FYS Interview an Expert Formal Paper

FYS Interview an Expert Formal Paper
For this assignment, seek out an opportunity to interview an expert on a form of body adornment or modification. Expertise implies sustained practice over time. An
expert on adornment might include, but not be limited to, a professional jeweler, clothing/fashion designer, knitter, seamstress, hair stylist, nail technician or
make-up artist. An expert on modification may include, but not be limited to, a tattoo artist, piercing technician, orthodontist, plastic surgeon or a prosthetist
(orthotics/prosthetics technician). An expert can also include someone with extensive forms of body modification or an invested interest in a type of adornment such as
a collector. The questions below are provided to guide your investigation.
Interview an Expert
For this assignment, seek out an opportunity to interview an expert on a form of body adornment or modification. Expertise implies sustained practice over time. An
expert on adornment might include, but not be limited to, a professional jeweler, clothing/fashion designer, knitter, seamstress, hair stylist, nail technician or
make-up artist. An expert on modification may include, but not be limited to, a tattoo artist, piercing technician, orthodontist, plastic surgeon or a prosthetist
(orthotics/prosthetics technician). An expert can also include someone with extensive forms of body modification or an invested interest in a type of adornment such as
a collector. The questions below are provided to guide your investigation.

You will write a report and include images following the assignment guidelines. This assignment allows the opportunity to place forms of body adornment or modification
in context (contemporary, historical, cultural and social). See calendar for due date.

This expert may be a member of your family, a neighbor, doctor, teacher, friend or total stranger. Talk with someone who has had a sustainable or long-term practice
because so much of what we want to know has to do with their role over time. Please note that for this assignment, you may NOT interview a student at KU or another
institution (a peer with tattoos or piercings is not an expert).
RESEARCH and MAKING CONNECTIONS
On your own, find at least two resources that will add to your understanding of body adornment or modification as practiced by your expert. These resources may include
a journal, magazine, or newspaper article, a book chapter or a reliable on-line resource addressing the form of adornment or modification you are writing about.
After your interview, write a report that discusses the responses to the various questions. Share with your reader the main topics/themes that came up during the
interview; what added to your knowledge base from the course content or your outside research; and surprising or crystallizing moments for you as a learner. Make
connections to class content (lectures, guest speakers, journal responses, videos and readings) up to this point in the semester. This means referencing authors, guest
speakers, or illustrating class content to build connections as you share the responses from the interview questions throughout your paper
Here are questions to guide you, but expect to have other lines of inquiry come up during the interview.
Questions:
• What form of adornment or modification do you practice? (How long have you been doing this? Where/How did you learn to do this?)
• Are there people in your life who have served as mentors (or influences) for you and your practice of adornment or modification?
• What has impacted your choices about adornment or modification–what you do, how the practice is typically done, new innovations, how you work, how you spend
your time, etc?
• What has impacted the way your work has been accepted?
• Within your field, do you notice a dominance of women or men? How do you explain this?
• In what ways has your family impacted your decision to be in your field? Are family members supportive? Why or why not?
• Do you see your work as part of a tradition? If so, what tradition(s)? Who are some others who do what you do?
Your 3-5 page REPORT is due as a HARDCOPY no later than the due date.
• Attend to the questions above.
• Make connections to class content (lectures, journal responses, videos and readings) up to this point in the semester.
o This means referencing authors, speakers and illustrating class content to build connections as you share the responses from the interview questions throughout
your paper.
o Class content includes a discussion of themes from the semester (body adornment and modification in the media; adornment as wearables; adornment as
performance, fashion or art; adornment as gendered marketing; cultural differences in body adornment and modification; the aesthetics of adornment and modification;
body modification in history, culture, or from the perspective of gender.
Review the Assignment Rubric for full assignment expectations