FINAL PROJECT: AMERICAN STUDIES 2011

Goal: Students will use the final project to reflect upon the theme of American identity…The American Dream…The American Nightmare.

Project: At the beginning of the year, you were asked to create a mosaic to help you define the American identity. Now that you have had the opportunity to explore several periods in American history, we want you to create a different type of mosaic that reveals your grappling with the themes presented in this course.

What will it look like: Imagine that you are Oskar, from Jonathan Safran Foer’s Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close who goes on a journey to at first unlock a mystery of a key, but in the end to come to terms with his own identity. Your job is to create a digital portrayal of your journey through the minefield of American history.

HOW TO:

Option A: Digital Slide Show – You are to collect at least 15 images that capture what you believe to be representative of the American Dream/Nightmare. Included in your slide show should be key quotes, phrases and ideas. Use quotes from the literature or history you have read this year. The slide show should really speak for itself. You do not want to be reading your presentation to us – you want the presentation to speak for itself. You should include music in your presentation as well. What music tells the story and represents the theme of the American Dream/American Nightmare? Create a compilation of songs to accompany your slide show.

Check list:

_____1. 15 pictures that represent breadth of American history/letters

_____2. 7 quotes min – about 1/3 from history the rest should come from literature

_____3. choice of songs should coincide with pictures and tell a story

Option B: Video – Make a video that traces the theme of the American Dream/American Nightmare. Follow directions for Option A.

Checklist:

_____1. 5 scenes of American history/American letters – you can act them out, incorporate film.

_____2. Audio/visual clips from interviews with different Americans to represent the “American experience”

_____3. Choice of material should complement the overall theme and tell a story