Analysis of Cultural Artifacts.
Description Directions: You will write two of these analysis papers over the course of this session. Each assignment needs to take ONE cultural artifact and analyze it as an archeologist would. You will find the information in the Introductory Module regarding writing research papers useful in helping you analyze. You must analyze at least two of the following types of cultural artifacts. Do not write about multiple artifacts. Choose one artifact to analyze. For example, for one paper you may write an analysis of a piece of architecture from ancient times. For your second paper, you may choose to analyze a piece of art from the Renaissance. Architecture (buildings, churches, monuments, tombs, etc.) Art (paintings, murals, frescos, sculptures, stained glass, etc. Literature/Music (creative works: musical compositions, poetry, plays, stories, etc.) Treatises (written non-fiction documents on Religion, Philosophy, History, etc.) Each analysis should come from a different era or period covered in the readings and viewings. You can finish these in any order you wish, but you must fulfill the breadth requirements in terms of types of artifacts and eras. You must write on artifacts from two different eras. Your analysis needs to look at the cultural artifact as an archeologist would, analyzing what it means and how it reflects the cultural values from the era and society in which it was made. Each analysis must include the following sections: A detailed description of the cultural artifact: what it looks like, how it is put together, how it was made. Some background of the culture that produced the artifact. Your emphasis is on what the artifact tells us about the culture, not on what course materials or some other history book tells you about the artifact. A well-argued analysis of what the work tell us about the culture from which it arose using details from the artifact and known information about the culture. You must also use a scholarly article to discuss other theories about the artifact and what it tells us about the culture that created it. Consider what the significance of the work was for the people who first saw/heard/read it. You must include outside research on each of your Analysis papers. Forbidden Sources: DO NOT USE dictionaries, Wikipedia/Wikis of any kind, or study sites like gradesavers, cliffsnotes, sparknotes, etc. Do not use sources designed for students or teachers in grades K-12 on historical eras, the artifacts, or the cultures. Appropriate Sources: Scholarly Sources: For your analysis, you must use scholarly sources from legitimate academic journals. A journal is a magazine for scholars. They produce articles on a number of topics. You must use the JSTOR or other academic database from TMCC’s library for your scholarly source. You only need two scholarly sources (in addition to citing the work itself) for each analysis. Sources that Present your Artifact in More Detail: You may also use a source to allow you to look in more detail at the cultural artifact you are discussing. Quite a few of the artifacts mentioned in your course materials are not mentioned in enough detail. A source that looks at the details will help you do your assignment better. Legitimate sources for the artifacts could include a tourist site for architecture, or an online museum site for a piece of art Literature, Music and Treatises of ancient works can often be found online at museum, college/university websites, and other scholarly locations. Do not resort to forbidden sources for this especially Wikis or K-12 resources.