Project name : Gun Violence in our community Exploring the Humanities Project (8-week) Assignment For class we've looked at the arts in three themes....

Project name : Gun Violence in our community

Exploring the Humanities Project (8-week)

Assignment

For class we've looked at the arts in three themes. For your project, choose your own theme for which you will post titles, web links, etc. of at least five various arts (for example, movie, literature, art, music, dance, and/or architecture) and present to the class in an inet forum the last week of class.

Themes/Topics

Choose a theme that has interest or meaning to you. Examples: family, work, military, geographic location (such as your city or state or a country that interests you), something related to a hobby or interest of yours, etc. If you want, you can narrow down your topic; for example, single parent families. If a topic is so narrow that you can't find related movies, literature, and other art forms, the topic needs to be broadened.

Each student needs his or her own theme. If two students want the same theme, whoever posted it first gets that topic, or we can work on narrowing down the theme so that topics are different. For example, if two students want to have a military-related theme, one student could focus on prisoners of war as a theme while the other can focus on adjustment upon returning home from war. See note above about topics that are too narrow, though; some adjustments might need to be made if a narrowed-down topic isn't working.

Content: Sources and Artistic Works

First, learn about your theme and the works you choose. Find at least two sources that provide background information about your theme or information about one or more of the works you selected. The works themselves are NOT sources. For example, if your topic is domestic violence, post a couple of sites that provide a definition, statistics, and other factual information that would be valuable for the class to know before they discuss the arts in that topic.

Use professional, credible sites; avoid someone's personal website or travelogue.

Ebscohost is a database that contains articles about many subjects. It can be accessed through the Iowa Central website:

• www.iowacentral.edu > quick links > Iowa Central Libraries > remote libraries > Ebscohost > select databases > search for topic > articles from a number of sources should show up

For the arts, aim for artistic works (movies, art, songs, poems, etc.) as much as possible. Popular culture movies, music, etc. are fine, but try to find something with some cultural, "artsy" value as well. You are encouraged to see movies, read literature, etc. for your topic in their entirety, but you might not have time to do all of that. Watch at least some parts of movies, skim or read parts of literature. At least know about each work and how it fits your theme. You need at least five works, and aim for a variety. It's OK to have two or three movies, but don't list five movies