Introduction to Portfolio 2: Writing for and as an Arts & Humanities Enthusiast

1. Writing as and for enthusiasts
PORTFOLIO 2

2. Enthusiast
• “It is good to love many things, for
therein lies the true strength, and
whosoever loves much performs much,
and can accomplish much, and what is
done in love is well done.”
• ― Vincent van Gogh
From the Oxford English
Dictionary
3 a. One who is full of
‘enthusiasm’ (see
enthusiasm n. 3) for a
cause or principle, or who
enters with enthusiasm
into a pursuit
Aficionado
2.a. A connoisseur or
dedicated student of
some activity;
(subsequently esp.) an
ardent follower of any
sport, activity, or
pastime; a fan.

3. What do arts & humanities enthusiasts do?

4. Enthusiasts seek knowledge, information,
understanding, enrichment from media

5. Portfolio 2
• Publication Analysis: practice together on
The New
• Publication & Genre Analysis: Group
project. This assignment will provide the
class analyses of several publications to help
you find the best audience and forum for
the critical review article you will write. It
will also help you understand how critical
reviews written for enthusiast audiences
reflect and are shaped by rhetorical context.
(10%) Due March 13
• Review article: Write a critical review article,
composed for the context you’ve defined.
(20%) Due April 13
• Annotated bibliography: Citations &
annotations of sources consulted for the
critical article. Due April 13
• Portfolio introduction: Reflect upon and
explain your work on Portfolio 2. (5%) Due
April 13
Explore genres, audiences,
and forums (or fora, if you
prefer) for arts and
humanities enthusiasts by
analyzing select media and
composing for non-academic
audiences.

6. What will you write about?

7. Publication Analysis
Objectives—
• Enjoying
• Appreciating
• Evaluating
• Writing for
Strategies—
• Close reading: journalistic
questions (5ws & H)
• Rhetorical analysis:
analyze text and context
to understand how it
works toward its
purposes with its
audiences.

8. Publication & Genre
Analysis
Working incollaborative
groups, we’ll apply what we
practiced in analyzing The
New Yorker to describing,
interpreting, and analyzing
other forums where
enthusiasts can find arts &
humanities writing,
particularly criticism.
To better understand a
rhetorical approach to genre,
each group will also analyze
the criticism found in the
forum (publication) they
analyze.

9. Forums
Arts & humanities
enthusiasts have a wide
range of forums from which
to choose when seeking
critical writing about what
they love. Some are general
interest publications like The
New Yorker, but others focus
on a particular subject—such
as visual arts, dance, history,
politics, etc. Some forums
focus a particular lens, such
as feminism, on the objects
of critique.

10. Final Portfolio:
Article, annotated
bibliography, & intro
The final portfolio for P2
consists of a critical article
you write for the audience of
a publication, an annotated
bibliography of sources
consulted, and a reflective
introduction that describes
and defines the rhetorical
situation for which you are
writing, analyzes and
evaluates the article you’ve
written, and narrates and
reflects on your entire P2
process.