Technology Analysis
The goal of this assignment is to recreate an object of material culture using original materials and techniques as much as possible.
| Project Rubric | Max points | |
| A. | Choose a technology. | |
| B. | Post a proposal on Blackboard Discussion Board. | 5 |
| C. | Maintain a journal on your Discussion Board thread. | 15 |
| D. | Research paper. | 15 |
| E. | Use authentic materials. | 5 |
| F. | Bibliography and footnotes. | 5 |
| Total | 50 |
Step A:
Choose a 3-dimensional object made by a Native American artist. Do not choose a 2-dimensional object like a painting or drawing. You might choose to recreate a piece of jewelry, a garment, a weaving, a basket, an arrowhead, a flute, a game set, a hunting device, or a scale model of a house.
Step B:
Start a new thread on the Technology Analysis Forum on the Discussion Board in Blackboard. On the Subject Line put your name and the name of the technology you are going to duplicate.
This thread will serve as your journal for the project.
Create and post a description:
1. the original object
date of manufacture,
materials,
dimensions,
colors,
the use for which it was created,
the maker's name,
the maker's gender,
the maker's age,
and the maker's tribal affiliation;
2. the steps taken to manufacture it;
3. a picture of the object you will recreate;
4. bibliographic references.
Step C:
Use authentic materials as opposed to store bought.
Step D:
Write a journal entry every time you work on your object and post it as a reply to your original thread. Explain how your actual project has varied from the original plan of work. For example, when you go to get your materials think about where the person who made the original object went to get materials, how far they travele to get the materials and how much they paid for them. Record how much time each step takes, any miles traveled, and any money spent. Document each step with a photo.
Step E:
Write a two page research paper documenting your object and its manufacture using the data from Step B. as the basis of the paper. Use at least three quotes from your literature search to support your process, tools, materials, designs, gender assignation, dimensions, and form.
Step F:
Put your bibliographic data in proper form at the end of the paper. Get your data from at least three SCHOLARLY* print sources and then any number of online sources and produce a bibliographic entry for each source (book, journal, periodical, website). Use footnotes to document where you apply your data. There should be at least 3 quotes or citations per page in this paper. For style guidelines use the Chicago Manual of Style or Kate L. Turabian’s A Manuel for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations, any edition. Make sure that you use scholarly sources. *NO Wikipedia, encyclopedias, picture/children's books, magazines (News from Native California and Native American Art excepted), or online articles.
Step G:
Post photos of each stage of the process and of your materials. Post a pic of your finished product, with you in the picture. Note that no matter how poorly your project turns out it will have no effect on your grade. It is not a beauty contest, it is an attempt to understand technology.