Planning and structuring an essay

Question
"What is the role of print media in the digital age?"

Which academic sources will you reference?
Berger, J (1972). 'Ways of seeing'. London: British Broadcasting Corporation and Penguin Books.
Benjamin, W (1999). 'Illuminations'. London: Pimlico.
Hogarth, M. (2014) 'How to launch a magazine in this digital age'. London & New York: Bloomsbury Publishing.
Duffy, B (2013) 'Remake, Remodel'. Chicago, Urbana & Springfield: University of Illinois Press.
Merrin, W (2014) 'Media Studies 2.0'. Abingdon: Routledge.

What images/illustrations will you analyse?

L.H.O.O.Q Marcel Duchamp

Thesis
In this essay I will evaluate the functions of print media in past and present day, as through this I believe I will be able to draw valuable conclusions as to the role of print media in the current digital age. I will also be discussing the evolution of digital media and the effect this has had on art practice, focusing primarily on illustration.

4 points of argument 

1. Radical media (the history of print)
• Drawing parallels between the technological advancements of print and digital and how this progress (in two different periods) has shaped art practice. 
• Raising questions such as, can we see the same thing happen to print media as to historical paintings? Have we retained print as a medium because of the roots of it being a form of expression for the masses/working classes?
2. The resurgence of Print media 
• Why are we seeing a resurgence in print media? - a desire for physical ownership, young creatives, 'digital natives' 
• Where is this resurgence in print? - independent publishing, advertising?
• Examples of festivals/events/companies/exhibitions. 
3. The digital world 
• Discussing the negative and positive views of our new digitised world - distopian and utopian
• The development of the digital aesthetic
• How the digital world has changed the way we express ourselves creatively. 
4. How the digital age has influenced print media
• The positive and negative affects of the digital age on print media
• The combination of digital and print media
• The democratisation of technology. 

Crit/tutorial feedback 

• Got some interesting points - clearly got to grips with the question and have a good focus. 
• To be honest I did not find the crit that useful. They said the above, to just continue with what I am doing but I do not feel that the research and points I have found so far will bring me to a coherent conclusion. 
• I need to focus my interests further and narrow my research. Through this I will hopefully find more images and sources to use in my essay. 
• At the moment the two aspects that I most interested in investigating further is this idea of drawing parallels between the past and current role of print media. I would also like to do more research on the resurgence of print media in despite of, and in conjunction with, the rise of the digital age.