HUM 100 Project 1 Artifact Chart Guidelines and Rubric

HUM 100 Project 1 Artifact Chart Guidelines and Rubric
Overview
The enduring relevance of the humanities is that they encourage us to consider a number of “big ideas.” What is culture? How do we go about studying it? What is the relationship between cultural artifacts and the culture in which they are created? What is the relationship between artists and the creators of “cultural artifacts” and the things they create? How is human meaning generated through cultural creations? We humans seem driven to express and create in our search to understand and be understood.
You will complete two related projects in this course that will be turned in separately. In Project 1, you will choose an artifact of human creative expression and respond to a series of questions about it to complete an artifact chart. In Project 2, you will use the insights gained from completing Project 1 to answer a series of short-answer responses about human expression.
For Project 1, you will choose an artifact of human creative expression from the world around you. This artifact can take any form and can be from any physical modality (visual, aural, tactile, etc.). The key is that you choose a form of expression you might experience any day that intrigues you and makes you want to know more about it. Once you have chosen your artifact, you will respond to the elements below on the provided artifact chart, culminating in questions about the artifact and what it might represent. You will use the insights you gain here when completing Project 2.
Project 1 will assess the following course outcomes, which you focus on throughout Modules One through Four:
 Develop questions about fundamental aspects of human culture that inform personal assumptions, beliefs, and values using evidence from cultural
artifacts and systems
 Determine fundamental approaches to studying the humanities in addressing questions about how cultural artifacts and the culture they are created in have influenced each other
Prompt
Choose an artifact from the world around you that you could encounter any day. Use the provided artifact chart to think deeply about the artifact and its
representation of human creative expression. Your responses should be recorded in the Artifact Chart document, linked in Module Six of your course.
Specifically, the following critical elements must be addressed:
I. Describe the artifact in detail. For instance, how would you describe it to someone who could not see it?
II. Choose elements of the artifact that you believe are most important to how you experience it and explain why. For instance, what particularly catches
your senses or makes you want to keep experiencing it? Does the choice of medium impact your experience?
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III. State your opinion on what you believe is the purpose of this artifact and the success of the creator in achieving the purpose. For instance, what
message do you believe the creator is trying to express, and is that message successfully expressed?
IV. Discuss how the artifact reflects the culture (or context) in which it exists. Be sure to address what aspects of culture have relevance for this artifact:
politics, history, religion, social perceptions, technology, media, education, and so on. In other words, how do the artifact and its culture interrelate? For
instance, how would a particular form of body modification reflect the urban culture in which you encountered it?
V. Use the artifact to discuss how acts of creative expression impact and are impacted by the people and situations that surround it. How might the artifact
and the person who created it have impacted each other? For instance, how might the geographic location where the artifact was made, the materials
used to create the artifact, the medium of the creative process, or the environment where the artifact is displayed influence the creator’s life or future creative work? How might the artifact and the culture or context in which it was created have impacted each other? For instance, does the artifact add
to the understanding of the culture from which it was created? What contributions does it make to continuing on a dialogue about that culture and the importance of its artifacts?
VI. Pose questions you have after thinking deeply about this artifact. What more do you want to know regarding:
a. The relationship between human culture and expression?
b. Your personal assumptions about artifacts of this sort and why they exist?
c. How your values have shaped and are shaped by your expression and that of others?
d. The relationship between the possible intent of the creator and your own interpretation of its meaning?
VII. Speculate on how you would go about answering these questions. For instance, what sorts of things would you study about these kinds of artifacts and
their contexts that might begin addressing these questions?
Rubric
Guidelines for Submission: Type your responses to the prompt in the Artifact Chart document. Bullet points and other notations are acceptable provided the
requirements of the prompt are met.
Critical Elements Exemplary (100%) Proficient (85%) Needs Improvement (55%) Not Evident (0%) Value
Describe the Artifact Meets “Proficient” criteria
and descriptive details
communicate a thoughtful
observation of the artifact
Describes the artifact in detail Describes the artifact but is
cursory or over-generalized
Does not describe the artifact 9.5
Elements of the
Artifact
Meets “Proficient” criteria
and explanation of choices
demonstrates insight into the
personally intriguing nature of
the artifact
Chooses important elements of
the artifact, explaining their
importance
Chooses important elements of
the artifact, but explanation is
cursory
Does not choose important
elements of the artifact,
explaining their importance
9.5
3
Critical Elements Exemplary (100%) Proficient (85%) Needs Improvement (55%) Not Evident (0%) Value
Purpose of the
Artifact
Meets “Proficient” criteria
and connection between
purpose and success in
communicating purpose
demonstrates insight into
what makes communication
successful
States opinion on the purpose of
the artifact, explaining whether
the purpose is successfully
communicated
States opinion on the purpose of
the artifact, explaining whether
the purpose is successfully
expressed, but is overgeneralized
Does not state opinion on the
purpose of the artifact
9.5
Reflection of Culture Meets “Proficient” criteria
and choice of cultural aspects
demonstrates an insightful
awareness of how expression
and culture interrelate
Discusses how the artifact
reflects the culture in which it
exists, addressing specific,
relevant cultural aspects
Discusses how the artifact
reflects the culture in which it
exists, addressing specific,
relevant cultural aspects, but is
over-generalized or has
inaccuracies
Does not discuss how the
artifact reflects the culture in
which it exists
9.5
Impacts of the
Artifact
Meets “Proficient” criteria
and demonstrates an
insightful awareness of how
expression, creator, and
culture interrelate
Uses the artifact to discuss how
acts of creative expression
impact and are impacted by the
people and situations that
surround it
Discusses the possible reciprocal
impacts of the artifact on both
the creator and the artifact’s
cultural context but is overgeneralized or has inaccuracies
Does not discuss the possible
reciprocal impacts of the artifact
on both the creator and the
artifact’s cultural context
9.5
Pose Questions:
Culture and
Expression
Meets “Proficient” criteria
and demonstrates a complex
grasp of the interrelationship
between human culture and
expression
Poses questions regarding the
relationship between human
culture and expression
Poses questions regarding the
relationship between human
culture and expression, but
questions are illogical or lack
depth of thought
Does not pose questions
regarding the relationship
between human culture and
expression
9.5
Pose Questions:
Personal
Assumptions
Meets “Proficient” criteria
and demonstrates a complex
grasp of why people express
in this manner
Poses questions regarding
personal assumptions about
artifacts of this sort and why
they exist
Poses questions regarding
personal assumptions about
artifacts of this sort and why
they exist, but questions are
illogical or lack depth of thought
Does not pose questions
regarding personal assumptions
about artifacts of this sort and
why they exist
9.5
Pose Questions: Your
Values
Meets “Proficient” criteria
and demonstrates a complex
grasp of the interrelationship
of values and expression
Poses questions regarding the
reciprocal relationship between
how values shape and are
shaped by forms of human
expression
Poses questions regarding the
reciprocal relationship between
how values shape and are
shaped by forms of human
expression questions, but
questions are illogical or lack
depth of thought
Does not pose questions
regarding the reciprocal
relationship between how values
shape and are shaped by forms
of human expression
9.5
4
Critical Elements Exemplary (100%) Proficient (85%) Needs Improvement (55%) Not Evident (0%) Value
Pose Questions:
Intent/Interpretation
Meets “Proficient” criteria
and demonstrates a complex
grasp of the interrelationship
between possible intent and
interpretation
Poses questions regarding the
relationship between the
possible intent of the creator
and its interpretation
Poses questions regarding the
relationship between the
possible intent of the creator
and its interpretation but is
cursory
Does not pose questions
regarding the relationship
between the possible intent of
the creator and its interpretation
9.5
Answering the
Questions
Meets “Proficient” criteria
and demonstrates insight into
possible approaches and
sources
Speculates on how to go about
answering the questions
Speculates on how to go about
answering the questions but is
cursory or has inaccuracies
Does not speculate on how to go
about answering the questions
9.5
Articulation of
Response
Submission is free of errors
related to citations, grammar,
spelling, syntax, and
organization and is presented
in a professional and easy-toread format
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 understanding of
ideas
5
Total 100%