Humanities Midterm Exam
Interdisciplinary Essay Question
2010-2011
We are commissioning a "Museum of Wonder." Each of you is a curator/designer submitting a proposal for the first room
that visitors would enter. This room will be devoted to one of the essential questions of the course—see your choices
listed in the space below. Therefore, you should be presenting a proposal, with rationale, that you think will be
tremendously exciting and inspiring to visitors, and will truly get them "wondering" about the essential question you
choose. Expense is no concern. Assume that you can design the space however you wish and however you think will be
most effective, emotionally moving, and intellectually engaging. Sounds, texts, as well as any and all sorts of visual art
should be part of your "palette." If you want to specify that a certain piece of literature is being read aloud to visitors as
they enter, or that particular musical compositions play on headphones for the visitor, please do so: you are encouraged to
be as creative and innovative as possible. Don't worry about how you'll obtain particular works of visual art, be they
sculptures or a certain room or a very famous painting: we'll take care of those practical details later.
Essential Questions (choose one to use for your room)
• Where do we come from? What are we? Where are we going?
• What makes us human?
• How can works from different mediums illuminate one another?
• How have notions of beauty changed over time?
• How have both innovations and scientific, technological, & geographical discoveries impacted the arts at various
times?
• In what ways do artists convey cosmic implications in their works?
Requirements:
 You must include 7-9 works in your room, 2-3 from each area (visual art, music, literature).
 You may choose only from works included in your packets, texts, or on the Humanities webpage. You should use
quotations or short passages from the texts rather than entire works. (Copies of the texts we have used will be
available for sign-out in the library.)
 You should develop a full rationale in line with your essential question for inclusion of each work you choose.
Explain your choices and describe the effects you hope your choices will have on the visitors to our "Museum of
Wonder." Your rationale should demonstrate a real depth of understanding of the essential question, the pieces
you choose and the ways in which you juxtapose them and make connections among them.
 You may, if you wish, include a floor plan and/or other supporting diagrams.
 Length is 3 to 3-1/2 pages D O U B LE S P AC E D .
Level 5 vs. 4:
 Required for level 5 is a floor plan of your museum.
 Optional for level 4 is a floor plan of your museum—this could earn you up to five extra-credit points on the
exam.
 Optional for both levels are other supporting diagrams.
Due Date: A hard copy must be placed in the folder outside Ms. Sallee’s office by 3:00 p.m. on the day of the exam.
Consult our webpage later this week and early next week. We will post a rubric and additional pointers, both for the
exam and this essay.