Overview
We all share common experiences that can be generally classified within the major themes of art. Examples of these themes include love, mortality, identity,
truth, and beauty. The representation of these themes through various media reveals central beliefs shared by a common people. The comparison of objects
from the humanities with similar themes helps to uncover not only the uniqueness of each respective cultural artifact, but also a shared human consciousness
that transcends time and place.
Your project for this course has two parts. In Project Part One, you will complete an exploration document examining two cultural artifacts that you select,
identifying a theme common to both of them and developing a thesis statement related to the theme and artifacts. You will also identify an audience who would
be interested in your artifacts, theme, and thesis statement. In Project Part Two, you will develop a presentation for your audience. In your presentation, you
will discuss the impact of the cultural artifacts, theme, and thesis statement on both individuals and society, supporting your claims with evidence. You will also
explain how study of the humanities has impacted you both personally and professionally.
In Project Part One, you will demonstrate your mastery of the following course outcomes:
Illustrate the impact of the humanities on personal and professional experiences
Select appropriate and relevant resources in the humanities in investigating expressions of human creativity
Communicate effectively to specific audiences in examining fundamental aspects of human culture
Apply essential principles of the humanities in exploring major themes of human culture and creativity
Prompt
Choose two cultural artifacts to analyze. These artifacts may take the form of any artistic medium, such as literature, poetry, music, film, dance, painting, and
sculpture, and so on. Then, identify a common theme and compare your examples to one another as expressions of the same theme in different cultural
artifacts. Chapters 3 through 6 in the Soomo webtext will walk you through this process.
Specifically, the following critical elements must be addressed:
I. Describe the cultural artifacts that you chose. Consider questions such as these in your response: What is the name or title of the artifact? Who is the
author or artist? What is the date or time period when the artifact was created? What is the cultural location or physical setting of the artifact? In
addition, you could consider including a photograph or image of each cultural artifact, if they are visual artifacts.
II. Identify at least one common theme that will serve as the framework of your exploration document. How is the theme expressed in your artifacts?