1 Exploration Document 7 Exploration Document Jennifer Moore Southern New Hampshire University HUM200: Applied Humanities Benjamin Truitt June 12, 2022 The first artifact that I have chosen is Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare. It was written by Shakespeare about 1594-96 in his period of “early mastery” during the Italian Renaissance. Shakespeare wrote Romeo and Juliet to help couples appreciate their love for one another. Romeo and Juliet has a setting in Verona, Italy. Verona up until 1405 was an independent city but eventually become Venetian Republic (Pserb, Park Ridge Illinois, 2011). The second artifact that I have chosen is West Side Story the musical. The music is by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and book by Arthur Laurents. West side Story is set in the mid-1950s, in the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. Which in this era was considered a multiracial, blue collar neighborhood (Gottlieb, 2001). William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet were about two young Italian lovers who were cruelly fated to die at the hands of each other. It has been one of Shakespeare's most regularly produced works, along with Hamlet, for several centuries after his death. In popular culture, the two primary characters are now seen as archetypal examples of young loves. Romeo and Juliet's tragic love story is one in a long series of tragic tales dating back to prehistoric times. The Tragical History of Romeus and Juliet by Arthur Brooke in 1562 and Palace of Pleasure by William Painter in 1567 are both based on an Italian legend. Two of Shakespeare's most well-known characters, Mercutio and Paris, were both heavily affected by Romeo and Juliet. The play is assumed to have been composed between 1591 and 1595, and the quarto edition was first published in 1597. The text in the first quarto was poor, but subsequent editions altered it to more nearly approximate Shakespeare's original. Steven Spielberg and Tony Kushner worked together on the script for Steven Spielberg's upcoming musical drama, West Side Story, which will be published in 2021. It's the sequel to the 1957 theatrical musical of the same name, which was adapted for the second time for the big screen. In support of their roles in this film, Rachel Zegler, Ansel Elgort, Mike Faist, David Alvarez, and Rita Moreno join them. Moreno served as an executive producer for the 1961 film adaptation alongside Kushner. The image includes music by Leonard Bernstein and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. 20th Century Fox began development on the project in 2014, and Kushner began writing the script in 2017. After Spielberg's contract was signed in January 2018, casting began in September 2018. Justin Peck choreographed the dance numbers. Filming began in July 2019 in New York and New Jersey and lasted two months. West Side Story premiered at Jazz at Lincoln Center's Rose Theater in New York City on November 29, 2021, just three days after Sondheim's death. The two relics s ...

1. 1
Exploration Document 7
Exploration Document
Jennifer Moore
Southern New Hampshire University
HUM200: Applied Humanities
Benjamin Truitt
June 12, 2022
The first artifact that I have chosen is Romeo and Juliet by
William Shakespeare. It was written by Shakespeare about
1594-96 in his period of “early mastery” during the Italian
Renaissance. Shakespeare wrote Romeo and Juliet to help
couples appreciate their love for one another. Romeo and Juliet
has a setting in Verona, Italy. Verona up until 1405 was an
independent city but eventually become Venetian Republic
(Pserb, Park Ridge Illinois, 2011). The second artifact that I
have chosen is West Side Story the musical. The music is by
Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and book by
Arthur Laurents. West side Story is set in the mid-1950s, in the
Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. Which in this
era was considered a multiracial, blue collar neighborhood
(Gottlieb, 2001).
William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet were about two young
Italian lovers who were cruelly fated to die at the hands of each
other. It has been one of Shakespeare's most regularly produced
works, along with Hamlet, for several centuries after his death.
In popular culture, the two primary characters are now seen as

2. archetypal examples of young loves. Romeo and Juliet's tragic
love story is one in a long series of tragic tales dating back to
prehistoric times. The Tragical History of Romeus and Juliet by
Arthur Brooke in 1562 and Palace of Pleasure by Willi am
Painter in 1567 are both based on an Italian legend. Two of
Shakespeare's most well-known characters, Mercutio and Paris,
were both heavily affected by Romeo and Juliet. The play is
assumed to have been composed between 1591 and 1595, and
the quarto edition was first published in 1597. The text in the
first quarto was poor, but subsequent editions altered it to more
nearly approximate Shakespeare's original.
Steven Spielberg and Tony Kushner worked together on the
script for Steven Spielberg's upcoming musical drama, West
Side Story, which will be published in 2021. It's the sequel to
the 1957 theatrical musical of the same name, which was
adapted for the second time for the big screen. In support of
their roles in this film, Rachel Zegler, Ansel Elgort, Mike Faist,
David Alvarez, and Rita Moreno join them. Moreno served as an
executive producer for the 1961 film adaptation alongside
Kushner. The image includes music by Leonard Bernstein and
lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. 20th Century Fox began
development on the project in 2014, and Kushner began writing
the script in 2017. After Spielberg's contract was signed in
January 2018, casting began in September 2018. Justin Peck
choreographed the dance numbers. Filming began in July 2019
in New York and New Jersey and lasted two months. West Side
Story premiered at Jazz at Lincoln Center's Rose Theater in
New York City on November 29, 2021, just three days after
Sondheim's death.
The two relics share a common theme of love. The protagonists
in both artworks have to deal with both elements of their lives.
These people stick together to achieve a common objective.
They are depicted as inseparable, despite the difficulties they
have endured in their lives, through this example.

3. Falling in love at a young age is hard to justify to either your
parents or society. Either way no one really thinks you are in
“love” and that is it just “puppy love”. Because how can
anyone at a young age be in love or even know what love is?
Well, when I was young, my husband and I fell in love and both
sides of the family were like not. They were not having it. I
grew up in what society saw as high class and my husband grew
up in what society saw a low class. So, my parents did not see
eye to eye with how his family was living and vice versa. It was
very difficult. But I was fixing to turn the age of 18 and they
could no longer control it caused many feuds in both sides of
the family. Even though there were no deaths involved it
seemed like death when we were not speaking to any family
members, for both sides. We were excluded from both sides of
the family for quite some time, but after all our story ended up a
fairy tale and we are all together as one.
I lived in a neighborhood that had an old couple. The couple
were in their 90s and would accompany each other to the
grocery every evening. One day I confronted the couple and
asked them how long they were married. They told me they
were married and had stayed together for 66 years. They
narrated how they could not live without each other and even
explained how they were afraid of death as it would separate
each other. When the wife died, the husband fell ill and died
two weeks later. The death of the two affected much as I had
grown too close with them in their last days. This shows how
love and death are linked and how death contrasts love.
One of the professions that could be affected by love and death
is psychology therapist. This is due to the fact that
psychologists are often called upon to help clients with
emotional and psychological issues. People who have
experienced the loss of loved ones and those who have died are
among those who benefit from this service. If a counselor or
psychologist is to be successful, their knowledge of death and
love and how they connect to their client's mental and
psychological well-being can play a role.

4. One of the most resourceful humanities resources that can be
used is EDITEment which contains lesson plans under
humanities with an option for the user to select the artifacts
needed. Each of the source has an option to explore it through
the guidance of a teaching plan. In addition to JSTOR is another
resource that can be used in researching for artifacts such as
Romeo and Juliet and West Side Story. This is more efficient
because it includes articles and books that were written between
the early 1900s and the present. OmniFile Full Text Mega is an
additional useful tool. Humanities journal articles on a variety
of topics and themes, such as death and love, can be found in
this database of secondary sources.
Both artifacts demonstrate the power of love as a strategy for
overcoming adversity. Despite the fact that the objects represent
different eras of history, they both demonstrate the importance
of love as the primary approach for navigating life's obstacles
together. Literature is responsible for the inception of both
mediums. The West Side Story is also made into a film, which
captures every detail of the original novel.
As a means of raising public awareness, Romeo and Juliet was
conceived. When it came to developing strong families and
communities in this time period, love was considered an
essential ingredient. One of the reasons why West Side Story
has become so popular is because of its depiction of modern
society as defined and formed by the modern culture.
The two pieces of art are created using literature. In the first
artwork, Romeo and Juliet, the story is written as a novel which
describes the story. Also, the artwork is created as a film which
follows every detail written as piece of literature.
In the two artifacts presented in the case, the theme of love and
death are brought simultaneously throughout the play. However,
there is a major gap created on defining the role of death
throughout the play. However, there is an evidence in how death
has been used in creating clarity in the role of love between the
characters.
Thesis: Assessing the role of death as a contrasting idea of love

5. between two suitors.
An appropriate audience that can be interested in the topic
include literature scholars and students who are learning on
effective strategies to write and author books. This is because in
both cases, there is use of high level of skills in describing
characters and using common themes to create unique story line
that inspires wide base of audience.
The message can be tailored to fit the characters of scholars.
This include explaining the styles used in developing the
artifacts and how the impacts of the styles to the literature
work. This provides a more resourceful and informative
resource for the students and scholars connect with the artists
and learn ways of communicating more effectively with the
target audience.
Reference
EDSITEment (2022). Driving Excellence in Humanities
Education. https://edsitement.neh.gov/student-activities
JSTOR (2022). Explore the World’s Knowledge, Cultures and
Ideas. https://www.jstor.org/
EBSCO (2022). Humanities.
https://www.ebsco.com/products/research-databases/omnifile-
full-text-mega Atchity, K. J. (2021). Romeo and Juliet by
William Shakespeare. Salem Press Encyclopedia of Literature.
Lee, D. A. (2022). West Side Story (musical). Salem Press
Encyclopedia.
Elizabeth A. Wells. (2011). West Side Story : Cultural
Perspectives on an American Musical. Scarecrow Press.
Gottlieb, Jack. 2001. West Side Story Guide. Leonard Bernstein
Office. Retrieved on May 11, 2022 from
https://leonardbernstein.com/works/view/9/west-side-story
Pserb, Park Ridge Illinois. May 18, 2011. Why Shakespeare

6. wrote Romeo and Juliet. Retrieved on May 11, 2022 from
https://www.teenink.com/nonfiction/academic/article/3280
34/Why-Shakespeare Wrote Romeo-and
Juliet/#:~:text=Well%2C%20the%20answer%20to%20this,l
overs%20can%20find%20t emselves%20in.
Challoner, H., & Papayianni, F. (2018). Evaluating the role of
formulation in counselling psychology: A systematic
literature review. The European Journal of Counselling
Psychology, 7(1).
Somoza‐ Fernández, M., Rodríguez‐ Gairín, J. M., & Urbano,
C. (2018). Journal coverage of the emerging sources citation
index. Learned Publishing, 31(3), 199-204.

7. HUM 200 Project Part Two: Presentation Draft Guidelines
and Rubric
Overview: An effective presentation includes a summary of the
main points in the presentation slides, but the presenter adds
additional content to unpack each
point on the slides. This is where speaker notes are particularly
useful. Some presenters have the capability of memorizing the
details and being cued by the
outline in the presentation, or even speaking off the cuff.
However, for the purposes of this project, in this module, you
will draft your presentation slides, as
well as your speaker notes that will accompany the presentation
slides.
Prompt: Using the templates provided in your Soomo webtext,
draft the slides and speaker notes for your presentation. The
purpose of the speaker notes is to
fill in the details you believe are necessary to include in the
presentation in order to address the critical elements below, but
will not necessarily be included on
the presentation’s slides. Your speaker notes can either be
bulleted points for each step of your presentation or more
developed paragraphs to help you deliver
the presentation. This part is up to you; either way, these notes
should contain substantial details to address each of the
required parts of your presentation.
Specifically, the following critical elements must be addressed:
I. Provide a brief overview of your artifacts, theme, and thesis
statement. How are they situated within the domain of the
humanities?

8. II. Explain how the theme, as it is expressed in the cultural
artifacts, and thesis statement impact the audience. In other
words, how is the theme relevant
to members of the audience? Why should the audience care
about your thesis statement? Support your response with
specific examples from your
exploration document.
III. Describe the evidence from subjective and objective cultural
analyses that you have to support your conclusions about the
impact of the theme and
cultural artifacts on you personally and on your audience.
Support your response with specific examples from your
exploration document.
IV. Explain why the theme and cultural artifacts are important
to you personally. In other words, why did you select these
artifacts to study? Why did you
select your theme, especially if there are other themes that
could apply?
V. Explain how studying the humanities can give you both a
personal and professional advantage. In other words, what is the
benefit of studying the
humanities?
VI. Explain why the humanities are important to society. In
other words, what do the humanities tell us about our own
culture and experiences? How do
the humanities impact us? Support your response with specific
examples from your exploration document and your own
personal and professional
experiences.
VII. Communicate your message in a way that is tailored to
your specific audience. For instance, you could consider your

9. vocabulary, your audience’s
potential current humanities knowledge or lack thereof, and
what is specifically important to the audience.
1

10. Rubric
Guidelines for Submission: You will upload the PowerPoint file
of your presentation draft that you downloaded from Soomo to
the course submission link for
instructor grading and feedback. Please see the feedback
provided by your instructor in your SNHU course. Your
presentation should have approximately 5 to 7
slides that include speaker notes. Use current APA style
guidelines (or another format approved by your instructor) for
any potential references you would want
to include in your notes for the presentation.
Critical Elements Proficient (100%) Needs Improvement (75%)
Not Evident (0%) Value
Overview Provides brief overview of artifacts, theme,

11. and thesis statement and explains how they
are situated within the domain of the
humanities
Provides brief overview of artifacts, theme,
and thesis statement and explains how they
are situated within the domain of the
humanities but with gaps in detail or clarity
Does not provide brief overview of artifacts,
theme, and thesis statement and does not
explain how they are situated within the
domain of the humanities
13.5
Impact the
Audience
Explains how theme, as it is expressed in
cultural artifacts, and thesis statement
impact the audience, supporting response
with examples from exploration document
Explains how theme, as it is expressed in
cultural artifacts, and thesis statement impact
the audience, but with gaps in clarity, detail,
or support
Does not explain how theme, as it is expressed
in cultural artifacts, and thesis statement
impact the audience
13.5
Evidence Describes evidence from subjective and

12. objective cultural analysis that supports
conclusions about impact of theme on self
and audience, supporting response with
examples from exploration document
Describes evidence from subjective and
objective cultural analysis that supports
conclusions about impact of theme on self and
audience but with gaps in clarity, detail, or
support
Does not describe evidence from subjective
and objective cultural analysis that supports
conclusions about impact of theme on self and
audience
13.5
Personally Explains why theme and cultural artifacts
are personally important
Explains why theme and cultural artifacts are
personally important but with gaps in clarity or
detail
Does not explain why theme and cultural
artifacts are personally important
13.5
Studying the
Humanities
Explains how studying the humanities can
give both a personal and professional
advantage

13. Explains how studying the humanities can give
both a personal and professional advantage
but with gaps in clarity or detail
Does not explain how studying the humanities
can give both a personal and professional
advantage
13.5
Humanities Explains why the humanities are important
to society, supporting response with
examples from exploration document and
personal and professional experience
Explains why the humanities are important to
society but with gaps in clarity, detail, or
support
Does not explain why the humanities are
important to society
13.5
Message Communicates message effectively in a way
that is tailored to specific audience
Communicates message to audience but
communication is not effective or is not
tailored to specific audience
Does not communicate message to audience 13.5
2

14. Articulation of
Response
Submission has no major errors related to
citations, grammar, spelling, syntax, or
organization
Submission has major errors related to
citations, grammar, spelling, syntax, or
organization that negatively impact readability
and articulation of main ideas
Submission has critical errors related to
citations, grammar, spelling, syntax, or
organization that prevent understandi ng of
ideas
5.5
Total 100%
3
HUM 200 Project Part Two: Presentation Draft Guidelines and
RubricRubric