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.
Washington National Cathedral (50 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 submit either a photo of yourself (or a photo of a brochure or ticket) as evidence of your visit.
National Gallery of Art (50 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 submit either a photo of yourself (or a photo of a brochure or ticket) as evidence of your visit.
Renaissance, or Madrigal, concert (50 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 submit either a photo of yourself (or a photo of a brochure or ticket) as evidence of your visit.
Freer Gallery (50 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 submit either a photo of yourself (or a photo of a brochure or ticket) as evidence of your visit.
Arthur M. Sackler Gallery (50 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 submit either a photo of yourself (or a photo of a brochure or ticket) as evidence of your visit.
National Museum of African Art (50 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 submit either a photo of yourself (or a photo of a brochure or ticket) as evidence of your visit.
Walters Art Museum (50 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 submit either a photo of yourself (or a photo of a brochure or ticket) as evidence of your visit.
The Textile Museum (50 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 submit either a photo of yourself (or a photo of a brochure or ticket) as evidence of your visit.
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.