HIS 111
Special Projects
 
 
Video review (50 points). Watch one of the videos listed below and write a review of the movie as if you were a critic.  Explain how the movie was (or was not) historically accurate.  You can suggest a different movie.
 
Robert Rossen, Alexander the Great (1956); Moustafa Akkad, The Message (1975); Sergei Eisenstein, Aleksandr Nevskii (1938); Franco Zefirelli, Fratello Sole, Sorella Luna (Brother Sun, Sister Moon, 1972); Ingmar Bergman, Det Sjunde Inseglet (The Seventh Seal, 1956); Akira Kurosawa, Shichinin no Samurai (Seven Samurai, 1954); Daniel Vigne, La Retour de Martin Guerre (The Return of Martin Guerre, 1982); Fred Zinneman, A Man for All Seasons (1966); Patrice Chereau, La reine margot (1994); Cecil B. DeMille, The Crusades (1935)--consider a comparison to Ridley Scott's Kingdom of Heaven (2005) for extra, extra credit.
 
 
Book review (50 points). Write a review of the book. Do not just summarize the book's contents but also examine its strengths and weaknesses and place the book in its proper historical context.  You can suggest a different book.
 
Homer, The Iliad or The Odyssey; Plato, The Republic; Edward Gibbon, Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire; Egil's Saga; The Diary of Lady Murasaki; The Bhagavad Gita; Ross Dunn, The Adventures of Ibn Battuta; William McNeill, Plagues and Peoples.
 
 
Vacation. 50 points. If, during this course, you vacation in some place that has significant historical importance (before 1600 ce), write and submit a short, two-page report, along with some pictures, in digital form if possible, about that place. Consult your instructor for approval of your selection before proceeding.


Washington National Cathedral (75 points). Visit the National Cathedral at the corner of Massachusetts and Wisconsin Aves., Washington, D.C., NW, and submit an essay about its construction and how it is, or is not, similar to other Gothic cathedrals in Europe. Please send a brochure or ticket (will not be returned) as evidence of your visit to:
Extended Learning Institute
ATTN:  HIS 111 (Put your instructor's name here)
Northern Virginia Community College
8333 Little River Turnpike
Annandale, VA 22003-3796
 
 
National Gallery of Art (75 points). Visit the Renaissance collection at the National Gallery of Art and submit a brief essay explaining how certain specific paintings illustrate some of the characteristics of the Renaissance. Please send a brochure or ticket (will not be returned) as evidence of your visit to:
Extended Learning Institute
ATTN:  HIS 111 (Put your instructor's name here)
Northern Virginia Community College
8333 Little River Turnpike
Annandale, VA 22003-3796
 
 
Renaissance, or Madrigal, concert (75 points). Attend a Renaissance concert, or fair, and submit a short report explaining what you heard and saw and how music was evolving during the Renaissance. Please send a brochure or ticket (will not be returned) as evidence of your visit to:
Extended Learning Institute
ATTN:  HIS 111 (Put your instructor's name here)
Northern Virginia Community College
8333 Little River Turnpike
Annandale, VA 22003-3796
 
 
Freer Gallery (75 points).  Visit the Asian art collections at the Freer Gallery and submit a brief essay explaining how certain specific paintings/sculptures/artworks defined some characteristics of Asian art in a specific time period.  Please send a brochure or ticket (will not be returned) as evidence of your visit to:
Extended Learning Institute
ATTN:  HIS 111 (Put your instructor's name here)
Northern Virginia Community College
8333 Little River Turnpike
Annandale, VA 22003-3796
 
 
Arthur M. Sackler Gallery (75 points).  Visit the collections of the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery and submit a brief essay explaining some of the characteristics of Islamic manuscript illustration (Cite some specific examples.).  Please send a brochure or ticket (will not be returned) as evidence of your visit to:
Extended Learning Institute
ATTN:  HIS 111 (Put your instructor's name here)
Northern Virginia Community College
8333 Little River Turnpike
Annandale, VA 22003-3796
 
 
National Museum of African Art (75 points).  Visit the collections dealing with the West African city of Benin at the National Museum of African Art and submit a brief essay explaining how the collection documents the evolution of that city over time (Cite some specific examples.).  Please send a brochure or ticket (will not be returned) as evidence of your visit to:
Extended Learning Institute
ATTN:  HIS 111 (Put your instructor's name here)
Northern Virginia Community College
8333 Little River Turnpike
Annandale, VA 22003-3796
 
 
Walters Art Museum (75 points).  Visit the Walters Art Museum and submit a brief essay explaining the development of illustrations of Buddha dating from the sixth century (Cite some specific examples.)  Please send a brochure or ticket (will not be returned) as evidence of your visit to:
Extended Learning Institute
ATTN:  HIS 111 (Put your instructor's name here)
Northern Virginia Community College
8333 Little River Turnpike
Annandale, VA 22003-3796
 
 
The Textile Museum (75 points).  Visit the early oriental rug collections of the Textile Museum and submit a brief essay describing some of the characteristics of these rugs (Cite some specific examples.).  Please send a brochure or ticket (will not be returned) as evidence of your visit to:
Extended Learning Institute
ATTN:  HIS 111 (Put your instructor's name here)
Northern Virginia Community College
8333 Little River Turnpike
Annandale, VA 22003-3796
 
 
Note that if you have any other proposals for a project, such as a visit to an out-of-town museum like any of those located in New York, please contact your instructor for approval and point value before you begin.
 
 

This page is copyright © 2006, C.T. Evans
For information contact cevans@nvcc.edu