Yo-Yo Ma Biographical Research Essay

Final Biographical Research Essay

In order to hone your skills as a research writer and contribute your original ideas to the body of scholarly work that focuses on the social and cultural impact of music in the United States, you will spend the remainder of the quarter designing, investigating, writing, and revising an individual research project that uses scholarly evidence to support a claim about one historical figure (see list below). We have thus far focused on a wide range of music-related social and cultural topics in order to explore how music reflects and responds to historically specific concepts like gender, race, ethnicity, class, oppression, injustice, and patriotism. For this research project, the goal is to examine the specific visionaries; the musical revolutionaries whose legacies blurred the lines of distinction between the creative expression of the artist and his/her role or commitment to the greater socio-cultural environment.

Your task is to write a biographical essay on a person of interest from a list I have put together (see list below) that represent 32 of the key musical visionaries from the twentieth century. People who are credited with advancing new or progressive musical ideas as well as being civically devoted to the communities they came from. What this paper should attempt to do is twofold: provide essential background or material about their careers; and contextualize your individual into their greater social and cultural environment. How were they socially or culturally relevant? More on this below.

If you take your works seriously and commit to engaging in a challenging but, ultimately, rewarding process, upon successful completion of this project you will be able to:

1. Access a variety of sources, including databases
2. Pursue ideas by using those sources
3. Evaluate reliability and appropriateness of sources
4. Develop strategies for using these sources in a long essay
5. Read a variety of texts independently and critically, selecting and reflecting on relevant information and ideas
6. Create, support, and sustain a thesis through a clear and focused document
7. Cite ideas accurately from sources, using MLA format
8. Integrate cited material into your work–avoiding plagiarism
9. Demonstrate technical control of the standard conventions of English
10. Write with an awareness of audience, anticipating opposition and demonstrating control of appropriate voice and tone

All papers should:

1. Have a clearly stated thesis (more on this below).
2. Use strong textual evidence to support your premise or argument (minimum of 4 sources, 2 scholarly).
3. Be 6-8 pages long, typed, double spaced, 1-inch margins, free of mechanical and grammatical errors.
4. Include an elegant conclusion that states why your premise matters (the “so what?” of your paper).
5. Include a works cited page (not part of the 6-8 pages) that cites all material according to MLA guidelines

Attributes of a good thesis:

• It should be contestable, proposing an arguable point with which people could reasonably disagree. A strong thesis is provocative; it takes a stand and justifies the discussion you will present.
• It tackles a subject that could be adequately covered in the space provided.
• It is specific and focused. A strong thesis proves a point without discussing “everything about …”
• It clearly asserts your own conclusion based on evidence.
• It provides the reader with a map to guide him/her through your work.
• It anticipates and refutes the counter-arguments
• It should pass the so what? Or who cares? Test. (Would your most honest friend ask why he/she should care or respond with “but everyone knows that”?)

Note: No late papers will be accepted.

As mentioned above, your biographical essay should seek to provide essential background or material about their careers; and contextualize your individual into their greater social and cultural environment. How were they socially or culturally relevant? What I’m not looking for is a series of facts and figures and dates; the sort of paper that reads like: “and then in 1952 he put out this album. And then in 1957 he performed on this very important show…, and in 1964 he went through a bout with heroin addiction, and in 1969 he got divorced….” Boring!

Rather, include some of the essential moments that defined the artistic career, but focus on the way in which this artist seemed to transcend the art, how and why they are remembered as bigger than any one song or album they may have put out.

Things to consider:
• Birthplace and family background
• Important musical influences in your artist’s development
• How your artist first achieved fame or recognition
• Main body of work (one or two prominent albums or songs)
• Performance style
• Provide a character sketch; describe their personality including any character traits that helped them excel in their given area, as well as taking into consideration areas of controversy and scandal
• Musical legacy
• Always include dates when discussing any song, album or major event
• The nature of your subject’s various forms of civic devotion or political and/or socio-cultural rebellion.
• The social, political, cultural, and economic conventions that were being rebelled against

 

 

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