Interview Notes from Dr. Kuttner on Writing

About the Professor: Dr. Ann Kuttner received her B.A. in Classical and Near Eastern Archaeology from Bryn Mawr College and a PhD in Ancient History and Mediterranean Archaeology from UC Berkeley. She is an Associate Professor at Penn, and her teaching specialization is in the ancient Mediterranean world from the 10th Century BCE to 5th Century CE.

Dr. Kuttner's University Webpage

Writing Tips: Dr. Kuttner encourages students to write their introductions last. She thinks that the introduction should delve into the intellectual product, moving beyond simply stating why something should be studied. Dr. Kuttner also advocates reading papers aloud, whether to yourself or a friend. She observes, “Talking to yourself can be a really useful tool because people tend to speak better than they write.”

Important Criteria for Student Writing: In evaluating student papers, Dr. Kuttner ranks in order of importance:

Original ideas
Good awareness of avilable scholarship, demonstrating mastery of others' ideas
Following the assignment instructions
Reasoning and evidence
Organization

Grammar and mechanics, as well as following the discipline's proper citation practices, are also taken into account.

Writing Process: When working on a project, Dr. Kuttner stresses that she continually looks at, as well as reads about, her visual material. She also emphasizes the importance of engaging other people with your work during the writing process, whether sharing drafts of your work or talking through your ideas with colleagues. Collaborating with others helps to achieve the distance and space vital to the editing process.

Suggested Resources:

Duzanne Hudson and Nancy Noonan-Morissey's, The Art of Writing About Art
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's handout for art history writing
The AP Art History Teacher's Guide is worth skimming.

Links:
Back to Art History
Back to Writing in the Disciplines

Other professors in Art History: Dr. Davis