Your assignment is to report on TWO "cultural experience" visits you make during this term. After each visit, write a 500-800 word report about the visit and what you learned.

Your instructor may modify this assignment.

Instructions

For your two reports, attend two different venues from this list.

•art museum or sculpture garden

•significant or notable architectural site (if there is explanatory material there to help you understand it)

•music concert

•theater play

•poetry reading or spoken word performance

•dance performance

•religious service, ceremony or ritual for a religion very different from yours, if you practice (for instance, if you are Christian, you may

not go to another Christian denomination's service)

•other displays or performances may be acceptable. Check with your instructor for approval beforehand.

Restrictions: The experience should be done in person. If this is impossible, contact the instructor to arrange for alternatives. You may not report on a cultural experience from prior to this class.

Write a report after each cultural experience (Cultural Experience Report #1 and #2).

Each report should include the following information. Include photos or links that help convey the information. As always, be sure to document all sources you consult in preparing your work.

•Name and location of the museum, site, or performance event. If there is on-line information about the site or performance, include a link.

•Type of museum, site or event. For example, is it a portrait museum, a poetry slam, an outdoor Shakespeare festival performance? If you attended a performance, name the performer or the piece. Be specific about what you attended, when, and where.

•Briefly describe the general setting.

•Describe at least one aspect of the experience that you found especially interesting. For example, you might write about a particular work of art, cultural artifact, song, dance section, scene in a play, costumes or lighting, a particular actor or vocalist, etc. Explain what impressed you, and why. Your reaction can be positive or negative, as long as you offer an explanation.

•Identify and use at least two things you've learned in class in your essay. For example, if you visit a museum, you might point out the architectural style, discuss an artist you've learned about in the course, or tie your experience to a class discussion.

•Reflect on the relevance--if any--of your experience to your everyday life. How did the experience engage your feelings or emotions, if at all? What does this tell you about human culture, or about yourself?