For this assignment, you will choose a virtual cultural venue from the instructions below to visit online and write a short 500-800 word report about your visit.
Purpose
The purpose of this assignment is to introduce you to the process of engaging with the cultural venues and communities. This will inform you personally of the Humanities and groups that support it.
Skills
This assignment will help you practice the following skills that will be useful to you in your professional and personal life beyond school.
Identify cultural venues and inform you with deeper knowledge about the art form chosen.
Organize reflections about engaging with a cultural experience and community
Use concepts and skills learned in class to describe and interpret cultural experiences and communities
Use appropriate and proper grammar, organization, and academic-style formatting in order to communicate
Knowledge
This assignment will help you become familiar with the following important content knowledge in the Humanities.
Available virtual cultural venues and communities
Methods of interpretation within the Humanities
Instructions
For your report, choose one virtual venue from this pre-approved list that most interests you, or contact your professor for approval of your own online choice. If your choice below has both a website and a video, make sure you examine both. If you need special accommodations to complete this assignment, please inform your instructor and contact the Accessibility Accommodations office for guidance.
ART MUSEUMS AND SCULPTURE GARDENS
Great Museums documentaries
Metropolitan Museum of Art
The National Museum of Women in the Arts
China: East Meets West in the Metropolitan
The Great Museums of Havana
The DuSable Museum of African-American History:
The Modern Museum of Art
Egyptian Antiquities virtual tour at the Louvre
http://musee.louvre.fr/visite-louvre/index.html?defaultView=rdc.s46.p01&lang=ENG
Gallerie d’Appollon virtual tour at the Louvre
http://mini-site.louvre.fr/apollon/index_apollon.html
London National Gallery Google virtual tour of Renaissance paintings
London National Gallery 2011 Adobe Flash tour
New Orleans Museum of Art virtual tour
The British Museum of the World virtual tour with Google
Castle of Chenonceau, Chenonceaux, France (2 parts)
Explore the Google Maps views
Review the Collection of Unique Works
The Dalí Museums (2 parts)
Explore the virtual tour
Watch the video tour
Smithsonian National Quilt Collection (3 parts)
Explore the online collection of quilts
Watch the video on machine quilting
Watch the video tour
Sydney & Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden (2 parts)
Explore the garden’s web site
Watch video tours:
Part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uNPjnWsFYe0
Part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RT-H5aNAfcM
Smithsonian African American History and Culture Museum (2 parts)
Explore the Exhibitions
Watch Freedom Calling: Interactive Tour
Smithsonian Renwick Gallery in VR (requires download of Wonder 360 app on any device)
The VR Museum (free, requires free STEAM account & HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, or Valve Index)
MUSIC CONCERT (please watch full performances)
New Orleans: A Living Museum of Music documentary
An Evening of Classical Violin and Tabla (Kennedy Center)
Liberated Muse (Kennedy Center)
Brianna Thomas (Kennedy Center)
Beethoven’s 9th Symphony Chicago Symphony Orchestra
The Light is the Same: Celebrating Women Composers (Millennium Stage)
Mandy Harvey (Kennedy Center)
Angélique Kidjo, Renée Fleming and Jason Moran (Kennedy Center)
Gaby Moreno (Millennium Stage)
The Gothard Sisters (Millennium Stage)
Kandace Springs (Millennium Stage)
C4 Trio (Millennium Stage)
National Jazz Workshop Big Band (Millennium Stage)
Dakh Daughters (Millennium Stage)
Ramy Essam (Millennium Stage)
Anda Union (Millennium Stage)
DANCE PERFORMANCE (please watch full performances)
Swan Lake by Tchaikovsky
Tinsel and Bone (Kennedy Center)
Native Pride Dancers – (Millenium Stage)
S/HE by MN Dance Company
Revelations by Alvin Ailey Dance Theater
Furia Flamenca (Kennedy Center)
Uprooted Dance (Kennedy Center)
Surati: Classical Indian and Folk Dance
Tamagawa University Dance and Taiko Group (Kennedy Center)
Peruvian Music and Dance
Washington School of Ballet Performance (Millennium Stage)
Rwandan Traditional Dance
Xiutia Puerto Vallarta: Mexican Folk Dance
Muntu Dance Theater of Chicago
Restrictions: The experience should be viewed during the current semester. If this is impossible, contact the instructor to arrange for alternatives. You may not report on a cultural experience viewed prior to this class.
Write a report after you have explored or viewed the online resource.
Your report should include the following information. Include photos or links that help convey the information. As always, be sure to document all sources you consult in preparing your work. This includes any learning resources from the class, or information from the websites that informed you about the particular item you explored.
Name and location of the museum, site, or performance event. If there is on-line information about the site or performance, be sure to include a link to it within the text of your essay in an appropriate place.
Type of museum, site or event. For example is it a portrait or sculpture museum, a music concert, or dance performance? If you viewed a performance, name the performer or the piece.
Briefly describe the general setting by talking a bit about the location (you can research the location online) and the general overall “vibe” of the place.
Describe at least one aspect of the experience that you found especially interesting. For example, you might write about a particular work of art, cultural artifact, song, dance section, costumes or lighting, a particular vocalist, etc. Explain what impressed or affected you, and why. Your reaction can be positive or negative, as long as you offer an explanation.
Identify and use at least two tools, concepts or methods that you have learned about in this class in the Learning Resources to talk about your viewing. For example, if you do a virtual museum tour, you might point out how color works in one of the paintings, or if you view to a concert, talk about how rhythm works in one of the songs.
Make sure you are explicit in identifying the tools/concept/methods you are using and the specific learning resources they come from. Make sure to inform the reader about the tool/concept/method through a quote or paraphrase from the learning resource. Then, make sure to tell the reader how you interpret and/or analyze some elements of what you experience with the tools.
Be sure to cite the learning resources you have used in MLA format. Please see http://sites.umgc.edu/library/libhow/mla_examples.cfm
Reflect on the relevance–if any–of your experience to your everyday life. How did the experience engage your feelings or emotions, if at all? What does this tell you about human culture, and/or about yourself?
STOP: Before you hand in your assignment, ask yourself the following questions:
Have I provided the name and location of the museum, site, or performance event and URL, if available, identified the type of museum, site or event, and provided a general description of the setting?
Have I identified and explained an especially interesting aspect of the experience and used examples to illustrate reflections and to explain why this aspect was interesting?
Have I identified and applied two tools, concepts or methods of interpretation from learning resources to concrete and specific examples from visit?
Have I used examples to clearly explain the relevance of my visit to at least one of the following: 1) emotion 2) human culture 3) self-identity 4) cultural identity?
Have I provided a list of resources and do all of my citations conform to MLA 8th edition guidelines?
Have I proofread this assignment for grammatical, structural, and spelling errors that might impede someone from understanding what I am trying to say?
This assignment is due by the end of the fourth week of class on TUESDAY by 11:59 PM ET.
