This document provides options and guidelines for a cultural artifacts essay assignment. For option 1, students can write a research paper focusing on a specific culture, cultural indicator, or comparing two cultures. For option 2, students can write a first-person narrative account discussing what they surmise about an unknown culture based on analyzing an artifact from that culture, without needing to identify the actual culture. The essay should be based primarily on discussing what is learned from the artifact about the unknown culture's values, religion, expertise, and attitudes. Sources and thoughtful, well-written analysis are required.

1. . In your essay you surmise what kind of culture
ASSIGNMENTOption 1 – a standard, college level research paper.Some possible topics for
Option 1:A focus on a specific culture, i.e. nineteenth century impressionism in art,
literature and musicA focus on a specific indicator of culture, i.e. architecture and how it
reveals the culture of the mid twentieth century. A comparison of two cultures to reveal
how each is an adaptation to and a reflection of its attitudes, environment, etc. For example,
the Renaissance vs the 18th Century:How the Cultural Artifacts of the Two Periods Reveal
the Attitudes of their Populations.Option 2 – a less standard possibility – a first person,
possibly a narrative account:You have discovered an artifact (it may be any painting,
sculpture, literary text, musical composition, or building discussed in the textbook from one
of the cultures we have studied). In your essay you surmise what kind of culture created
this artifact. What does it tell You about its creators? Consider values, religion, history, level
of technical expertise, political structure… Be imaginative. You do not need to refer to the
actual culture that did create the artifact. Your surmises could, in fact, be completely wrong.
If they are based in the artifact, then your interpretation is valid.For example, you find a
Word War 2 propaganda poster from Japan. You have no knowledge of Japan or World War
2. What can you learn from studying that artifact? What kind of culture would create it and
why would they create it? What does it tell you about its creators” attitude toward
themselves and the world?Make sure that the majority of the essay is a discussion of the
artifact, not the story of how you got there.Whether you decide to write the formal,
academic essay or the informal, creative essay, your final product should include
information from at least 8 sources, be interesting, well-written, and reflective of
considerable thought.