ARTH 210 Contemporary Art in Canada

Reading: Ellyn Walker, “Resistance and Resilience in the Work of Rebecca Belmore,” in Desire Change: Contemporary Feminist Art in Canada, ed. by Heather Davis (McGill-Queen’s University, 2017). Available on Moodle.

Type your response in Times New Roman, font 12, with normal margins, double-spaced, in 500 word. Include your name, student number and the word count on the upper left side of your text (Exclude these from your word count). Submit your responses on Moodle.

Responding personally to an article is usually the start of any analysis of writing, so it is a good first paper type to write. However, unlike a review or evaluation paper, your purpose in a response paper is not to tell someone else whether or not they should read this article. Instead, your purpose is to explain your reaction and to give reasons (this will be the body of your paper) why you reacted that way. 

Your reading response should include a brief summary of the key points discussed by the author in the article, so you demonstrate to your instructor that you have read and understood the article and have been able to identify the key issues. Your reading response should also include your reaction to the article and what you think about it. Explain how the article is relating to the material we discuss in class. Consider questions such as: Is this article adding to your understanding of the concepts and issues in Canadian contemporary art? If so, what are those issues they author specifically discusses? If you disagree and do not find this article helpful with our course content explain why and what your reasons are.

In your introductory sentences, introduce the article and the author (just title and name would be enough), and clearly state your point of view or reaction to the reading. Later in the text, you get to expand and support your point of view by referring back to the reading.

Ideally, spend 350 words on summarizing and pointing out the major points discussed in the article, and 150 words on your own response.

If you want to refer to a specific part of the reading, use in-text citation, citing the page number only. You don’t need to use and cite outside sources. A work cited page is not required.