Project choices/Ideas/Requirements
HUMANITIES RESEARCH PAPER
#1 Create a Self Portrait
 Analyze a piece of art, music, and literature
that comes from your own cultural/ethnic
background (Irish, German, English, Jewish,
Arab, African-American, etc.)
“Daily Bread”
What info do I need?
 Aspects of culture/ethnic/background
 Values and Myths expressed in history of pict
 Identify Area geographically and historically
Info
In 1918 in the town of Bovey, Minnesota Eric
Enstorm took a photo of Charles Wilden sitting
at a small table in prayer. As soon as the negative
was developed, Enstrom was sure he had
something special... a picture that seemed to
say, This man doesn't have much of earthly
goods, but he has more than most people
because he has a thankful heart. Today
Enstrom's picture GRACE, is known and loved
throughout the world. Also known as Give Us
This Day Our Daily Bread and as The Old Man
Praying At The Dinner Table. (wesellart.com)
#2.
Conduct a Film Analysis
 Using the information on cinema that is presented in
your textbook reading, choose a film to view and
analyze. Please obtain your instructor's approval
of the film before you start your research.
 For instance, you could discuss how Spartacus
displays the conflict between authority and
individual freedom in the film. Another option would
be to discuss the roaring twenties background of the
Great Gatsby and how this film depicts the era.
Other film choices might beTroy, The Gladiator, High
Noon, The Maltese Falcon, Casablanca, Citizen Kane,
Seven Samurai, Apocalypse Now, or The Aviator.
What info do I need
 1. Aspects of the film: cinematography,
scriptwriting, sound, direction, etc.
 2. Unique background information
 3. Themes? How did film affect people?
 4. Features of the genre that the film
represents
Crash
Los Angeles citizens with vastly
separate lives collide in
interweaving stories of race, loss
and redemption.
Won 3 Oscars, including Best
Picture.
Figures heavily into Humanities
with a view to empathy, even for
people who are not very likable.
#3. Research an architect,
sculptor, scientist, or
writer
 Write a research paper that analyzes the
person's importance to the Humanities in the
historical and cultural context in which the work
appears.
 Some options include Leonardo da Vinci,
Michelangelo, Frank Lloyd Wright, Albert Einstein,
Sophocles, Shakespeare, William Blake, Samuel
Beckett, George Bernard Shaw, Eugene O'Neill,
Langston Hughes, Emily Dickinson, Ernest
Hemingway, and others. (Check your textbook for
more ideas.)
Frank Lloyd Wright
Wright believed in designing
structures which were in
harmony with humanity and
its environment, a
philosophy he called organic
architecture. This philosophy
was best exemplified by his
design for Fallingwater
(1935), which has been
called "the best all-time
work of American
architecture".[1] Wright was a
leader of the Prairie School
movement of architecture
and developed the concept
of the Usonian home, his
unique vision for urban
planning in the United
States.
Fallingwater House by
Frank Lloyd Wright
What Info do I need?
1.
What struggles did the individual face?
2.
What level of acclaim did this person achieve?
3.
What contributions did this persona make to
his/her field and why should he/she still be
studied?
4.
Describe two-three of his/her works.
#4. Write a philosophy
paper
 Do a research analysis paper on one philosopher,
such as Plato, Aristotle, Nietzsche, John Stuart Mill,
Rousseau, or Kierkegaard. Summarize the
philosopher's main contribution to the history of
thought and then focus on one thought or idea of
the philosopher to expound. (Choose one essay or an
excerpt of sentences from a larger work.) Consider
the information that you learned in your class
readings, and analyze the influence, significance,
and following that your philosopher has obtained.
Be sure to include your own thoughts about what
your philosopher is saying, especially in relation to
the Humanities.
Choose a philosopher
 Wikipedia List of Philosophers by subject
area:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_philosop
hers
What information do you
need?
 1. Summarize the main contribution to the
history of thought and then focus on one
thought/idea to expound on
 What was the influence of this idea?
 Include your own thoughts in relation to the
Humanities.
Adrienne Rich
The 1960s began a period of change in Rich's life: she
received the National Institute of Arts and Letters award
(1960), her second Guggenheim Fellowship to work at
the Netherlands Economic Institute (1961), and the
Bollingen Foundation grant for the translation of Dutch
poetry (1962). In 1963, Rich published her third
collection, Snapshots of a Daughter-in-Law, which was a
much more personal work examining her female
identity, reflecting the increasing tensions she
experienced as a wife and mother in the 1950s, marking
a substantial change in Rich's style and subject matter. In
her 1982 essay "Split at the Root: An Essay on Jewish
Identity", Rich states "The experience of motherhood
was eventually to radicalize me." The book met with
harsh reviews. She comments, "I was seen as 'bitter' and
'personal'; and to be personal was to be disqualified, and
that was very shaking because I'd really gone out on a
limb ... I realized I'd gotten slapped over the wrist, and I
didn't attempt that kind of thing again for a long time.”
(“Adrienne Rich.” Wikipedia Inc.)
5. Write about an artist
(painter).
 Discuss how his or her paintings reflect
cultural values and a certain artistic
movement. You can search the National
Gallery of Art (http://www.nga.gov) for
examples of paintings to use. Discuss at least
two to three works of art by the artist. Include
information that you learned in our class
readings regarding technique, style,
meaning, and influence of the art and the
artist.
What Info do I need?
 1. Visual Aspect
 2. Contextual Aspect
 3. Iconographic Aspect
 4. Historical Aspect
 5. Your Personal Aspect
Salvador Dali
Dalí was highly imaginative, and also
enjoyed indulging in unusual and
grandiose behavior. His eccentric
manner and attention-grabbing public
actions sometimes drew more attention
than his artwork, to the dismay of those
who held his work in high esteem, and to
the irritation of his critics.
(“Salvador Dali.” Wikipedia, Inc.)
Dali’s “Persistence of
Memory”
Paper Requirements
 4-5 pages in length, double spaced, 12 point
Times New Roman font.
 Must use a minimum of 3 sources from the
library data bases—these are found under the
“Resources” Tab.
 APA format – instructions on APA format are
also under the “Resources” tab.
 Make sure you add your own “voice” or
opinion in your paragraphs.
Due Dates for the Humanities
Paper:
 Week 3 – submit Thesis and Outline instead of
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


a “written assignment”
Week 4: Revise thesis and outline based on
instructor’s feedback. Continue research and
begin writing.
Week 7: Rough Draft is due.
Week 8: Revise and polish final
Week 9: Submit final paper