The EE topic may relate to an area of the Diploma Programme visual arts course, but students can also choose to explore other areas of the subject. Crucially, the topic must reflect their particular interest and enthusiasm within the visual arts.
Sources of ideas may include:
- the student’s own art-making processes and resolved pieces
- the student’s visual arts journal.
Topics to avoid
- A topic that a student can answer by summarizing general secondary sources, such as universal art history textbooks and encyclopedias.
- A topic that is likely to lead to an EE that is essentially narrative or descriptive in nature, such as one that covers many aspects of art history or particularly long periods of time.
- Biographical studies of artists—unless they address a specific research question so that the student can arrive at a particular, and preferably personal, conclusion.
Visual arts and other subjects
The topic must relate directly to the visual arts. Students may find that they need to submit their essay under another subject. For example:
- Essays on “green” architecture that focus on technology rather than esthetic considerations would be better submitted under environmental systems and societies.
- Essays about film that do not focus on the visual aspects probably belong under film studies.
