final project 1 selection of the topic

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This part of the final project is your choice of theme.

FINAL PROJECT. For your final project, you will choose a theme, find three expressions of that theme in three differenthumanities disciplines. You will then describe the three different presentations, and offer an analysis and reflection.

This assignment takes place in stages. In Part I, you must identify a theme you would like to examine (see below). 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 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.

Part 1: Selection of Topic.

This part of the final project is your choice of topic.

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” maybe mistaken identities). Explain at least two reasons for your choice in 3-6 sentences. Relate the significance to the humanities and/or the way you perceive the world around you. 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.
  • 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 — e.g. Mary (mother of Jesus), Eve, Artemis Goddess or the Hunt, 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, implications of icon status, might makes right, survival of the fittest).
  • 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).
  • 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 two reasons for your choice in a short paragraph of 4-5 sentences. Be sure to include the significance of your choice to your own thinking about the world and/or its cultural significance.

Due Date for Part 1: This submission is due during Week 3, with the final day of submission being the Sunday of the third week (11:30pm ET), but it is extended to the Tuesday 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 standard use of English.