Here is your third attempt at selecting and explaining to “fill in the blanks” of what our modules on Ancient Rome or South Asia didn’t discuss.

This time, you will find the work to discuss from Smarthistory’s essays. Here are the parameters:

• the object must be discussed in an essay (not a video)
• the object cannot be one discussed in the course module

Choose a work from one of the following pages. Scroll down to “All Content” and be sure to click “Show More” to see the full range of possibilities. There are many works to choose from:

• Ancient Rome (Links to an external site.)
• South Asia (Links to an external site.) (only Indus Valley Civilization, Mauryan Period, Kushan Period, Gupta Period, Pallava Period, Chola Period, or Chandella Dynasty)

Visit the linked page, choose an object, download an image of the object, and read the accompanying essay. Look for the four categories of information: physical properties, form (including architectural elements for architecture), subject matter (or parts of the structure for architecture), and context. Use the Art History as Practice Module to help distinguish these categories.

Open the Word document template Download template. Insert the image of the object, making sure that it is large enough to be clearly seen.

Compose an Introduction with the identifying information about Title, Artist/Culture, Date, and Module and a brief explanation of what your essay will do.

Perform the four-part analysis of the work. Take care to put the information in the right category. Use relevant terms from the module list and point to specific evidence in the work of art you selected in your analysis.

Begin your justification of the work you selected by explaining what concept from the module the object illustrates, selecting from the list on the module page titled, “Module Concepts.” Do not just list a term. The concepts are full-sentence statements about the art in the module. For example, “Renaissance art promoted the principles of humanism.” In this section, explain in detail and with evidence how the work you selected illustrates the concept.

Next, complete your justification by comparing the work you selected to one of the works discussed in the module videos, pointing out how the new work is similar to the comparative work and shares terms and concepts with it.

Finally, provide a brief conclusion.

Do this work in Word only (not Pages) and save as a pdf.

Put everything in your own words. Do not copy or transcribe anything. All writing in this class must be original. Cite the source of your information using the citation format listed under “Cite this Page” on the Smarthistory essay page. Do not just list the website URL. Here is an example:

Dr. Anna Blume, “Bannerstones, North America,” in Smarthistory, June 3, 2021, accessed December 4, 2021, https://smarthistory.org/bannerstones-north-america/) (Links to an external site.).