still plunge into it with confidence? Doesn’t

their confidence involve courage too?

PROTAGORAS: No, because their confidence is not something

admirable. Those people are just foolhardy.

SOCRATES: So, those who are foolishly confident turn out not to be

courageous, but foolhardy. Conversely, the confidence of knowledgeable

people will be admirable; and, therefore, it is knowledgeable confidence

that is courageous.

(Adapted from Plato, Protagoras 349d-c (trans. W. K. C. Guthrie), in Hamilton, E.

and Huntington, C. (eds) (1961) The Collected Dialogues of Plato, Bollingen Series

LXXI, Princeton University Press, p. 342.)

Questions

1 In this passage, Socrates and Protagoras present an argument for the claim

that foolish confidence is not the same thing as courageous confidence. How

do they argue for this conclusion?

2 There is a second argument in the passage, which might be summarised like

this:

Premise 1: Courageous confidence is admirable.

Premise 2: Knowledgeable confidence is admirable.

Conclusion: So, knowledgeable confidence and courageous confidence are

the same thing.

Explain, as clearly as you can, why this argument invalid.

3 At the beginning of the passage, Protagoras says that there are many people

who are unjust, unholy, intemperate, and foolish, yet outstandingly

courageous. Drawing on the discussion of the Laches in the course materials,

explain why Plato might have disagreed with this claim, and describe one

reasonable objection to Plato’s views on this issue.

Guidance Note

This part of the assignment draws on your ability to analyse a philosophical

argument and on your understanding of some of the philosophical claims and

arguments discussed in the chapter on Plato’s Laches. Of the 50 marks available

for this part of the assignment, question (1) is worth up to 5 marks, question (2) is

worth up to 10 marks, and question (3) is worth up to 35 marks.

26

For questions (1) and (2) you will find helpful material in Book 2, Chapter 1,

especially Section 1.7. Good answers to these questions will be as clear and

concise as possible. In answering question (1), remember that, although you can

rephrase Socrates’ points, it is a good idea to keep key words the same. You may

wish to present the argument as a pair of premises and a conclusion, but you

could also explain it in a less formal way. In answering question (2), it is a good

idea to begin by explaining what ‘invalid’ means. If you are finding this question

difficult, it is worth trying to invent some other arguments that follow the same

pattern: try to find one that has true premises and a silly conclusion. You can then

make use of it in explaining why Socrates’ argument is invalid.

You will need to save most of your word allocation to deal with question (3). For

this question, you should find helpful material in the chapter (especially Sections

1.9, 1.10 and 1.11), in the first section of the DVD ROM and in the interview

with Tim Chappell on the Audio CD (especially Tracks 5, 6 and 7). You do not

have space to develop a comprehensive answer, so you should pick just two or

three points and try to explain them as clearly and precisely as you can. You are

asked to finish by describing one reasonable objection to Plato’s views. It does

not matter whether or not you agree with the objection you describe: the point is

to show that you understand what might count as a reasonable objection to

Plato’s views.

27

Assignment 04 Cut-off date: 11 June 2010

For this assignment you are asked to write a structured essay of no more than

1200 words. You are also required to submit a brief plan of your essay (see the

section on ‘Planning your essay’ below).

You should choose to answer either Option 1 or Option 2. You should make it

clear which option you have chosen by writing the question in full at the head of

your essay.

Planning your essay

This is the first full-scale essay you are asked to write for this course. Essay

writing is central to all the Arts subjects and is an important and useful skill. It

does, however, require preparation and practice. Your work on Assignments 01 to

03 has already given you experience of creating and polishing a piece of writing.

In producing this assignment, we would like you to think especially carefully

about how you plan and structure your writing. To help you to think about this,

you are required to submit an essay plan with your answer. This will give your

tutor an opportunity to comment on how you approached the question and

constructed your argument. Getting feedback on your essay plan will help you to

structure future essays.

Before starting this essay, you will find it useful to look back at Section 2.8,

‘Working at your own writing’, in the Course Companion. You can also find

advice on structuring and writing an essay on the OU Skills for Study website at

http://www.open.ac.uk/skillsforstudy/ . You should start by creating your essay

plan, which should be no more than one side of paper. Writing a plan first will

help you to make sure that your essay is clearly structured and focused. Your plan

should show how you intend to construct your essay paragraph by paragraph.

Each paragraph should deal with a particular stage of your argument. Your plan

can take the form of a list, or a mind-map, or any other form you like to use, but it

must show clearly the proposed form of your essay. You should indicate by a

note or a sentence what is to be in each paragraph.

When you come to write your essay, you may find that you begin to deviate from

your plan. If this happens you should stop and think about why this is. Is this

because you are starting to introduce material that is not relevant to the question

or because you are losing the thread of your argument? If so, you may wish to go

back and revise what you have been writing. Or is it because, once you started

writing, you thought of some additional points to make or found a better way to

develop your argument? If so, you might add a brief note to the bottom of your

plan, explaining what has happened. Nevertheless, the plan that you submit with

your essay should be your original one: your tutor will not expect it to match up

with your essay in every detail.

Option 1 Tradition and Dissent in English Christianity

In what ways has Roman Catholicism been an example of both religious tradition

and dissent in England?

Use some examples from the course material to support your discussion and

analysis.

28

Guidance Note

This assignment is designed to:

� test your understanding of the material about English Christianity in

Chapter 3 of Book 2 and in particular the way Roman Catholicism changed in

its role and position from the sixteenth century to the nineteenth century

� let you demonstrate that you can be selective with the material and use

examples from the wide time scale involved to support an overall position

and argument

� allow you to show that you can understand different points of view and

recognise that the material is open to varying interpretations in relation to

what is perceived as tradition and dissent

� and let you make an interpretation of your own and argue a viewpoint

regarding the course material.

You are asked to assess Roman Catholicism and how its changing religious and

political experiences shaped it in relation to wider Christianity in England. You

can argue that it is an example of tradition and that it has remained so or that it

has acted as a dissenting force against the consequences of the Reformation and

the dominating presence of Protestantism, or you can argue that it is an example

of both. You should try to provide a clear argument in relation to the question

rather than a descriptive account of what happened to Roman Catholicism during

the period you have studied. You should select examples from the sixteenth

century to the nineteenth century to support your argument. There is no ‘right’

answer here: as you will remember from sources like Newman’s sermon

(Reading 3.4) there are differing interpretations of what form of English

Christianity represents tradition. You should use sources like this as well as the

text and images in the chapter as a whole and the DVD ROM on St Chad’s

Cathedral.

Option 2 Pugin and the Revival of the Gothic Tradition

In what ways did Pugin dissent from tradition? Refer to published texts, works of

art and architecture in your answer.

Guidance Note

This question is intended to test your understanding of ideas of tradition and

dissent, and your ability to analyse works of art using appropriate critical

vocabulary. It also tests your ability to formulate and sustain an argument in a

short essay. You may choose to begin to plan your essay by thinking about Pugin

and the theme of dissent, or by thinking of two or three specific examples of texts

or works that interest you and seem particularly important to the theme of dissent.

In your essay you will need to do both. It is good practice to consider specific

examples in art history essays, and you will usually receive substantially lower

marks if you fail to do this. On the other hand, if you introduce a series of works

of art and architecture without a sustaining argument, the essay will be more like

a list, and risks being incoherent. Asking yourself ‘what am I trying to say?’ and

‘how can I illustrate that point?’ may help you to avoid either pitfall.

All three sections of the Pugin chapter are relevant to this essay, and you should

draw on two of them. If you wish to comment on the limits of Pugin’s dissent, or

even challenge the view that he dissented from tradition, then you are free to do

so, so long as you can support your argument.

29

Assignment 05 Cut-off date: 16 July 2010

The Art of Benin

This assignment is in two parts. For Part 1, you should choose either Option A or

Option B. Your answer should be no more than 500 words. You should then

answer Part 2, using no more than 1000 words. You should write no more than

1500 words in total.

Your tutor will give you a grade out of 40 for Part 1 and a grade out of 60 for Part

2. These will be added to produce a grade out of 100 for the assignment as a

whole.

Please write out the question in full at the head of each answer. However, where a

piece of text has been set out for you to comment on, there is no need to

reproduce it.

Part 1

Option A

Look closely at Plate 3.2.18 which shows the figure of an Oba with attendants

and Portuguese heads. What can this work of art tell us about cross-cultural

encounters?

In your answer, consider for whom it was made, who viewed it, and what purpose

it may have served. (500 words)

Option B

Carefully read the following piece of text. What can it tell us about cross-cultural

encounters? (500 words)

On the British loss of antique works of art from Benin

When on the return of the members of the Punitive Expedition it became

known that fine specimens of bronze castings and ivory and wood

carvings had been found in the old city of Great Benin, Mr. Charles H.

Read, the Keeper of Antiquities at the British Museum, with

characteristic energy at once endeavoured to secure for the national

collection good representative specimens of these bronzes, and he

succeeded in gathering together the finest collections of plaques that is to

be found in any Museum. But owing to the want of proper pecuniary

support, he was not able to obtain possession of any of the more

expensive, and in many cases equally interesting, articles. Not only was

the national institution thus deprived of its lawful acquisitions, but at the

same time another government department sold for a few hundred pounds

a large number of castings which had cost thousands to obtain, as well as

much blood of our fellow countrymen. Hence it is that so many Bini

articles are not represented at all at Bloomsbury. […]

From what I can ascertain, the bulk of these bronzes has been secured by

the Germans […]

For many years the Germans have foreseen that the study of native races

and their development, a study known to us under the awkward name of

30

Anthropology, is essential to every civilised community which trades

with, or is called upon to govern native communities […]

Politically, it is of the first importance that our governing officials should

have a thorough knowledge of the native races subject to them – and this

is the knowledge that anthropology can give them – for such knowledge

can teach what methods of government and what forms of taxation are

most suited to the particular tribes, or to the stage of civilization in which

we find them. In connection with this, there can be no doubt that with

adequate knowledge much spilled bloodshed could have been saved in

the past, both on our frontiers and in our colonies.

(From Henry Ling Roth (1972 [1903]) Great Benin: Its Customs, Art and Horrors,

Northbrook, IL, Metro Books, pp.xviii–xix. Reprinted in Book 3, Chapter 2, Reading

2.3.)

Part 2

Why is the ownership of Benin art so controversial? (1000 words)

Guidance Note

This question is the first that asks you to link two disciplines: History and Art

History. Part 1 asks you to demonstrate skills in either visual or textual analysis,

while the short essay in Part 2 calls on skills relating to both History and Art

History and tests your ability to select appropriate evidence to support your

argument.

Part 1

You will note that the phrase ‘cross-cultural encounters’ occurs in both Option A

and Option B. You will need to think about what this term means and explain

how you are using it.

For Option A you need to look very carefully at the image. Remember that how

an image is made in terms of materials and detailing can be revealing as well as

what is represented. You should also think about the original site and function of

this work of art and the possible reasons for the choice of subject matter for this

context. You will find plenty of material to support your answer in the first

section of Chapter 1 and in the first two sections of the DVD ROM ‘The Art of

Benin’. You may also find it useful to read Book 3, Chapter 2, Section 2.2, p. 68.

Remember that you are being tested on your skills of visual analysis, so be

careful not to use up your word allocation in general background material.

If you choose Option B, you will find that Section 1.2 of Chapter 1 provides

plenty of guidance on how to analyse a source. The text itself is briefly discussed

in Section 2.1 of Chapter 2. You may also find sections of the DVD ROM

helpful. Note that the question is asking you to answer a specific question: what

can the document tell us about cross-cultural encounters? You might want to

consider the way that people and places are presented in the text.

Part 2

You are being asked to explain why the question of ownership of Benin art is so

hotly debated; this means defining the issues involved rather than reaching a

verdict on that question. The interviews on the DVD ROM will be your main

source. You must be careful, however, that you do not simply reiterate the

arguments put forward there. Kevin Dalton Jones’s and Chris Spring’s arguments

are simply two different responses to the common problem of ownership. You

need to define and explain this problem. Chapter 1, Section 2 is fundamental for

how the circumstances under which the art was acquired relates to the issue of

31

ownership. You may find Reading 2.7 and the film of the Quai Branly exhibition

on the DVD ROM useful ways to begin to think about the importance of cultural

context and public access to the ownership question. Whichever issues you

decide to discuss in detail, your response should demonstrate close familiarity

with the course material, and not just the application of your own logical

reasoning.

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Assignment 06 Cut-off date: 13 August 2010

For this assignment you are asked to write an essay of no more than 1500 words.

You should choose to answer either Option 1 or Option 2. You should make it

clear which option you have chosen by writing the question in full at the head of

your essay.

Option 1 Transmission of Medical Knowledge

In what ways did European practitioners respond to writings on medicine by

Islamic authors and why?

Guidance Note

This question tests your understanding of the medical history set out in Chapter 5

of Book 3. More broadly, it gives you an opportunity to develop your skills in

constructing a historical argument. This essay asks you to assess how

practitioners in Europe reacted to the medical texts from the Islamic world and

how that reaction is expressed in the texts written by European practitioners.

First, you need to identify the reactions of European practitioners. Did they

embrace Islamic ideas? Did they reject them? Did their responses change over

time? How did the European context influence their reactions? You should

provide evidence for your conclusions through examples of the uses (or not) of

particular Islamic texts by European practitioners, and show how European

practitioners made use of Islamic ideas in their own writings. Within your answer

you should give a brief outline of Islamic medical ideas, but do not spend too

much time discussing them. You will find all the material you need for your

answer in section 5.3 and the associated resources.

Option 2 Short Stories

Read the following two short stories from the anthology A World of Difference:

Ana Menéndez, ‘In Cuba I Was a German Shepherd’ (pp.19–36), Roxana

Robinson ‘Mr Sumarsono’ (pp. 79–91). Analyse the way that ‘cultural

encounters’ are played out in terms of each story’s structure and characterisation.

Guidance Note

As you work on this question you will be developing your critical understanding

and appreciation of the short story as a specific literary genre. Close reading will

provide the groundwork for your analysis, so you will be building on the

approaches to written texts that you have practised in earlier assignments.

In working through Book 3, Chapter 4 you will already have read ‘In Cuba I Was

a German Shepherd’ fairly carefully, but re-reading it alongside ‘Mr Sumarsono’

you should notice new things. Aim to read both stories several times, separately

and also consecutively, so that you develop your awareness of the differences

between them as well as similarities. The concept of characterisation was

discussed in Book 1, Chapter 2; examining the way that Menéndez and Robinson

create their characters and present them to the reader will help you to foreground

the ‘cultural encounters’ theme in each story. But you will also want to explore

the ways in which the stories’ structures work, and the meanings that thus

emerge. Build up your plan for an answer making close reference to both stories

for your evidence. You’ll find that, where there are contrasts between the two

33

stories (for example, in narrative voice), these will provide useful structuring

points for your essay.

The idea of structure is discussed in some detail in Book 3, Chapter 4 (pp.143–

147), and the ‘Preface’ to the anthology, A World of Difference, pp.xii–xiii raises

some general points about cultural encounters as the overarching theme of these

stories.

34

Assignment 07 Cut-off date: 3 September 2010

Please note that your tutor can grant only a limited extension for Assignment

07 and can do so only in exceptional circumstances. If you think that you will

be unable to complete Assignment 07 by the cut-off date, you should contact

your tutor as soon as possible.

If you fail to submit Assignment 07, you cannot pass the course, unless there

are special circumstances that prevented you from doing so (see Section 8 of

this booklet).

Reflecting on progress

The purpose of this assignment is to encourage you to take a step back from your

studies and to assess your own progress as a student. It is directly related to the

learning outcome that concerns taking responsibility for your own learning while

responding reflectively to tutor feedback. As with Assignment 02, this

assignment aims to develop your awareness of the way in which you study and

write. It aims to help you to think through your work on the course as a whole, at

the moment at which you start to think about what to study next. You should

begin by looking back over your previous assignments and your tutor’s

comments on these assignments. (If you do not receive Assignment 06 back in

time to take account of it in writing this assignment, there is no need to be

concerned: just focus on Assignments 01 to 05.) You should then write a critical

review of up to 750 words, examining the way in which you study and write your

assignments. For example, you might consider how your skills in reading and

taking notes or in planning and writing your essays have developed through the

course. How you structure your review is up to you, but in the course of it, you

should do the following five things:

� Identify one or more ways in which you have made progress as a student

since starting The Arts Past and Present. (For example, you might describe a

skill that you have developed, or a difficulty in studying that you have

resolved.)

� Identify one or more ways in which your approach to study or your study

skills could be improved.

� For at least one of these, identify some different sources of help.

� Identify one or more strengths that you have as a student.

� Consider which subject(s) you have most enjoyed studying, and which

subject(s) you have got the best marks for. Has the experience of studying the

course modified what you thought you would be interested in before you

started the course? Do you now have a clearer sense of what you’d like to

study next?

You should support what you say with specific examples taken from your

experiences of working through the course materials and writing assignments.

You may wish to refer to one or more of your tutor’s comments on your

assignments.

Further guidance

This section contains some further guidance about completing this assignment,

presented in question and answer form. You might also find it helpful to visit the

35

Skills for OU Study website (http://www.open.ac.uk/skillsforstudy/) where you

can find advice on reflective learning.

Why is it important to review my progress?

The ability to assess your progress is an essential part of becoming an

independent learner, aware of your own strengths and weakness and able to take

responsibility for your own progress. The willingness and ability to review your

own progress is something that you may find essential in other contexts too – in

your employment, for example.

We have timed this assignment towards the end of the course, so that you have

plenty of material to review. The assignment is also timed to allow you to

complete your review before you start work on your end-of-course assessment.

Conducting your review may well help to prepare you to write this final piece of

work. Furthermore, it also coincides with the Moving Forwards week, in which

you are invited to think about what course you might study next. The point is that

reflection on what you’ve learned and the choice of your next course are closely

linked.

What if my tutor disagrees with what I have written?

Although we think that you should take your tutor’s feedback very seriously, it is

hardly to be expected that students will always assess their own progress in

exactly the same way as their tutors. In grading this assignment, your tutor is not

asked to consider whether he or she agrees with what you have written. Instead,

he or she is asked to judge:

� the extent to which you have engaged with the task

� your awareness of the kinds of skills, qualities or habits that make for

successful study and writing

� whether you have written your review clearly and coherently

� whether you have supported what you say with specific examples, drawn

from your own work.

The grading criteria set out in Section 7 of this booklet include some specific

references to the two reflective assignments on the course.

How personal should my answer be?

There is one sense in which your answer will certainly be personal: it will be

about you, your own approach to study, and your own progress. But there is

another sense in which your answer need not be personal at all: if you wish, you

can focus entirely on your study habits and skills, such as note-taking or essay

writing, without ever mentioning your personal thoughts or feelings about

studying. Indeed, most of your review should focus on habits and skills. But in

some cases, it will be perfectly appropriate to talk about your feelings about

studying – for example, if anxiety about deadlines or reading your tutor’s

feedback has been getting in your way. The most important thing is to make

specific points and to support them with specific examples, which you will then

have available for future reference.

Not everyone finds it easy to review their own work, and you may need to

approach this assignment in a deliberately clinical spirit. It may help to bear in

mind that your tutor is not asked to judge whether he or she agrees with what you

have written.

36

How far should I rely on my tutor’s feedback?

You may well wish to make use of, and even quote (with the proper

acknowledgement) your tutor’s comments. But bear in mind that this review is

meant to represent your own reflection on your progress, not just your

understanding of what your tutor has been telling you. To engage with this

assignment you will need to do more than just present a digest of your tutor’s

comments.

Where can I find examples to use?

There are several places where you might look for evidence: you might include

brief quotations from your own assignments, from online tutorial activities, from

your essay plans or from your notes.

How honest do I have to be?

Tutors are not asked to grade for accuracy, so it would be possible to write a

critical review that was partly fictional. (Since you are asked to provide specific

examples from your own work, it would be difficult to produce a review that was

wholly fictional.) But if you approach the assignment in this way, you will not get

much benefit from it. We have set this assignment because we think that

reflecting on your progress is important to your development as a student, and

you will get the most out of it if you engage with it honestly and seriously.

Preparing for the ECA

Once you have completed Assignment 07, you will be ready to start work on

Book 4 and the end-of-course assignment. Before you begin work on Book 4, you

should read the advice on ‘How to approach the end-of-course assignment’ which

is on the next page of this booklet. In particular, you should take note of the

advice to look at the questions for the end-of-course assessment before you begin

work on Book 4.

37

End-of-course assessment Cut-off date: 1 October 2010

Make sure that you know how to submit your end-of-course assessment and

that you are aware of the rules concerning late submission. This information

can be found in Section 4 of this booklet.

For your end-of-course assessment you are asked to write an essay of no more

than 2000 words. You should choose to answer one of the three options. You

should make it clear which option you have chosen by writing the question in full

at the head of your essay.

How to approach the end-of-course assessment

The options set for the end-of-course assessment offer the opportunity to draw

together material from different chapters or sections of Book 4, Place and

Leisure and related course materials. To complete the assessment you will need

to produce an extended piece of writing that shows your ability to analyse texts

and/or objects and to construct a well-substantiated and coherent argument.

The questions set allow for a great degree of choice in selecting and organising

your material. Before planning your essay you should put aside some time to

think about the approach you would like to take to the question and the material

that you are going to use.

It is important to look at the end-of-course assessment questions before you start

work on Book 4 and to read them again before you start studying the seaside

materials. Once you have read the questions and worked through chapters 1, 2

and 3, you should familiarise yourself with the materials for ‘The Seaside’. Begin

by skim reading the introductions and the section headings and look through the

pictures and other supporting materials to get an idea of the sorts of topics

covered. The guidance notes may give further hints about where to find relevant

material. Because the work on the seaside is spread over three weeks, you need to

take extra care in planning your work. You will find it helpful to draw up a

schedule to make sure you don’t get behind and leave too much to cover in the

last week.

Once you have done that, you will be in a position to make a final decision about

which question to answer and which materials you would like to use. You should

then concentrate your attention on the sections or chapters that you intend to draw

on in writing your essay. If you plan to make use of the seaside materials, you

should study at least four sections. Otherwise the guidance notes should make it

clear which materials you will need to study.

At this stage of The Arts Past and Present, you will be familiar with essay

writing. This is your longest piece of writing on the course but you need to apply

the same disciplines of planning and drafting as you used in your shorter essays.

Try to make good use of the feedback that your tutor gave you on your earlier

assignments to build on your strengths and to improve your writing skills.

Option 1

‘There is no such thing as “sacred space” – there are only places to which

different people ascribe different values.’

Discuss with reference to at least two examples drawn from the course materials.

38

Guidance Note

This question asks you to consider what you have read, seen and understood

about what it is that makes somewhere sacred.

In particular, it is asking you to think about the debates and disagreements among

scholars that you have read about as to whether spaces and places are inherently

sacred, or only become sacred when people designate them as such. It also asks

you to consider the ways in which different people might ascribe different values

to a place, and what effect this might have in how they relate to that place

physically, emotionally and religiously.

In order to answer this question, you will have to demonstrate that you have

understood the arguments made for and against the proposition that sacred space

is inherently sacred, and can demonstrate from the course material the different

ways in which people might be said to make places sacred, physically and

conceptually.

To start thinking about how you might answer this question, you might like to

revisit some of the quotations and readings about place in the sacred space

chapter, and ideas around ‘making sacred’. You may also like to contrast this

material with the different spaces of the Roman villa and the seaside. Look again

at the DVD Video for sacred space, concentrating in particular on what is being

said and thought about natural and man-made features in places that are regarded

as sacred by different people.

Option 2

‘The seaside is a place of escape from the restrictions of everyday life.’ How far

do the depictions of the seaside presented in the course materials reflect this

view?

Discuss with reference to two or three specific examples, choosing a different

genre for each example from: art, music, photography and film.

Guidance Note

This question is designed to test your ability to present a coherent essay, drawing

on several sections of the material on ‘The Seaside’. To answer this question, you

will find all the materials you need in the sections on representations of the

seaside – in music, painting and film. You can also use material from ‘Dressing

for the Beach’, especially the accompanying DVD ROM material.

You need to present a reasoned case, showing how much these materials provide

a picture of the seaside as a place of escape from everyday restrictions. You need

to think about how the beach and the sea provided a place to be free. What rules

of behaviour were cast off at the seaside? What forms of dress were worn? What

other restrictions were relaxed? What activities did people take part in at the

beach? To understand how people ‘escaped’ at the seaside, you will need to think

about the ‘restrictions’ of working life. For example – how was time controlled at

work – and were holidaymakers free to do as they liked, when they liked when at

the seaside? Were there rules of appropriate ‘seaside behaviour’? You can make a

counter argument that the seaside wasn’t a ‘place of escape’ but had its own

rules.

Whatever argument you choose to make, remember to give examples from the

material. Don’t be tempted to give a lot of similar cases – it is better to discuss a

few examples in greater detail.

39

Option 3

Would Aristotle have found anything to value in a seaside holiday?

Discuss with reference to three or four examples, drawn from both the ancient

and modern world, of how people spent their time by the sea.

Guidance Note

This question is designed to test your ability to plan and write a coherent essay,

drawing together material from several chapters of Book 4, Place and Leisure. It

also allows you to explore the interplay between general principles and particular

examples discussed in Book 3, Chapter 3. To answer the question, you will need

to draw on the material on Aristotle in Book 4, Chapter 1, Section 1.2. You will

also need to draw on other material in Book 4 to find some examples of the way

in which people have typically spent their time at the seaside. You should use

examples from both the ancient and modern world.

In discussing Aristotle’s views, it is not necessary to set out his arguments in

detail: it is enough to consider what his conclusions were. But you should pay

careful attention to the complexities of his position. In particular, it is important

bear in mind that Aristotle might value an activity either as a means to an end or

as worth pursuing for its own sake; and, of course, there might be some activities

that he would not have valued at all. The seaside activities you choose to discuss

should be ones that enable you explore the complexities of his view. In discussing

these examples, you might wish to draw on several different sources of evidence:

these might include archaeological remains, photographs, posters, music or

newspaper articles. You should use this evidence to identify some different kinds

of seaside activity and to consider why people have chosen to pursue activities of

these kinds. You should then be able decide whether or not Aristotle might have

valued these activities and what reasons he might have given for his views.

40