Heroes in a Box

Your assignment--due Friday--is below:

When an anthropologist begins to study a group of people, he or she collects artifacts of the culture. Depending on the group being studied, these artifacts may include writing (including holy books), weapons, pictures, art, etc. As an introduction to our study of hero quests, you will take on the role of digital anthropologist, collecting and studying digital artifacts of heroes.

Assignment:
1. Begin by using an internet search provider to look for artifacts about heroes. Since heroes will lead you to thousands and thousands of findings, you may want to narrow your focus. Think about aspects of heroes that you may be interested in studying. Examples may include: female heroes, Canadian heroes, African-American heroes, Edina heroes, Hmong heroes, gay heroes, etc.

2. Find as many artifacts as you can about your topic. Types of artifacts may include: literature (poetry, short stories, excerpts from literary works), images (pictures, other digital images), videos, songs, quotes from famous people. Find as many artifacts as possible.

For images: try flickr.com--search for your topic.

Videos: Youtube--to embed a video in your blog, click on the Edit Html tab (above the text box of a new post). Go to the youtube vidow and copy the html code from the line that reads Embed (to the right of the video box, below the URL line).

Simply cut and paste literature or quotes.

3. Next, it’s time to make sense of these artifacts. Study each artifact you found (watch videos, study images, read literature, etc.). Identify patterns in what you find. You may want to consider creating a tree map to help classify the artifacts that you find.

4. Finally, organize your artifacts and create your final product on your blog. First, write about the classifications and overarching qualities of heroes that you discovered as you collected and studied artifacts. Your task here is to introduce us to the types of artifacts you collected. Then, paste all of your artifacts (photos, literature, quotes, video, etc.) into your blog, and underneath each one, discuss its significance (how it leads us to a better understanding of heroes) and why you chose it. What did you learn about heroes from your search and specifically, from this artifact? Then, end with a concluding paragraph entitled “Conclusion” in which you discuss your overall findings. For example, while studying sisters, a student discovered that there are two categories of sisters: sisters who are best friends, and sisters who are enemies.

Good Luck!