Renaissance Research Project (11th Grade): The Assignment

Modern European History

Mr. Lundgren

Assignments: January 21–February 1

Weeks 20-21: Nationalism & Romanticism

Monday, January 21

No Classes; Celebrate the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr.

Tuesday, January 22

HW: Read Spielvogel, pp. 657-662

1.      Be ready to select a Romantic figure for your research

In class: Revolutions of 1848

Wednesday, January 23

HW: Read Romanticism handout (scanned and photocopied)

In class: Choose Romanticism subject

   Kenneth Clark, Civilisation, “The Fallacy of Hope”

Thursday, January 24

HW: Begin preliminary research

In class: In-library “Research Sources” worksheet to be completed by the end of class

Friday, January 25

HW: Continue research

In class: Sample PowerPoint presentation: Neuschwanstein

   Finish Kenneth Clark, Civilisation, “The Fallacy of Hope”

Monday, January 28

HW: Prepare for presentation

In class: Class Presentations

Tuesday, January 29

HW: Thesis paragraph & outline

In class: Class Presentations

Wednesday, January 30

Rough Draft (printed) & Romanticism Quiz

Thursday, January 31

HW: Read Spielvogel, pp. 666-672.

1.      Complete 4-5 sentence Historical Definitions for Crimean War and Giuseppe Garibaldi.

In class: Napoleon III and Italian Unification

Friday, February 1

Romanticism Paper DUE

Assignment:

Your assignment is to prepare and present a profile of a 19^th century European Romantic. There will be both a presentation and a written component to this work. You need to do more than simply report on artwork; you will also need to address the historical influences on their work, and show this influence by discussing the content of 2-3 representative works.

You will accomplish this by presenting, and writing up:

1)      A brief biography of the person you are profiling – where they were from, an overview of their life, and for what kind of works they are most known

2)      A description of at least TWO cultural works (pieces of music, poems, novels, etc.) and an explanation of how they represent the features of Romanticism – you will need to quote directly/play a short extract from whatever works you are profiling to support your analysis of the artist.

3)      An analysis of how these works reflect the influence of outside historical influences on the subject of your study. A successful analysis will refer to specific historical events, ideas, or people, and show how they influenced the art.

The Research Guide

For this project, you need to use at least TWO sources other than the textbook and the Benton handout, and at least one of your sources must NOT be an encyclopedia of any kind.  You will also need to use (and cite) copyrighted material for finding your primary sources (book excerpts, poems, works of art, music, etc.).  Use NoodleTools to create all citations.

1.      Do preliminary research.  ABSOLUTELY NO GOOGLE/INTERNET SEARCHING MAY BE CITED in your work. The handout by Benton and DiYanni should be helpful for background information. Wikipedia is a convenient, if problematic, source for preliminary information.

2.      Go to bigredlibrary.com and choose the green tab "Student Resources."  Click on the first link (LibGuides index), the search by teacher - Lundgren - and choose the correct guide.  This guide will have the most useful resources as well as a link to NoodleTools.  Other than books, which are still preferred, these are the only acceptable sources from which to get your information.  See one of the librarians if you have any problems with database access, and remember that from home you'll need to log in to Whipple Hill to see usernames and passwords.  In particular, you may have NO MORE THAN ONE online encyclopeda (Britannica, Grolier, or World Book).

Essay

Form:

o       Should be typed and double-spaced in size 12, Times New Roman font

o       Should center on a thesis statement addressing the central issue of how your figure embodies Romanticism, having been influenced by history.

o       Should be at least 800 words in three different paragraphs (include a Word Count)

§         A formal introduction and conclusion are NOT necessary

Content:

• Must show understanding of the central qualities of the Romantic movement
• Must address specific historical people/ideas/events that influenced your subject
• Must use evidence from independent research
• At least two approved sources (i.e. books or MBA databases)
• Two primary sources from copyrighted material (book excerpts, poems, works of art, music, etc.)
• NO INTERNET / GOOGLE-SEARCHING WHATSOEVER
• A limit of one encyclopedic source
• Must include properly formatted parenthetical references in the MLA style
• Must include a properly formatted Works Cited section

I am scheduled to present on _______________, February ____

Presentation

All presentations should last 5-7 minutes, and the presenter should be prepared to answer questions from classmates and Mr. Lundgren.

·         Briefly summarize your thesis and major arguments

·         Discuss these using the author’s/artist’s/composer’s works

·         Include a visual aid (for artists), handout of a primary source (for authors), or audio clips (for composers)

You need to use at least ONE cultural work that was NOT discussed directly in class (i.e. appeared on a class handout). Your presentation will be graded on how thoroughly and creatively you address the question of how your chosen figure’s work embodied Romanticism by showing the influence of historical events/ideas/people – the more analysis you do, beyond simple regurgitation of facts, the better your grade will be.

Format of presentation:

You may choose to present in one of the following ways:

• VIDEO—You may use a video for your presentation –you can simply film yourselves doing the presentation as if it were you standing in front of class, or follow your imagination in keeping with the style of the Romantics.
• Please upload the videos to YouTube by the day of class or bring them in on a memory stick/CD/DVD to play in class. There is no need to provide a handout for video presentations, although you are welcome to do so if you wish.
• POWERPOINT—This format is especially effective for visual artists. The content of your PowerPoint should be mostly images, and use your own text sparingly. DO NOT cut and paste your essay into a PowerPoint.
• HANDOUT—This format is especially effective for authors (including poets). Your handouts should be more thoughtful than just a rough photocopy of a page from a book. Make sure it looks nice, and only contains as much information you can address in 5-7 minutes
• MP3s/CDs (and other audio formats)—If you choose to research a composer, you must play portions of the composers work that support your thesis and main points. Please do not plan simply to ‘YouTube’ a piece of music. Prepare a CD or MP3 (or other format) audio file. You may play music from your computer or iPod through the classroom speakers. A one-page handout with information on the pieces would be helpful.

In every format—You must cite any sources you use (not including the textbook) at the end of the video, OR, if you are doing an in-class presentation, in the PowerPoint or on the handout that you submit with it