When do I need to turn in my fine arts critiques?
The D2L assignment where you will submit your critiques is set up for you to turn in two critiques during the first half of the semester and three critiques during the second half of the semester. But ultimately, your five critiques are due on the last day of the semester, the day before final exams begin. Note that these assignments close at 11:59 that night, which means that you cannot submit them late. We strongly recommend you not save all your critiques until the end of the semester, when you will be busy with papers and studying for finals.
Where do I submit my fine arts critiques?
Submit your critiques on the Honors Core I or Honors Core II META/Common Core D2L site. Under “Content,” there is a module labeled “fine arts events and critiques.” There you will see two separate assignments: “FINE ARTS CRITIQUES: First two of five” and “FINE ARTS CRITIQUES: Last three of five.” Upload your first two critiques in the first assignment (ideally in the first half of the semester) and your remaining three critiques in the second assignment.
Why do I have to do this? What’s the point?
One of the great joys of living in a university community is that the fine arts are available in abundance. Here at IUP, we are blessed with strong and active departments in art, music, and theater/dance. In addition to excellent campus talent, major national and even international performers come to IUP each semester. Unless you eventually end up living in a major city, the lively arts may be more available to you now than they will be at any other time in your life. (This doesn’t even consider the fact that city ticket prices can easily be 10 times those on campus.)
We know that many of you would immerse yourselves in IUP’s cultural life without any encouragement at all from the faculty. But we also know how easy it is to become so engrossed in your individual pursuits that you do nothing else, and the arts get lost amid the hectic pace of life. Because we know that some of you will underestimate how important the arts are for your lives, and because others will, despite good intentions, think themselves too busy, Honors Core includes some intentional pressure for attendance.
Additionally, attending these events will help you socially:
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Find your people: Joining arts events or creative activities makes it easier to connect with clubs, organizations, and new friend groups on campus.
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Build your support system: Arts involvement is linked with stronger emotional support—the kind you’ll want when adjusting to college life.
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Stay connected: Going to shows and exhibits keeps you communicating with friends, peers, and other attendees.
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Strengthen your social life: Arts activities naturally bring people together, giving you more chances to hang out and form lasting friendships.
Source: New Research Explores Arts, Engagement and Social Connectedness
Why do I have to write about fine arts events? Why can’t I just attend them?
Writing a fine arts critique pushes you to be an active instead of a passive viewer/listener at the events you attend. You are much more likely to have a meaningful experience if you need to pay attention not just to the event but to your response to it and how it impacts you. Additionally, research shows that the type of self-reflection required by fine arts critique leads to important metacognition—an awareness of your own thought processes—that stimulates learning and improves decision-making and problem-solving.
How do I find fine arts events? How do I pick which ones to attend?
The CHC Director and your unit professors may regularly announce or post on the D2L honors core META site upcoming arts events on campus and in the community. You should also check the IUP Lively Arts events page and the IUP music events calendar.
Beyond identifying events that fit your class, work, and volunteer schedules, we recommend selecting a mix of different types of arts events, e.g., music concerts, theatrical productions, art exhibitions, visiting performers, etc. Get out of your comfort zone and go see something new or something you don’t know that much about! You can also coordinate with your peers to attend events together.
What should I do in my fine arts critique?
The specifics of what you write about in each critique are, for the most part, up to you and should depend upon your own unique experience at the event. But, generally, each critique should
- clearly identify and describe the event you attended;
- explain what you think the event/performance is trying to accomplish and how it seeks to communicate its message(s) through art;
- articulate your reaction to that event (this might include your analysis of its structure and/or content, how it made you feel intellectually and emotionally, which parts or elements spoke to you most and why, why you enjoyed or didn’t enjoy the event, why you think the event was important or timely, etc.);
- and describe what you found striking, confusing, exciting, unique, unusual, etc. about the event.
Doing these four things will help ensure that you go beyond mere description. We also encourage you to attend events with your peers and discuss the events together afterward.
How long does my critique need to be?
Approximately 500 words, though you are welcome to write more.
How will my fine arts critiques be evaluated?
Your critiques will be evaluated based on completeness—A) meeting the minimum word count and content expectations for each critique and B) submitting five critiques per semester—as well as the content of your critiques, each of which should demonstrate an appropriate level of critical engagement and self-reflection. The details of evaluation may vary from professor to professor, so speak to your Unit A or Unit C professor for specifics of what they’re looking for and if they have any specific or additional expectations.
Students who fail to submit the required number of fine arts critiques will have their overall grade average (the average of their two units) reduced 2 percent per missing critique. Additionally, plagiarized fine arts critiques, including reusing a fine arts critique from a previous semester or other class and lifting direct quotes from programs or reviews without citation, will be treated as a missing critique with the same grade penalty and students will be required to sign off on a documented agreement about this academic integrity violation that will be filed with the Provost’s Office.
Are there any sample critiques that I can look at?
Here’s one from spring 2026:
Cultural Presentation of Japanese Drumming
I’d like to start by saying that I was brought to tears multiple times during this performance. I went originally with the task of ushering for service hours and honestly was not planning on staying. I am SO happy that I decided to stay. The experience was called Peaceful Forest, and it was a family of a dad performing with his sons. Some of my friends and I spoke after the show about how each son had their own part during some of the songs. Of course, they played every song, but they each also had a solo and that’s what we found so special. We mentioned how the dad looked at them so full of pride and happiness when the audience would cheer for his boys, I was emotional.
I thought it was such a beautiful experience and even more so that IUP had them on campus. They had performed for the emperor and were honored across multiple areas, so I was taking it as a blessing that I got to experience their culture and work. A blessing, that I could feel their music, and I could feel their love. To sit and hear the music of their culture, with instruments that we are so often ignorant to, I was in awe. The emotion that filled the room was felt by everyone. Every time you look around you could see others with their jaws dropped as well as tears in their eyes. There was so much vulnerability in the room, which is such a weird feeling to describe. The music was awkward in a way that flowed together and made my soul vibrate. I know it’s dramatic, fully aware, but I had never had the opportunity to appreciate a culture until it was put in front of me there.
It makes me so grateful that I chose IUP and have found a community that isn’t close-minded. To be in a room and cry about the beauty in appreciating a culture, surrounded by those who are doing the same, I am blessed. There was a part near the end of the performance where the father played on the wooden wind instrument, and the children dressed in a “costume” representation of a spirit that brings them good blessings. They danced around the room in the dragon like draping and put the audience members' heads rested in the open mouth. They were playing their song oof blessing and bringing safety and happiness to those who were comfortable on the isles. The joy that filled the room is something I wish I could recreate for you reading this.
I wondered about how others were feeling and if they were truly as touched as I was. I cannot even begin to fully describe the way that the songs sounded or the pure power behind every beat and every movement. Just the fact that we were all watching a proud father teach his sons and play with them as equals while their loving mother watched, it was stunning. The respect that they had for the US, those watching them create their ART, i was humbled by them. Yet they took no credit for how brilliant they were, only sharing that they had a dream to play across the entire 50 states. It was free, so of course I bought a shirt for a 20-dollar donation! My soul was impacted by the experience, and it was free. Of course I was going to support their dreams. I would absolutely do it again with excitement, and I hope that one day I am fortunate enough to be able to.