Western Studies

 

Making Connections: The Muslim and East Asian Empires
aka "The Website Project"

 

The Final Product
A website that shows the relationship between a powerful non-Western empire of the past (1450-1800) and what is going on in that region today.

The Process
1. You will be assigned a region and group to work with over the next few weeks.
2. You will decide among yourself how to divide the work. This must be established early on in the project and it is the entire group's responsibility to make sure everyone is on task and responsible.
3. You will begin research by reading the designated pages in your textbook and taking notes. This will be the basis of your knowledge of the region.
4. You will each be expected to do outside research on the past and present status of the region. The website must include minimum of 6 outside resources, and a minimum of 3 must be books. We will be discussing appropriate sources in class. (MAJOR HINT: Use Lexis-Nexis and Infotrac)
5. You will each contribute to the creation of the website. How you divide the work, is again, up to your group.
6. Your entire group will be responsible for the final product.

What MUST be Included
I am offering you a lot of creative leeway in how you want to express yourself, but the final product must include these components:
A homepage with an introduction, your names and email addresses
A description of the past (1450-1800) and present political, economic, and social systems of your assigned empire
An analysis of the relationship between the past and present
A map of the region
Images of the region
Links to other websites of interest
Endnotes and bibliography

What MUST NOT be Included
We will discuss in class what makes a bad website, but here are some specific guidelines:
No unnecessary graphics
No cluttered pages that are difficult to read
No color combinations that are difficult to read
No cut and pasted passages from other websites (plagiarized material)
No fluff without substance

Tentative Schedule
Class 1: Description of Assignment
Web literacy and discussion of sources and plagiarism
Homework: Read about your assigned region

Class 2: Groups will meet to discuss breakdown of work (in classroom)
Begin research in the library
Homework: Read and take notes on research collected, continue to
research at home

Class 3: Groups meet to discuss research and gaps in information
Last day to research in library
Homework: Outline your designated section

Class 4: Back in the classroom, share information with your group
Map out how you want the website to look
Homework: Type your designated section and save it on a disk.
You MUST bring this disk to class.

Class 5: Website building orientation
Homework: Finalize the written part of your website and find images

Class 6: Website building continues
Homework: Make sure all gaps in the website are filled

Class 7: Website building continues
Homework: Finalize all work

Class 8: Website due at the end of class
Homework: NONE! (Peer evaluations begin when the websites are up)

Grading Process
Each member of the group will receive the same grade on the final product. End of story. It is YOUR responsibility to make sure that each person is doing his/her part to contribute to the overall product. I recommend choosing one person to be the editor to make sure the quality of work is consistent.

How you worked in class: 10 points
The Final Product: 80 ponts
Peer Evaluation: 15 points

The Empires and Groups

C-BLOCK
Ottoman Empire (515-525)
Eva Alden
Kevin Platshon
Mike Schapira
Kimberly Sykes

Safavid Empire (526-530)
Corey van der Wal
Anna Hinohara
Mike Blanchette

Mughal Empire (530-543)
Daniel Solomon
Megan Glendon
Adriel Cha

Qing Empire (547-564)
Kerensa Andrews
Russ Frank
Alex von Oech

Tokugawa Empires (564-572)
Adrien de Tonnac
Luke Callaghan
Katie Hudson

E-BLOCK
Ottoman Empire (515-525)
Aimee Andrews
Eddie Brennan
Jonathan Schatz
Jessica Berry

Safavid Empire (526-530)
Griffin Camper
Stephanie Lagod
Lara Vanyo

Mughal Empire (530-543)
Claire Davidson
Chris Sakai
Nicole Hoag

Qing Empire (547-564)
Megan Schwartz
Liz Steinberg
Julien Rettberg
Jacinta Martin

Tokugawa Empires (564-572)
Lauren O'Brien
Kathryn Pade
Etan Green

G-BLOCK
Ottoman Empire (515-525)
Kaitlin Beaver
Susan Lee
Taylor Nichols
Blake Byers

Safavid Empire (526-530)
Julie Edwards
Ashley Lipton
Patrick Schulte

Mughal Empire (530-543)
Daniel Cherkassky
Marissa Kraines
Liz Whiteley
Erik Madden

Qing Empire (547-564)
John Zwick
Karen Tkach
Alyssa Mitchell
Robbie Curry

Tokugawa Empires (564-572)
Priyanka Goel
Mark Hendrickson
Lesley Pruzansky