Your second assignment is an exercise in critical reading and close looking. Based on reading the article, “Exposing the Zenana: Maharaja Sawai Ram Singh II’s Photographs of Women in Purdah” by Laura Weinstein (History of Photography Vol. 34, No. 1, 2010) identify, explain and analyze the author’s argument. In doing so, make sure to address the following concerns: Who wrote this piece and when? What are the reasons that led the author to write about their chosen topic? What is the author’s major argument or hypothesis? What method/s does the author use to provide evidence for this view? What evidence does the author marshal to support the argument?
For this, you will need to formally analyze, in your own words, any one of the images published in the article. Why do you think it is significant for the author’s argument and what aspect of the hypothesis does it engage in particular? What scholarly and/or public debates does the author initiate or enter into? Do you find the author’s discussion persuasive? Explain. Please remember that the primary aim here is to analyze the text as a piece of work in itself, not to weigh in on the issues it deals with (except at the end when you may wish to bring up points that the author may not have considered, or flaws in reasoning).
In this essay you will not have your own hypothesis, thesis statement or argument: you need to identify, explain and discuss the author’s. Please refer to the general guidelines for article critique attached in the assignment folder for tips about what to keep in mind while writing the assignment.
For this essay, since you will be referencing the assigned article throughout, you should follow proper citation guidelines (either Chicago or MLA) and include a list of references, footnotes/endnotes as well as a bibliography (not counted in the page length). Please read and spell/grammar_check your paper before you turn it in. Be judicious in your use of quotations from the text. Use them only when you think the authors’ words are indispensable to the point you are highlighting. For the most part, try to paraphrase the ideas in your own words while properly citing them.
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