[Updated: November 7]
Due by the end of November 17 (through Turnitin; 4 points/day late). You are an apprentice curator at the British Museum, and you have been tasked to create a mini virtual exhibition for one of the units (Week 4 through Week 14) for this course. You are expected to select at least three objects from the online collection of the British Museum, and you should compose a short exhibition essay (750–900 words) explaining how the chosen objects could help answer one of the weekly focus questions. Draft (5%) due by the end of October 22 October 29.
Suggested Steps
- Review the course schedule and select a weekly topic (from Week 4 to Week 14) you are particularly interested in.
- Consult China: A History in Objects by Jessica Harrison-Hall (available on reserve in Koerner and through Canvas) and select up to two objects from the book (for our purpose, chapters 3–6 are the most relevant).
- Using the keywords provided by Harrison-Hall, look up the selected object(s) from the online collection of the British Museum.
- Once you have located an object on the online catalog, take note of the information provided on the page (especially the sections “Description,”Curator’s comments,” and “Bibliographic references”) as it would not only help you better contextualize the item in question but also lead you to other related objects.
- Based on the information you have gathered, finalize the objects you would showcase in your virtual exhibition (again, up to two items can be from the Harrison-Hall text) and prepare a short exhibition essay.
Grading Criteria
You don’t need to be an expert on Chinese material culture to do well in this assignment. Our goal here is to learn how we could make use of objects to inform our understanding of the past and to support/challenge historical arguments. Our starting point is that, as in the case of texts, objects were created and circulated for reasons; and, as in the case of texts, objects from the past could tell us how people lived, how they viewed the world around them, what they valued, what they found pleasurable, etc. So while you may not be an expert, here are a few dimensions I would like you to incorporate in your short exhibition essay:
- Context. Explain the logic of your selection by explicitly placing the selected objects in the historical context associated with one of the weekly topics.
- Significance. Explain and justify your understanding of the significance of each of the selected objects. You are welcome to make use of the information provided by Harrison-Hall and/or the online catalog of the British Museum, but, if you do, please provide direct quotations (and in-text citations) so that I can easily identify your interpretations. Ultimately, I am more interested in how you would relate the objects to our course readings than in any “authoritative” interpretations you might be able to locate.
- Connections. Explain how, as a group, the selected objects either support or challenge a specific claim/argument found in the weekly secondary source in question.
- Focus question. Explain how, as a group, the selected objects help us answer the focus question of the week (here you may also consider the limitations of the objects in question as historical sources).
| Excellent | Good | Fair | Poor | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Context | Logic of selection (esp. in relation to the chosen weekly theme) and connections between selected objects are particularly well-explained. | Logic of selection (esp. in relation to the chosen weekly theme) and connections between selected objects are generally clearly explained. | Logic of selection (esp. in relation to the chosen weekly theme) and connections between selected objects are not clearly explained. | Logic of selection (esp. in relation to the chosen weekly theme) and connections between selected objects are not explained. |
| Significance | Your own understanding of the significance of the selected objects is particularly well-articulated and justified. | Your own understanding of the significance of the selected objects is generally clearly articulated and justified. | Your own understanding of the significance of the selected objects is not clearly articulated or justified. | Your own understanding of the significance of the selected objects is not articulated or justified. |
| Connections | Connections between the selected objects and the weekly secondary source in question are particularly well-explained. | Connections between the selected objects and the weekly secondary source in question are generally clearly explained. | Connections between the selected objects and the weekly secondary source in question are not clearly explained. | Connections between the selected objects and the weekly secondary source in question are not explained. |
| Question | How as a group the selected objects help answer the focus question of the week is particularly well-explained. | How as a group the selected objects help answer the focus question of the week is generally clearly explained. | How as a group the selected objects help answer the focus question of the week is not clearly explained. | How as a group the selected objects help answer the focus question of the week is not explained. |
Draft (5%)
Due through Turnitin by the end of October 22 October 29. Elements to be included (to be combined into a single PDF file):
- A preliminary list of three objects (you may change your mind later) to be included in your virtual exhibition
- Printouts of the information pages found on the website of the British Museum for the selected objects (please identify the items that are from Harrison-Hall)
- A short justification (100–150 words for Context)
Final Submission (15%)
Due through Turnitin by the end of November 17. Elements to be included (to be combined into a single PDF file):
- A title for your virtual exhibition
- Your exhibition essay (I would recommend following the structure as laid out in “Grading Criteria”)
- Screenshots of the information pages found on the website of the British Museum (sample)
- Bibliography
- URLs of the objects selected (please identify items, up to two, from Harrison-Hall)
- Course readings referenced in your exhibition essay
- Other materials consulted (additional research is not required, but do provide proper citations if you have consulted other materials)
