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Either as part of your midterm of
final assessment, ask the students to write for 45 minutes in class on a topic
you develop yourself that first requires the students to look at two
civilizations' concept of what it means to be human, as expressed in one of the
categories of the humanities (art, music, literature, architecture, dance,
philosophy/religion) and then asks them to discuss how their own culture
expresses what it means to be human using that same category of the humanities.
The question can refer to cultural values in general, or it can be directed in a
way that focuses on a particular subject, such as views of death, love,
male/female relationships, beauty, the individual versus the collective,
law/justice, deity, and so forth.
Examples of possible questions:
Architecture: How do the ziggurat and the Gothic cathedral reflect the
values of their respective cultures? What specific building or type of building
do you think reflects the values of your culture?
Literature: Compare and contrast the views of the afterlife expressed in
the Epic of Gilgamesh and the Egyptian Book of the Dead, and relate them to your
own culture's views of the afterlife.
Visual Arts: How do the Myron Discobolus and a Chinese landscape painting
reflect the values of their respective cultures? What kind of visual art, or
specific work, do you think best reflects the values of your own culture?
Music: How do the griot music of West Africa and a symphony differ, and
what do you think this says about the differences between the values of the
cultures that created these two forms of music? What kind of music reflects the
values of your own culture?
Philosophy/Religion: Compare and contrast a religion with a god to a
religion without one in terms of the moral framework each of those faiths
provides. Looking at your own culture, discuss whether you think people require
a god to be moral.
How to administer the assignment:
Allow forty-five minutes in class to write the essay
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Students can bring an outline of
their answer, but limit the amount a person can bring in to what can fit on
a 3X5 card
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Students should be given two
weeks lead time to prepare
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Class time can be used for group
work or general discussion to brainstorm possible approaches to the essay
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Make photocopies before you put
marks or scores on the essays, and put them in the Honors mailbox
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Attend February meeting (TBA) to
read and discuss the students' performance and brainstorm ways to improve
their abilities
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