Total 700 Words Work – Part 1 200 Part 2 300 and Part 3 200

1) You watched aSmarthistoryvideo (“400 C.E.—Ancient Culture”) that explained how Mesopotamian and Egyptian artists stylized their representations of the human form as stiff and geometric figures.

One could argue that the stiff and geometric figures of Mesopotamia and Egypt were meant to symbolize the intellects, emotions, and social positions of the individuals they represented.  For example, Egyptian pharaohs (kings) were often depicted as “superhuman” and divine—having perfect bodies and minds.  They were represented as symmetrical, ridged, and solid figures that reflected physical and intellectual “perfection.”

Yet, this is only one of many possible explanations for the Mesopotamian and Egyptian tendency towards stylizing human forms.

In 200 words or more, write a discussion board thread that provides YOUR hypothesis as to why the ancient Mesopotamians and/or Egyptians preferred more stylized human figures over natural and anatomically-correct figures.

There are no right or wrong answers here.  Your job it to make an argument in favor of YOUR hypothesis.

When composing your post, you must make sure you cite at least two examples of Mesopotamian and/or Egyptian art from your textbook.

2) You watched a Smarthistory video titled, “Birth of the Gothic: Abbot Suger and the Ambulatory of St. Denis” and learned more about the creation of Gothic architecture in France during the 12th century.  You also “virtually visited” Chartres Cathedral.  Now you will write a discussion board thread that responds to the following:

Imagine you are a 12th century pilgrim (a religious traveler) who arrived at the Abbey Church of St. Denis after a long, difficult voyage.  Your voyage to St. Denis was in pursuit of seeing the new style of church architecture that supposedly transports visitors to a heavenly space.  Write a mock journal entry that details your impression of St. Denis and the Gothic style of architecture.  Your journal entry must take note of the revolutionary architectural features that comprise the exterior and interior of St. Denis.  Your journal entry must also link the architectural features of St. Denis to its function as a spiritual structure.

Your thread/journal entry must be 300-words long.

3) Part of this class session explored the history of the Renaissance—an age of intellectual and cultural rebirth.  As we saw, part of this history owes a debt of gratitude to the ancient Greeks and Romans (covered in Session 10).  We simply cannot underestimate the profound impact ancient Greece and Rome had on Renaissance culture, society, and art.  Therefore, in order to stress the importance of this influence and test your ability to recognize it in art or architecture, you will write a discussion board thread (200 words or more) that compares one classical work to a Renaissance work.

Your thread must highlight the visual and conceptual similarities between Renaissance art or architecture and classical Greek and Roman art or architecture.  Your thread must also discuss the unique ways in which Renaissance works differs from works produced by the ancient Greeks and Romans.

Before you compose your thread, you must choose one of the following comparisons/contrasts to serve as the subject of your analysis:

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