Humanities Homework Help

You will write 2 cultural experience reports this session.  You will hand in one during week 4 and the other during week 7.  After each visit, write a 500-800 word report about the visit and what you learned.  

Instructions

For each report, attend one venue from the below list.  Attend a different type of venue for your 1st and 2nd report.  

• art museum or sculpture garden
• significant or notable architectural site (if there is explanatory material there to help you understand it)
• music concert
• theater play
• poetry reading or spoken word performance
• dance performance
• religious service, ceremony or ritual for a religion very different from yours, if you practice (for instance, if you are Christian, you may not go to another Christian denomination’s service)
• other displays or performances may be acceptable. Check with your instructor for approval beforehand.

Restrictions:  The experience should be done in person. If this is impossible, contact the instructor to arrange for alternatives.  You may not report on a cultural experience from prior to this class.

Each report should include the following information. Include photos or links that help convey the information. As always, be sure to document all sources you consult in preparing your work.  

• Name and location of the museum, site, or performance event. If there is on-line information about the site or performance, include a link.
• Type of museum, site or event. For example, is it a portrait museum, a poetry slam, an outdoor Shakespeare festival performance? If you attended a performance, name the performer or the piece. Be specific about what you attended, when, and where.
• Briefly describe the general setting.
• Describe at least one aspect of the experience that you found especially interesting. For example, you might write about a particular work of art, cultural artifact, song, dance section, scene in a play, costumes or lighting, a particular actor or vocalist, etc. Explain what impressed you, and why. Your reaction can be positive or negative, as long as you offer an explanation.
• Identify and use ideas from at least 2 assigned Learning Resources to make substantive points in your essay. For example, if you visit a museum, you might talk about the relationship between a displayed art work and specific facets of assigned LRs from Week 2 on Visual Arts.  
• Reflect on the relevance–if any–of your experience to your everyday life and/or to this class.  How did the experience engage your feelings or emotions, if at all? What does this tell you about human culture, or about yourself?  Tie your experience to points from a class discussion.