World Studies I

Cultural Artifact Project

Mission – Investigate a work from World History

Overview:

Select a piece of art, philosophy, or literature from a period of World History. Your task is to research the following about your artifact and analyze its significance through a third person informational paper that states your overall argument about your chosen piece:

  1. Author/Artist: Author or artist’s involvement in society and author’s purpose
  2. Historical Context: Time period
  3. Influences: from the past or upon the present period
  4. Analysis of the artifact: Basic elements of the work (e.g. – what it looks like, how is it organized), message or theme of the work
  5. Values of the time: What values of the time period are present here? What do they mean?

Project Steps

  1. History: Choose a piece of art, a philosophical work, or a piece of literature (see teacher for suggested works)
  2. English: Review research skills -- notecards, note-taking (summarizing, paraphrasing, direct quotes), MLA format, parenthetical citations, works cited page
  3. English: Research the historical context and background of your piece.
  4. Document and organize facts onto note cards. Each note card must contain only one fact with the complete reference provided. A minimum of 20 note cards is required.
  5. English: Develop an outline of the paper including the above
  6. History: Write a rough draft & works cited page
  7. One copy of your rough draft and works cited will be turned into your history teacher for content revision
  8. The paper should be 3-5 pages in length
  9. All information from sources must be cited
  10. MLA Format (i.e. typed, double-spaced, 1” margins, 12-point Times New Roman)
  11. History: Re-write the paper into a final draft(include rough draft and works cited page for full credit)

Works Cited

  • A minimum of 4 different sources must be used
  • Book, journal/magazine/newspaper, and internet must all be used
  • Journal/magazine/newspaper articles on-line from a hard copy source are acceptable
  • All sources must be verifiable – accurate and authentic
  • A Works Cited page must accompany the rough and final drafts

Revised 02.14.2012

Assignment Deadlines

Topic SelectionHistory/5 pts February 22nd

Sources 1 & 2 NotecardsEnglish/ 10 pts March 1st

Sources 3 & 4 NotecardsEnglish/10 pts March 8th

Outline & Works CitedEnglish/30 pts March 11th

Rough Draft to HistoryHistory/100 pts March 22nd

Final Draft (with revised works cited) History/75 pts April 23rd

with rough draft & works cited included

Suggested Works

Use the list below, see your teacher for suggestions, or find a work of your own and get the teacher’s approval.

Plagiarism

  • All projects will be submitted to and will not be given credit for the assignment until received.
  • Any work that is plagiarized will receive a zero.
  • Plagiarism is defined as using another’s work without quotation or citation.
  • If you use someone else’s ideas, reference where you found the information.

Disclaimer

  • Failure to meet the due dates will result in a lower grade
  • Failure to follow directions will result in a lower grade
  • All 9th grade English and History teachers are available to help with the project
  • The Library is available for your use during library hours
  • You may access the online database for research from any computer. Go to the library web site. Click on “Library/Research Tools” then click on “Database”

Artists / Authors
Da Vinci Picasso
Michelangelo Monet
Durer Di Bondone
Raphael Velazquez
Titian De Goya
Brunelleschi Van Gogh
Bosch Francesca
Botticelli Poussin
Donatello Delacroix
Masaccio Uccello
Mantegna El Greco
Van Eyck Van Der Weyden
Altdorfer Gentileschi
Holbein Martini / Shakespeare
Petrarch
Montaigne
Castiglione
Machiavelli
Erasmus
Alighieri

Revised 02.14.2012