Art, music & culture
Creative education, public arts, cultural memory and artistic work.
Boredom: Lack of Imagination or Circumstance?
An argument that boredom is not inherently embarrassing: it can invite curiosity when people have room to act, but may instead reflect circumstances they cannot readily change.
Arts Funding During Hunger and Unemployment
An evidence-based argument that governments should prioritize immediate material needs during severe hardship without automatically suspending every cultural program. It proposes a concrete test for deciding when arts cuts are justified.
Imagination Versus Experience: GRE Issue Essay
An argumentative essay evaluating whether imagination is more valuable than experience, and when each provides an advantage.
Hard Work and Talent in Creative Success
An argumentative essay weighs perseverance against innate ability, arguing that purposeful practice better explains sustained creative development while recognizing talent and external conditions.
Must Art Be Understandable to Have Merit?
An argumentative essay distinguishing accessibility from artistic value and considering how ambiguity and audience connection can contribute to a work’s merit.
Cities and the Preservation of Cultural Traditions
An argument that cities are important cultural centers but cannot alone originate or preserve a nation’s traditions. Historical examples show how public institutions can extend cultural work beyond metropolitan centers, while also revealing that institutions may distribute opportunity unequally.