FAS 201 Final Project Guidelines and Rubric
Overview
Throughout history, humans have represented certain shared themes visually and through the written word. The purpose of this final project is to explore the
representation of such shared themes across time and culture. You will consider the persistence of such themes through the ages. To do this, you will employ a
comparative approach.
A primary method in the study of the humanities, a comparative approach allows us to reflect on a singular element and observe both the similarities and the
differences. In employing a comparative approach, we begin to ask the questions necessary to come to an understanding of the objects being compared and the
conditions/circumstances of their creation. We learn that each object is a product of its environment and its social, historical, and cultural climate.
The final project for this course is the creation of an essay. You will utilize the comparative approach to study two works of art, one visual and one literary, and a
common theme they share. This will help you come to an understanding of the meaning conveyed in these works. Finally, you will locate the shared theme in
contemporary culture, whether in a work of art, a work of literature, a film, a marketing campaign, or a social construct (e.g., reality television or social media).
Doing this will demonstrate how certain themes resonate with various cultures, and it will highlight the persistence of shared themes across time.
The project is divided into two milestones, which will be submitted at different points in the course to scaffold learning and ensure a quality final submission.
These milestones will be submitted in Modules Three and Five. The completed final project will be submitted in Module Seven.
In this assignment, you will demonstrate your mastery of the following course outcomes:
Illustrate the interplay between creative endeavor and culture for their reciprocal influences
Utilize appropriate vocabulary for conducting effective visual and contextual analyses of art, from the prehistoric era through the Renaissance
Draw parallels between the values and concepts represented in the artwork studied to those of contemporary culture
Analyze the relationship between cultural artifacts and historical themes and settings utilizing critical and comparative thinking skills
Prompt
The purpose of this project is to evaluate your knowledge of the skills necessary for performing a visual and contextual analysis of two works, one visual and one
literary, and to measure your application of these techniques as you relate the works chosen to real-world relevance, popular culture, ideas, or concepts.
Refer to this list of suggested works of art and their shared themes from which to choose a topic for your essay. You will be required to identify the shared theme
in the works you choose. You will develop an essay that explores how each presents the theme, both in terms of similarities and differences. Finally, you will be
required to identify a modern or contemporary representation of that theme in popular culture and discuss how the contemporary example reflects the
influence of those that came before it.
Specifically, the following critical elements must be addressed:
I. Introduction
A. For each work, identify the author/artist, the name or title of the work, the date, the cultural origin or period of creation, and the current
location or physical setting.
B. What is your main argument/idea about the relationship between your selected works and their shared theme?
II. Historical Background
A. What is the relationship between each of your chosen works and culture of origin?
B. How did cultural traditions and ideologies influence/shape the two works you have selected? Use examples to support your response.
III. Similarities/Differences
A. In what similar ways do your selected artist and author approach the shared theme found in their respective works? Provide specific examples
to support your response.
B. In what different ways do your selected artist and author approach the shared theme found in their respective works? Provide specific examples
to support your response.
C. How does each work express its specific cultural and historical setting? Provide specific examples to support your response.
D. How have the similarities and differences you identified come to represent the culture in which these works were created? Provide specific
examples to support your response.
IV. Modern Influence
A. What impacts or influence have your two selected works had on a modern or contemporary expression of the identified shared theme?
B. How has each work continued to influence or define contemporary culture? Use examples to support your response.
C. What can we learn today from the works selected and their culture, taking into consideration the idea that history tends to repeat itself?
Provide specific examples to support your response.
D. Identify examples of modern and contemporary events or ideals that echo the theme of the works you have selected to discuss. Provide a
rationale for your choices. For example, Ajax and Achilles Playing a Dice Game illustrates two soldiers as they compete in a dice game and
mentally prepare for war. Based on this, one could ask, “How do we prepare today’s military for battle both physically and mentally?”
E. How have the works you selected come to serve as archetypes for the theme you have identified as a commonality? Provide examples to
support your response.
F. What parallels do you see between the contemporary world and the culture that produced the works you selected?
V. Conclusion
Your conclusion should reiterate your thesis and summarize the main arguments of your essay concerning the similarities and differences between the
two works of your choice and their relevance today.
Milestones
Milestone One: Draft of Introduction (Section I)
In Module Three, you will submit a draft of your final essay’s introduction. First, choose a pair of works from the list of suggested comparisons. For each work,
identify the author/artist, the name or title of the work, the date, the cultural origin or period of creation, and the current location or physical setting. Then
formulate an argument or idea about the relationship between these works and their shared theme. You may think of this as the thesis statement, used to guide
the direction of your essay. The components of this milestone will serve as the skeletal framework of your essay and help you develop the rest of the required
elements. This milestone will be graded with the Milestone One Rubric.
Milestone Two: Rough Draft (Sections I, II, III, and IV)
In Module Five, you will submit a rough draft of your essay. Incorporate Milestone One with the rest of the required elements from the final project document in
the form of a rough draft of your essay. (This submission will not include your conclusion, which you will submit as part of your final project in Module Seven.)
Use the feedback given on Milestone One to form a thorough introduction. This draft should be as detailed as possible, addressing each of the following major
headings: Introduction, Historical Background, Similarities/Differences, and Modern Influence. This milestone will be graded with the Milestone Two Rubric.
Final Project Submission: Essay
In Module Seven, you will submit your essay. For this submission, you will develop your conclusion (Section V) and combine it with Sections I through IV, revised
to incorporate feedback gained throughout the course. You will also apply knowledge you gained throughout the course, including feedback from the discussion
assignments and any relevant and valuable feedback you may have gained from your peers’ posts and/or responses. This submission will be graded with the Final
Project Rubric.
Final Project Rubric
Guidelines for Submission: Your essay should be 3 to 5 pages in length (in addition to a cover page and references) and should use double spacing, one-inch
margins, and 12-point Times New Roman font. It should include at least 4 scholarly sources, cited in MLA format.
Instructor Feedback: This activity uses an integrated rubric in Blackboard. Students can view instructor feedback in the Grade Center. For more information,
review these instructions.
Critical Elements Exemplary Proficient Needs Improvement Not Evident Value
Introduction:
Author/Artist
Comprehensively identifies both
works, including the
author/artist, name or title,
date/period, and the cultural
location or physical setting
(100%)
Identifies both works, but
response does not cover all
elements specified in the
prompt (55%)
Does not identify both works
(0%)
7.92
Introduction:
Argument/Idea
Meets “Proficient” criteria and
makes especially clear
connections between the main
argument/idea, the selected
works, and the chosen theme
(100%)
Discusses the main
argument/idea about the
relationship between selected
works and the chosen theme
(85%)
Discusses the main
argument/idea about the
relationship between selected
works and the chosen theme,
but discussion is cursory or
illogical (55%)
Does not discuss the main
argument/idea about the
relationship between the
selected works and the chosen
theme (0%)
7.92
Historical Background:
Relationship
Meets “Proficient” criteria and
makes especially clear
connections between each
chosen work and its respective
culture or origin (100%)
Explains the relationship
between each chosen work and
its respective culture or origin
(85%)
Explains the relationship
between each chosen work and
its respective culture or origin,
but explanation is cursory or
contains inaccuracies (55%)
Does not explain the
relationship between each
chosen work and its respective
culture or origin (0%)
7.92
Historical Background:
Influence/Shape
Meets “Proficient” criteria and
demonstrates a complex grasp
of how each work was
influenced by its respective
culture (100%)
Determines how each respective
culture’s traditions and
ideologies influenced/shaped
the chosen works, using
examples to support response
(85%)
Determines how each respective
culture’s traditions and
ideologies influenced/shaped
the chosen works, but
determination is cursory or
illogical or does not use
examples to support response
(55%)
Does not determine how each
respective culture’s traditions
and ideologies
influenced/shaped the chosen
works (0%)
7.92
Similarities/Differences:
Similar
Meets “Proficient” criteria, and
examples demonstrate a
sophisticated awareness of how
the theme was approached
similarly by the writer and artist
(100%)
Discusses the similarities in the
ways the selected artist and
author approached the shared
theme found in their respective
work, providing specific
examples to support response
(85%)
Discusses the similarities in the
ways the selected artist and
author approached the shared
theme found in their respective
work, but discussion is cursory,
contains inaccuracies, or does
not provide examples to support
response (55%)
Does not discuss the similarities
in the ways the selected artist
and author approached the
shared theme found in their
respective work (0%)
7.92
Similarities/Differences:
Different
Meets “Proficient” criteria, and
examples demonstrate a
sophisticated awareness of how
the theme was approached
differently by the artist and
author (100%)
Discusses the differences in the
ways the selected artist and
author approached the shared
theme found in their respective
work, providing specific
examples to support response
(85%)
Discusses the differences in the
ways the selected artist and
author approached the shared
theme found in their respective
work, but discussion is cursory,
contains inaccuracies, or does
not provide examples to support
response (55%)
Does not discuss the differences
in the ways the selected artist
and author approached the
shared theme found in their
respective work (0%)
7.92
Similarities/Differences:
Express
Meets “Proficient” criteria, and
examples illustrate clear
connections between each work
and its cultural and historical
setting (100%)
Determines how each selected
work expresses its specific
cultural and historical setting,
providing specific examples to
support response (85%)
Determines how each selected
work expresses its specific
cultural and historical setting,
but determination is cursory or
illogical or does not provide
specific examples to support
response (55%)
Does not determine how each
selected work expresses its
specific cultural and historical
setting (0%)
7.92
Similarities/Differences:
Represent
Meets “Proficient” criteria, and
examples offer keen insight into
how the identified similarities
and differences now represent
the respective cultures (100%)
Determines how the similarities
and differences identified have
come to represent the
respective cultures, providing
specific examples to support
response (85%)
Determines how the similarities
and differences identified have
come to represent the
respective cultures, but
determination is cursory or
illogical or does not provide
examples to support response
(55%)
Does not determine how the
similarities and differences
identified have come to
represent the respective
cultures (0%)
7.92
Modern Influence:
Expression
Meets “Proficient” criteria and
makes especially clear
connections between the
selected works and the
expression of the shared theme
(100%)
Discusses the impacts or
influence the two selected
works have had on a modern or
contemporary expression of the
identified shared theme (85%)
Discusses the impacts or
influence the two selected
works have had on a modern or
contemporary expression of the
identified shared theme, but
discussion is cursory, lacks
clarity, or contains inaccuracies
(55%)
Does not discuss the impacts or
influence the two selected
works have had on a modern or
contemporary expression of the
identified shared theme (0%)
3.96
Modern Influence:
Influence or Define
Meets “Proficient” criteria and
demonstrates a sophisticated
awareness of the ongoing
influence of the selected works
(100%)
Determines how the work of
each respective creator
continues to influence or define
contemporary culture, using
examples to support response
(85%)
Determines how the work of
each respective creator
continues to influence or define
contemporary culture, but
determination is cursory or
illogical or does not use
examples to support response
(55%)
Does not determine how the
work of each respective creator
continues to influence or define
contemporary culture (0%)
7.92
Modern Influence: Learn Meets “Proficient” criteria and
examples provided demonstrate
a sophisticated awareness of the
value of the selected works
(100%)
Discusses what can be learned
today from the works selected
and their specific cultures,
providing examples to support
response (85%)
Discusses what can be learned
today from the works selected
and their specific cultures, but
discussion is cursory, lacks
clarity, contains inaccuracies, or
does not provide examples to
support response (55%)
Does not discuss what can be
learned today from the works
selected and their specific
cultures (0%)
3.96
Modern Influence: Echo Meets “Proficient” criteria, and
rationale shows keen insight
into how the theme continues to
be echoed both in modern and
contemporary examples (100%)
Identifies examples of modern
and contemporary events or
ideals that echo the theme of
the selected works and provides
a rationale for choices (85%)
Identifies examples of modern
and contemporary events or
ideals that echo the theme of
the selected works, but not all
examples accurately reflect the
theme, or there is no rationale
for choices (55%)
Does not identify examples of
modern and contemporary
events or ideals that echo the
theme of the selected works
(0%)
3.96
Modern Influence:
Archetypes
Meets “Proficient” criteria, and
examples are particularly clear
and relevant for supporting
explanation (100%)
Explains how the works selected
have come to serve as
archetypes for the common
identified theme, providing
examples to support response
(85%)
Explains how the works selected
have come to serve as
archetypes for the common
identified theme, but
explanation is cursory, lacks
clarity, contains inaccuracies, or
does not provide examples to
support response (55%)
Does not explain how the works
selected have come to serve as
archetypes for the common
identified theme (0%)
3.96
Modern Influence:
Parallels
Meets “Proficient” criteria and
makes especially clear
connections between the
contemporary world and the
cultures that produced the
works (100%)
Discusses parallels between the
contemporary world and those
cultures that produced the
selected works (85%)
Discusses parallels between the
contemporary world and those
cultures that produced the
selected works, but discussion is
cursory, or comparisons made
are illogical (55%)
Does not discuss parallels
between the contemporary
world and those cultures that
produced the selected works
(0%)
3.96
Conclusion Meets “Proficient” criteria and
demonstrates a sophisticated
ability to synthesize the main
points and prove the thesis
(100%)
Reiterates thesis and
summarizes the main arguments
of the essay concerning the
similarities and differences
between the two works and
their relevance today (85%)
Reiterates thesis and
summarizes the main arguments
of the essay concerning the
similarities and differences
between the two works and
their relevance today, but
summary lacks clarity or
contains inaccuracies (55%)
Does not reiterate thesis and
summarize the main arguments
of the essay concerning the
similarities and differences
between the two works and
their relevance today (0%)
3.96
Articulation of Response Submission is free of errors
related to citations, grammar,
spelling, syntax, and
organization and is presented in
a professional and easy to read
format (100%)
Submission has no major errors
related to citations, grammar,
spelling, syntax, or organization
(85%)
Submission has major errors
related to citations, grammar,
spelling, syntax, or organization
that negatively impact
readability and articulation of
main ideas (55%)
Submission has critical errors
related to citations, grammar,
spelling, syntax, or organization
that prevent understanding of
ideas (0%)
4.96
Total 100%
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