Below is the feedback I provided for Group 2 after they submitted their proposals:

Group 2: Images of Beauty over time.

 

Topic: Women in images then and now.

 

            I like that you all are starting to narrow the focus, looking for example at the image of a “beautiful” women and how it has changed over time. I encourage you to get even more specific. Among the questions I heard from you today were: what was considered beautiful back then (around 1800)? Which women were put on the covers of magazines? Who decides who gets put on the cover of a magazine? What makes you a covergirl?

            I really like the idea of interviewing people to get a sense for modern day views of “beauty.” You should create questions and make the surveys today so you each can interview people over the weekend.

            Finding images of beauty from the past will be slightly more challenging. You need to develop research questions and to narrow the topic. Can you look at covergirls on magazines? Were there beauty contests or other public showings of “beautiful” women? When did this sort of thing start? What kind of girls participated? Which ones won? Who were the judges?

            As you find things from the past, think about making those then and now connections. What are the similarities and differences in the image of female beauty?

 

Research

            If you have not already you should check out the Dove Evolution video clip. It can be found at: http://www.youtube.com/watch? and http://www.campaignforrealbeauty.com/flat4.asp?. What questions does this raise about beauty and how it is constructed?

            The interviews will be another source for the current day connection.

            For the past I suggest following up on the question of when the first public magazines were in circulation. Is there a particular magazine you can look at? If magazines don’t work, I would look at the history of beauty contests (pageants). Although the first American pageant was in 1921 that would be far enough back to look. You could still do some great then and now connections. There is lots of information out there, but you could start by looking at the website http://pageantcenter.com/history.html. You could also get some ideas by looking at the wikipedia entry for “beauty pageant.”

 

Project presentation:

            I like the idea of making a collage of images. This could be really effective. I also really like the idea of conducting interviews: finding out what people think, especially on a topic like this is so important. Since there is only a short time left (you present on Wednesday), one or all of you need to do these interviews this weekend. You will need to write out a few questions (design your survey) and you may want to write down something about the person you are interviewing (for example, their gender and age). For the interviews, you will want to create thoughtful questions and Powerpoint may be difficult to put together at this point, just because of the need for time and for a computer. I am not opposed to it if you all can make it happen. If not, it would be just fine to make a collage and prepare a verbal speech about it (talking about the images and about the history) and to show your interview results.

            What will you do, given what you now know? This question should be addressed in your presentation (maybe also with some proposed course of action).