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School & Society Cultural Artifact
Presentation
An artifact is a "thing" (very technical term). For this presentation, you want to choose an artifact -- a thing -- from your culture to present to the class. (You may bring the actual thing or a visual representation of it -- that is, instead of a bowl of mashed potatoes, you may bring a poster with a bowl of mashed potatoes on it. If you bring a visual representation, make sure it is large enough to be easily seen from the back of the room! Do not come expecting to draw on the chalkboard. Representations must be made outside of class.) The first goal of these presentations is to have
each of you reflect on what your culture is and what comprises your
culture. So, begin with a definition
of "culture." You may choose to represent any aspect of your culture
that you wish to present, so long as it is representative of your
culture, but
I would recommend that you work in the large arena of "social
mores" -- holiday celebrations, naming practices, foodways, language
practices, rituals (weddings and funerals, christening, church services,
rites of passage, etc.) How does your
family do things? How are you like the
other people you grew up and lived among?
How are you different from other groups of people. The second goal is to use the cultural artifact presentation as a way to get to know each other. We need to learn each others' names and something about who we each are. This is critical to creating a sense of community and "comfort" -- who are you within the framework of your culture? Again, you may choose any aspect of your culture that is representative of your culture and that you feel comfortable discussing. You need to explain the artifact and its value to you, how it reflects you in your culture. So, only choose items that have some kind of cultural connection that you can explain. You will have five minutes to present and a minute to field questions. If I were you, I would definitely practice beforehand so that the main points are clearly presented. (The best kind of practice you can do is to actually time yourself as you do your presentation just as you will do it in class.) You will be timed, and I will stop you when your time is up. If you don't stop when the timer goes off, I will penalize your grade. The
quality of this presentation will be considered in the grade on your Cultural
Artifact Paper. **************************************************************** Please keep in mind -- this should be more about your culture than about you. It's you in your culture. |
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