As we discussed in class, you have several choices for your final project!

First you need to choose whether you want to work in a group or individually.  If a group, please keep the size of the group at 4 people or less.

Then you need to choose:

  1. One work of art (performances count, of course) that we saw or talked about in class
  2. One theme or topic or idea that we talked about in connection with that work of art
  3. One work of art (again, performances count) that we did not see or talk about in class

For the project itself, you need to compare and integrate the three choices you made above.  How does the art work with the theme? How does the content fit the medium?  How would audiences or viewers perceive these differently?  And any other questions that come to mind.

In choosing the style or format of the project, again you have choices.  You can choose:

  1. A paper.  You all know how to write papers, but please in this paper, let us see more of your creative or unique personal style.
  2. A video.  If you decide to make a video, you have two further choices.  You can either
    1. Make a Smarthistory style video, where you record a conversation with your group about the art and the theme, and then edit and illustrate that conversation with images to make the video.
    2. Make a video with other people–not just those in this class, but friends, relatives, strangers, professors, co-workers, anyone–responding to the art you chose.  Then here, too, show us images to illustrate what they say.
  3. A creative work.  Make a painting.  Or a photo essay.  Or a play or a short story or a sculpture or a dance or piece of music.  Your new creative work should address the theme or topic and refer to the art, if possible.  Find some way to share it with the class, too!
  4. An exam. Write a final exam (just the questions, not the answers) that you think would be a good strong thought-provoking final examination for this class. Use different types of questions and make it a good hour-long challenging test.

No matter which of the above you choose, you must also include:

  1. A cover letter!  This should be a letter to me (a page or so) explaining why you made the choices you made, and how the process went for you.  What made this assignment a good one (or a bad one)? Did you do some deep thinking at any point? Did you find any surprises? This is a letter about your process and your choices.