Term Project Guidelines – Virtual Humanities.
Term Project Guidelines – Virtual Humanities.
Overview
This Term Project is designed to teach you how to seek out and enjoy the humanities in a virtual world and to understand the benefits of the humanities, particularly in time of crisis (such as the current pandemic we are living through). For this project, students will research and report on the benefits of studying/experiencing the humanities and will put these benefits to work by designing their own virtual experience. Experiences might include:
- Taking a virtual tour of one of the world’s top art galleries
- Visiting (virtually) one of the greatest cultural museums
- Experiencing unique art from around the world
- Listening to a classical concert
- Virtually attending a play, ballet, or opera
Students should spend at least one hour engaged in their online experience. A list of suggestions is posted to the Term Project Module in Canvas. Students can also make their own suggestions via email. Students will describe and analyze the experience in a well-written paper. This project also requires academic research about the benefits of the arts/humanities.
Logistics
Term Project Topics – Due October 4th
Students will submit their topics to the Term Project Topic discussion board in Canvas (see Term Project Module). The topic assignment should include a description of the experience you have planned and a brief history of the site. For example, if you are planning to take a virtual tour of the Louvre Museum in Paris, provide details about the Museum – when did it open, what is the history of the museum, what is in the collection, what does the site offer virtually, what are you most looking forward to learning in the experience, etc.? Finally, provide the web address for the virtual tour. Make sure that you are exploring the actual site. For example, visit the Louvre Museum’s website for a virtual tour and not a Google slides tour. Be sure to check my comments after the submission deadline for approval.
Term Project Guidelines – Virtual Humanities.
The final project will be a 3-4 page paper that includes research (at least 2 sources) about the benefits of studying/experiencing the Humanities as well as a description of your own virtual humanities experience. Research should be academic and college-level (feel free to run websites/news articles by me in advance for approval or use articles from the library databases). You can also reach out to our librarians for help! Link is in the Module. When writing about your experience, be sure to address the following:
- Basic factual information about your virtual experience (What was it? Where can I find it? What did you experience?). Provide a link to your experience.
- Select 2-3 specific works/moments to describe in detail to “show” the experience to your reader. Include 2-3 images of your favorite works/moments from the experience.
- Your “gut” response. Did you like it or not and why? What was the experience like? How does this compare to being about to have a live experience in person?
- Your rational response. What did you notice about the performance or event that might be related to our course? Do you feel like you had more of an appreciation for the event after taking this course, or about the same? Do you think you will continue to attend cultural events (virtual or in person)even after this course?
Paper Details:
You may organize your paper as you wish, but it must include the following:
- 3-4 pages of writing (that is, 3-4 pages not including the header, works cited, or images)
- MLA paper and citation formatting (see MLA guidelines for rules about font, spacing, etc.) Link is in Term Project Module in Canvas
- At least two cited sources (scholarly and college-level) about the benefits of the arts/humanities with BOTH in-text citations AND a Works Cited page.
The final term project (paper) is due at 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, November 29, 2020. Students are encouraged to prepare a draft for review in advance of the deadline. You may submit your draft to Smartthinking Online Tutoring (link in Canvas), a writing tutor at TCC’s Learning Commons, or directly to me. If you wish to submit to me to review, please email me your draft no later than Friday, November 13th. Please upload your final paper to the correct link in the Term Project Module. The link is enabled with TurnItIn, which will generate an originality report to verify that your work is your own. After you have submitted your work, double check your submission to make sure it uploaded properly. I will not accept late work for this assignment for any reason, including failure to upload the correct file or inability to open an uploaded file. Again, double check your submission!
Grading and Checklist
This assignment will be graded out of 100 points and counts for 20% of your overall grade. Use the following grading rubric to see how I will assess this assignment:
| Category | Points Rubric | Total Points Possible |
| Project Pitch | Did the student submit a potential topic with all required parts of the pitch by the deadline? | 10 |
| Information Literacy | Information Literacy
· Accessing: How well does the student locate or gather the pertinent information requisite for mastering the subject matter? (5) · Evaluation: How well does the student determine or judge that the information presented is reliable, relevant, timely and authoritative? (5) · Effective Utilization: How well does the student utilize the information to accomplish his/her task? (5) · Ethical and Legal Utilization: How well does the student quote, cite, and paraphrase his/her sources? (5) |
20 |
| Critical Thinking and Cultural Connections | Critical Thinking
· Following the Argument: How well does the student logically transition from one point to another? (10) · Opinions and Conclusion: How well does the student defend or rationalize resolutions? (10) Global/Cultural · Illustrations/Connections: How well does the student assess arguments or points of view? (10) · Analysis and Evaluation: How well does the student exemplify and relate the subject matter to other areas [specifically course material]? (10) |
40 |
| Logistics | Written Communication
· Thesis: How well does the student state and support the project’s primary concern? (10) · Organization: How well does the student structure the project? (10) · Mechanics: How well does the student employ grammar and syntax? (10) |
30 |
| 100 |
Checklist: Please conduct a self-assessment before submitting your work.
- My research article(s) comes from a college-level, reliable, academic source (No encyclopedias, personal blogs, website with unverified author, marketing website, etc.).
- My project includes all required parts of the assignment.
- My project includes both in-text citations as well as a Works Cited page.
- My project uses guidelines from the Modern Language Association (MLA) for both citations and formatting.
- My work has been proofed and edited by me and (ideally) one other person.
- I know where to submit my project online.
- I know the deadline for submission and understand that late work is not permitted in this course.
Term Project Guidelines – Virtual Humanities.
