Do you agree or disagree, with Baldwin about the purpose of art?

PROMPT 1 THE PURPOSE OF ART: Baldwin suggests that “ Art is here to prove, and to help one bear, the fact that all safety is an illusion.”
Do you agree or disagree, with Baldwin about the purpose of art? Do you accept Baldwin’s idea that art can heal people and can help people to realize personal truth and the truth of the world around them? Why or why not?
Choose at least 3-4 quotes from Baldwin’s lecture and 1-3 references from the documentary to respond to this prompt. Introduce and explain each quote. How is the quote or reference related to your main idea? Why does this quote matter? To use references outside of class sources, email me for permission at susancunywriting@gmail.com
If you choose, you can add an example from your own life about what the purpose of art means to you. Remember that the main focus of WP 1 is your interpretation of “The Artist’s Struggle for Integrity.”

PROMPT 2 ALLEVIATING SUFFERING Baldwin observes that “insofar as I can tell you what it is to suffer, perhaps I can help you to suffer less.”
Do you accept Baldwin’s ideas about suffering and about using art to help people recognize pain and alleviate suffering? Why or why not?
Choose at least 3-4 quotes from Baldwin’s lecture and 1-3 references from the documentary to respond to this prompt. Introduce and explain each quote. How is the quote or reference related to your main idea? Why does this quote matter? To use references outside of class sources, email me for permission at susancunywriting@gmail.com
If you choose, you can add an example from your own life about what it means to alleviate suffering. Remember that the main focus of WP 1 is your interpretation of “The Artist’s Struggle for Integrity.”

PROMPT 3 BEARING WITNESS “You’re bearing witness helplessly to something which everybody knows and nobody wants to face….”
What does Baldwin by “bearing witness” to “what everybody knows and nobody wants to face’? Do you accept Baldwin’s idea that artists bear witness to suffering that no one else can face? Why or why not?
Choose at least 3-4 quotes from Baldwin’s lecture and 1-3 references from the documentary to respond to this prompt. Introduce and explain each quote. How is the quote or reference related to your main idea? Why does this quote matter? To use references outside of class sources, email me for permission at susancunywriting@gmail.com
If you choose, you can add an example from your own life about what it means to bear witness. Remember that the main focus of WP 1 is your interpretation of “The Artist’s Struggle for Integrity.”

PROMPT 4: CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE
If Prompts 1,2, or 3 don’t grab your attention, propose your own topic for a prompt to me via email susancunywriting@gmail.com by Thursday September 23 at 11:59 pm. Your prompt should allow you to take on the main challenges of the assignment:
Choose at least 3-4 quotes from Baldwin’s lecture and 1-3 references from the documentary to respond to this prompt. Introduce and explain each quote. How is the quote or reference related to your main idea? Why does this quote matter? To use references outside of class sources, email me for permission at susancunywriting@gmail.com
If you choose, you can add an example from your own life about what it means to bear witness. Remember that the main focus of WP 1 is your interpretation of “The Artist’s Struggle for Integrity.”

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