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humanities
Description
HUMN 100 Final Project
Choose topic unsure of what I am interested in writing about
For your final project, you will choose a subject, find three expressions of that subject in three different Humanities disciplines, describe the three different presentations, and offer an analysis of each of your choices.
This assignment takes place in stages. In Part I, you must identify a theme (see below) along with one piece that expresses this theme. Be sure to read feedback from your instructor to make sure your theme is approved as a suitable topic. Then, in Part 2, you will develop an introduction and find 3 examples of various works of the humanities that express your theme. Finally, in Part 3, you will research your theme and expressions and write an extensive essay, analyzing the works with relation to the theme.
For example, you may choose to examine the theme of artificial intelligence by analyzing the play “R.U.R.” by Karel Capek, Stanley Kubrick’s film “2001: A Space Odyssey,” and the painting “The City Rises” by Boccioni. Or, you could delve into the theme of light & dark with the ballet “Swan Lake,” C.S. Lewis’s novel “The Last Battle,” and Caravaggio’s painting “Judith Beheading Holofernes.”
The skills you need for this assignment will be developed and practiced in discussions and other assignments throughout the term. For Part1 be sure to carefully read about Theme in Week 4 course materials.
You will explore new resources for this assignment, and also utilize what you’ve learned in the course.
You will apply concepts and skills you learn in the class to three different humanities works
Although Part 1 and Part 2 are not as heavily weighted as Part 3, they are important to help you develop your ideas (and required). Be sure to check feedback, so I can offer guidance as you work on the project.
Due Dates
Part 1: Selection of Topic due at the end of Week 3 (extended to mid-Week 4, so students can read on Theme)
Part 2: Development of your topic due at the end of Week 6
Part 3: Paper due at the end of Week 8
Purpose
The purpose of this assignment is to apply the concepts and skills you have learned during the semester for how to analyze works within the Humanities.
Skills
This assignment will help you practice the following skills that will be useful to you in your professional and personal life beyond school.
Research, select, and describe appropriate examples and supporting material
Organize materials in relation to a specific theme
Use concepts and skills learned in class to develop analytical skills
Use appropriate and proper grammar, language, voice, tone, organization, structure and academic-style formatting in order to communicate
Knowledge
This assignment will help you become familiar with the following important content knowledge in the Humanities.
Available online resources which contain examples of works in the Humanities
Methods of analysis and interpretation within the Humanities
Part 1: Selection of Topic.
This part of the final project is your choice of theme and identification of one piece that expresses that theme.
Choose a theme based on the following suggestions, or propose one of your own. Try to derive a specific theme (eg instead of “love” which is very broad, try sacrificial love or unrequited love or agape love, or instead of “confusion” which is vague, try mistaken identities or another more specific theme). Explain the reasoning for this theme choice and apply it to a piece in 3-6 sentences. Relate the significance to the humanities or human experience. Identify a piece that utilizes this theme and explain how the theme is expressed in the piece. Remember, a theme is not just a topic — it is a universal but specific idea that weaves throughout a piece. Some examples of theme:
A particular emotion or state of mind—unrequited love, blinding jealousy, fear of technology, haste in passion etc.
A fairy tale, myth, fable, Biblical or classic story that recurs in other works of humanities as a theme (e.g. the themes of “Cinderella” (rags to riches) and “The Prince and the Pauper” (swapping rich/poor identities), the Fox and the Grapes (or any of AEsop’s fables), parable of the Prodigal son, can be found in many stories, plays, art works and films
A religious or spiritual lesson or moral —”the last shall be first”, hope in poverty, enlightenment, “blessed are the meek,” (anything from Sermon on the Mount or various religious proverbs should be suitable), prudence or something more specific like a certain parable (or an aspect like “the seed planted among the thorns”) or moral etc.
A political or social theme–justice and injustice (eg. Racial inequality in justice), social inequality (eg. prejudice towards immigrants by previous generations of immigrants), social progress, political conflict, etc. If choosing a theme in this area, be careful not to advocate or try to solve problems — we are analyzing how a theme is expressed, not debating or solving.
A Representation of gender (eg. women as Eve or women as Mary, woman in traditional male roles, the “perfect” housewife, patriarchal pushback, machismo, etc), race (eg. racial identity, mixed race, African and American), or ethnicity
A character or charcater type — e.g. Mary (mother of Jesus), Eve, Artemis Goddess or the Hunt, the outlaw hero, Ares God of War, Alice in Wonderland, etc. You will want to choose a character so renowned as to have a ideological quality. For example, I attended an art exhibit with the title “Eva/Ave” — it featured different paintings of women as either deceitful (Eve) or pious (Ave). The paintings were not literal representations (see above in Representation of Gender).
A state of order (eg. order in chaos, order vs. chaos, beauty in chaos, order as representative of oppression)
A social/power status (eg. Enlighted aristocracy, populism, might makes right, the feminine mystique, survival of the fittest, outward image of perfection of American suburbia, bias against immigrants, nationalism, wealth and decadence).
Natural forces or elements of the natural world, like weather, animals, landscapes, etc. (eg. Sublime – beauty in force of nature, expressions of flight, water as rebirth, entropy in nature).
Cultural/Stylistic themes: Wild West in Outer Space, steampunk/industrial age, 1920s mentality of carefree and credit, immigrant working life, hippy culture, disco fever, Valley girls etc
Relationships — (mother/daughter-in-law antagonism, father-son relationship in non family members, mean girls, peer pressure, perfect mother stereotype, abuse, etc)
Images – light/dark, specific symbols, representative colors, fragmentation, deconstruction, entropy, etc.
Explain support for the theme by relating it to the humanities or human condition, identifying a piece that expresses the theme and explaining how the theme is expressed in the piece. This should be a paragraph of 4-6 sentences.
Due Date for Part 1: This submission is due during Week 3, with the final day of submission being the Tuesday of the third week (11:30pm ET), but it is extended to the Friday of Week 4 for a better understanding of theme. Please see the Course Schedule for the exact final due date for this submission. The submission should be carefully edited and proofed for higher ed caliber writing, including structure, grammar, punctuation and word choice/usage.
Part 2: Development of your Topic.
This part of the final project is a summary of your ongoing work on the final paper; it should include an introductory paragraph and three supporting paragraphs, one covering each selected work.
In an introduction, develop a hook to draw the reader into your work. Then, identify the theme you chose in Part 1, express how it is significant to the humanities and preview how appears in three different works. Then develop a paragraph for each piece — each from a different Humanities discipline (visual art, music, dance, poetry, prose, theater, film, opera) — outlining how the piece expresses the theme and providing one specific supporting example from the piece. For instance, you could choose a poem, a painting and a scene from a film, all of which express and represent the theme of brotherly love. Or, to be even more specific, you may choose to examine the theme of artificial intelligence by analyzing the play “R.U.R.” by Karel Capek, Stanley Kubrick’s film “2001: A Space Odyssey,” and the painting “The City Rises” by Boccioni. Or, you could delve into the theme of light & dark with the ballet “Swan Lake,” C.S. Lewis’s novel “The Last Battle,” and Caravaggio’s painting “Judith Beheading Holofernes.”
Write an introduction in which you:
employ a hook to draw the reader in
introduce the theme and its relation to the humanities
support the worth of studying the theme
preview the 3 expressions.
Write three supporting paragraphs — one paragraph (4-7 sentences) about each of your selections in which you:
Identify reliable and appropriate representations (published and established works of critical acclaim, an image from the gallery in which the original work is housed, recording of a play, video, etc.) of the theme. Avoid self-published pieces. In order to research effectively for Part 3, you will need a published piece with published criticism/research.
Explain how each selection expresses the theme and provide one specific example from the piece to support.
Apply at least one relevant interpretive tool/concept from our class materials for each example towards the theme.
Cite the source (utilizing proper MLA citation format), including the full bibliographic information as well as where the representation was accessed. Be sure to cite the actual source: eg, youtube is not a source, it is a medium, where the representation was accessed. If accessing a film or song, cite the title/artist/publisher/etc and reference youtube as access point. See the note in MLA source about accessing via Netflix, Hulu et al. Also, IMDB is NOT a source — it is a database. Find and cite the actual film if using a film. More info on citing art and performances can be found at: https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/mla_style/mla_formatting_and_style_guide/mla_works_cited_other_common_sources.html
Due Date for Part 2: This submission is due during Week 6, with the final day of submission being the Tuesday of the sixth week (11:30pm ET). Please see the Course Schedule for the exact final due date for this submission. The submission should be carefully edited and proofed for academic writing level appropriate for higher ed.
Part 3: Paper.
This part of the final project is the paper that presents your description and analysis of your selected works.
In a 800-1300 word essay:
Introduce and explain the theme
Relate its worth to the Humanities
Describe each of selected example, citing sources
Use specific interpretive concepts/tools from the course to explain how each of the selected examples relates to the theme. (Do not cite class material on concepts/tools).
Assess the effectiveness or impact of each representation utilizing additional research. In other words, how well did the representation present the concept? How effective was it in expressing the theme? What impact did this representation have? What specific elements of the representation support the expression of the theme? Utilize, specific examples, class concepts and research to support your assessment. Cite relevant research in text.
Craft your submission in academic essay format — include an introduction and conclusion, develop ideas, transition between ideas, write in 3rd person voice, express ideas in well composed sentences, utilize relevant and accurate vocabulary.
Include at least one primary source (expression itself) for each of the 3 expressions and one additional critical source for each of the 3 expressions (minimum 6 sources total). Wikipedia, blogs, self published pages & free upload sites like youtube are NOT credible sources. (Youtube may be viable if it is displaying a published entity or supported by a published entity, eg. National Theatre videos on language in Shakespeare). Avoid notes sites (enotes, Sparknotes etc) and most .com sites (unless you are sure it meets higher ed level). Bypass dictionaries and most encyclopedias (unless subject specific) — these are too general for this level of learning. Also, do not cite general class sources for interpretive tools. Do cite relevant information specific to each example from your research. In doubt about sources? Ask a Librarian!
Provide proper citations for any references in MLA format.