Chris Greger

Humanities 41B
Spring 2016

Essay 2 Assignment
The Task
Write a polished 4-6 page paper responding to the prompt described below; hand it in on Monday, 5/23 at 10:30 AM
sharp (the day of the final).
The Prompt
Identify one significant achievement of one of the cultures and periods weve studied this semester that you feel has
had an impact, to some extent, on the world we live in today (the term cultural achievement might refer to a
specific an idea, an invention, a work of art or genre). Using a specific example, explain the nature of this cultural
achievement; then discuss specific ways in which you see this cultural achievement present in our world in any way,
considering the ways it has stayed the same and the ways that it has evolved. Make note of both the benefits and
drawbacks it presents for us.
Guidelines
Look at some of the cultural accomplishments listed below that weve examined this semester. Pick out one that
you feel is particularly interesting, and that you can see has a presence in our culture today. Be sure that you can
pick out at least one specific example of this cultural achievement, both from the past and today, that you can ground
your argument on.
Potential outline
Introduction: identify the cultural achievement youre writing about, and mention how you see it in our
culture today. Mention, perhaps, what you find interesting or significant about this cultural
accomplishment (your thesis).

Describe the key elements of the cultural achievement youre focusing on; feel free to do a little easy,
general research. Use at least one (maybe more) specific example from the period that weve studied to
demonstrate and describe the key features of this accomplishment. In this section youll probably need to
do a few things:
o Define the cultural achievement youre working on;
o Describe specific examples of it from the periods weve studied
o Explain what the big deal was, or what was interesting, about these examples

Now, think of some ways in which this accomplishment has shaped or exists in our society today in
specific things that you notice and observe in your own life. Describe them. Evaluate what are the
positive and negative aspects of this accomplishment?

(Note: I encourage you to do a little extra research on this, but cite useful information that you find, and be very
careful not to plagiarize, of course. Plagiarism, accidental or otherwise, is easy to do when youre researching on
the web, but remember that its a deal-breaker for this and any other course. The things is, plagiarism is mostly just
unnecessary. Want to be sure youre avoiding plagiarism? Just get the information you need from the book or
website, then close the website or book down; now write out the idea in your own words its now your
information).

Chris Greger
Humanties 41B
Spring 2016

For Essay 2:
Here are some examples of cultural achievements weve looked at in the class this semester:
There are lots more; add to this list as you see fit or as we discuss!
From the Italian Renaissance
Humanism -- the idea that man is the center of the universe, that we have free will and should determine
our fates.
New attitudes towards art that it is a tool of science (Leonardo), a source of joy and pleasure (Botticelli),
a means of communicating intense emotion and inner psychological states (Michelangelo).
Self help manuals Castigliones on how to craft an image and influence people, and Machiavellis on how
to rule, to acquire and keep power.
From the Northern Renaissance & Reformation
New functions for art landscape, art that shows off your stuff, art showing the simple life (Breughels
peasants).
New ways of thinking about scholarship (Erasmus).
Utopian thinking using our reason to figure out how life should be, and to criticize existing institutions
(Thomas More).
The Protestant Reformation, and new more personal ways of thinking about religion.
From the Baroque and the Enlightenment
Those Baroque values for art art should be dramatic, feature strong contrasts, be a little dark, be ornate
and ornamented. More art featuring beauty, stuff, and death (still lifes).
How institutions use art as Public Relations and try to shape public opinion (as in the Council of Trent and
the Counter-reformation).
The scientific method replaces magical thinking efforts to systematize all knowledge (encyclopedias,
dictionaries, classification of life).
Efforts to quantify human experience new sciences of economics, politics.
Art as a source of nostalgia, creating beautiful escapist dream worlds (Rococo, fetes galantes).
Art as a civic tool for instilling moral virtues and patriotism (Neo classicism)
From the Romantic Period
New attitudes towards nature (from something controllable to something wild)
New attitudes towards art as a means of personal transcendence, as a means of asserting the importance
of personal inner states & visions
The landscape as religious painting
New attitudes towards music that it should express personal subjective values
The artist as celebrity
The idea of Revolution
The importance of folk and popular culture
Romanticism as the birth of psychology the focus on inner states
New attitudes towards children and/or native cultures

Romanticism as the rise of nationalism