For the second writing assignment, you will conduct research on the history, cultural context, and conceptual implications of one of the objects in the “Spirited Things” exhibition. You will complete a series of assignments that will culminate in a multi-media blog post in which you present your research findings.

GOALS

Your goal in this project is to describe and analyze the object as a cultural artifact both in the context of African diaspora religions but also in relation to their display in the Spirited Things exhibition at the Fleming Museum.

By completing this assignment you will:

• Develop a research question that explores an object in the Spirited Things exhibition in relation to one or more the basic concepts discussed in this class: African diaspora religions, syncretism/hybridity/creolization, altars, etc.
• Identify, summarize, and synthesize valid and worthwhile sources that allow you to develop an answer to your research question.
• Write a concise and appealing report on your research that appeals to a variety of audiences (scholars, members of the general public, museum-goers, etc.).
• Work on the following FWIL goals:
  • Information Literacy
  • Rhetorical Discernment
  • Substantial Revision

TASKS:

Thus your research on the object should investigate two interrelated sets of questions:

DESCRIPTION—HISTORICAL AND CULTURAL CONTEXT OF OBJECT. This part of your research should investigate the communities and activities in which the object is found. Some questions that will animate this part of your research include: What is it? What does it do? Where does it come from? Who uses it and how? Why and how was it created? How do the people who use it talk about their use of it? At the same time, you will also address issues of display and representation of African diasporic objects in a museum exhibition; in order to address issues of how scholars translate and communicate African religious ideas to American audiences.

ANALYSIS—CONCEPTUAL IMPLICATIONS FOR SCHOLARS OF RELIGION. This part of your research should discuss how your assigned object relates to the questions and issues addressed in our class readings. These include issues such as: misunderstandings of African religions by Western writers (i.e. Hegel), theories of the African diaspora, theories of syncretism and hybridity, the idea of altars, and indigenous (or emic) conceptions of the aesthetic power of objects.

Note that the description and the analysis are interconnected. What you describe about the historical and cultural context of your object will depend on the kind of analysis that you wish to make in your research.

Project Schedule:

• Objects Assigned in class on Tuesday, September 26
• Preliminary Research Session: in class on Thursday, September 28
• Research Statement: Friday, October 6 Monday, October 9
• Library Research: Week of October 9
• Annotated Bibliography: Monday, October 23
• Preliminary Draft Due: Monday, October 30 
• Peer Review: Week of October 30
• Final Post: Monday, November 6