Week 8 (Oct. 18 – Oct. 24)

Table of contents

To do and Schedule of the Week

Reminder

  • The 5-15 report is due on Sunday every week; did you remember to send it in? Just a Google Doc shared with me will do!
  • Find all the Project and Time management info in the tab “Course Resources“.

Good to know

The outcome of the election about the future of the course was for option C, a mix of working project-based work and looking at materials together. Henceforth we will dedicate one session each week to shared course materials, and one session to project work. If the class wants something different, please let me know, we’ll do this democratically and hopefully without the need for pitch forks.

If you have suggestions for topics, post them in the Padlet. One suggestion per post please! If you see a suggestion you like, please click ❤️ and if you want to expand, add a comment. The Padlet is anonymous. You can still share cute pics, or anything else, of course!

By Tuesday, 3.30PM

Topic: The First Emperor’s Tomb and the Terra Cotta Warriors

  • How to prepare:
  • 1. Ledderose, Lothar. “”A Magic Army for the Emperor.” In Ten Thousand Things: Module and Mass Production in Chinese Art. The A.W. Mellon Lectures in the Fine Arts, 1998, 50-73. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2000.
    • Read the PDF, and think about what this project can tell us about the organization of the empire as a whole.
  • 2. Look in the folder “Qin mausoleum archaeology” in our Zotero Group Library; I trawled through Encompass Search for recent articles about archaeological developments. (I used “Qin mausoleum” as my search term, refining for “article”, “Muhlenberg College Trexler Library”)
    • Look through the titles, then find the articles that speak to you and read the abstracts and read through them to get the basic ideas of how archaeologists and historians refine their understanding of Qin China.
    • Be prepared to share at least 1 article in class. You may of course look at many more! What drew you to the article? What’s amazing/fun/exciting/interesting?
    • There is something for everybody, from botanists and dentists (srsly), to weapons specialists and managers who look at supply chains.
    • I encourage you to add Notes and Tags to the articles you looked into.
  • Optional extras (fun/ if you have time/want to dive deeper)
    • NOVA. “Emperor’s Ghost Army.” Produced by Ian Bremner. Directed by Lion Television Ltd. Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), 2014. Online Video. (Link)
      • A very spectacular look at the archaeology (Dramatic music and all!)
    • Riegel, Jeffrey, “Archaeology of the First Emperor’s Tomb” (2 parts). Lectures 3 and 4 in the series Arts of Asia, by Asian Art Museum.
      • video lectures, Part 1 and Part 2 (Gdrive link to MP4 file)
      • Which parts of this lecture no longer hold up in light of recent archaeological discoveries?
    • Rawson, Jessica. “The First Emperor’s Tomb: The Afterlife Universe”. In The First Emperor, edited by J. Portal, 114-151. Cambridge: Harvard Univ. Press, 2007. (PDF)

By Tuesday, 11:59PM

Submit what you have for your project so far, so I can give feedback and make sure you’re not trying to cram a PhD into 15 weeks (trust me, it won’t work…), or help you figure out how to elevate it from a 100 word blog post to a bit more of a real project. Developmental review only: no grades, only feedback! PLEASE Include a bibliography of the works you have looked at and plan to look at.

  1. Submit in the format that works best for you as long as I have access: e.g. email a link, share a document, send a postal pigeon. (Oh hang on, don’t send the pigeon. There is a feral cat in my neighborhood and he’s a good hunter.)
  2. Include a brief note what you most like to get feedback about. I may also provide feedback on other aspects, but I will respond to your request.

By Thursday, 3.30PM

Project Lab Time: consult with me and your peers on your project. From proofreading to test-driving your jokes, we’re available!

By Sunday, 11:59PM

Fill out and send in/share your “5-15 progress report“

All the details are in the form. This will be a weekly returning assignment that helps us both to ensure you keep working on the course project(s). I often can identify a potential problem area before you’ve even hit it, and steer you on a more successful course, using these weekly reports.

Until further notice (or a full scale rebellion), consider these a weekly returning task. Please be careful when using pitchforks while staging a rebellion.

Slides

(If any, they will be found here)

Where to get help

  • Get Stuff Done Club: Wed. 1PM-2PM; Thu. 11AM-12PM, or by appointment via Google Calendar
    • All online, use the Zoom link in my email signature or via the Canvas page
    • Note that this week is very busy due to mid-terms, so my appointment availability is down.
    • If you need a mid-term grade, grab an appointment spot named “FYS appointments”
  • Google Chat Group and the (anonymous) Padlet (both also useful for chatting, sharing fun stuff)
  • Password for the PDFs: on this Canvas Page
  • DLAs: Digital Learning Assistants: virtual drop-in times 
  • Writing Center: Online appointments and in-person drop-ins available. Check the schedule
  • Trexler Library Course Subject Guide: our own dedicated subject guide for the course!
  • Safety on/around campus: report an incident