Over the course of the period the class has discussed not only particular texts of different authors, but also lots of different paintings illustrated by memorable artists. Students have pulled apart these texts and paintings, unfolding their meanings and complex suggestions. Numerous individuals manage to highlight new ideas and significances behind these writings and illustrations that have been discoursed for years. Artists and writers such as Dante Gabriel Rossetti and Oscar Wilde were not randomly chosen individuals who managed to claim a title in history; they are essentialists who talentedly recorded the world around them in ways that would grab the full attention of their present audience and many more to come. These individuals subconsciously informed the world of their modern day life of which we now compare to our own. Fortunately, some of their works are past reminders of the difficulties that civilization has managed to overcome; however, other pieces are proof that some things remain unchangeable, if not worse.
A hundred years from today you are sitting in your humanities class with a hundred other students. Your teacher is discussing some sort of representation of society today. What might that representation be? Students will research a modern, or current, piece of literature, art, or any other type of media that may somewhat represent civilization today. Think of this assignment as a sort of reminder that will grab the attention of your present audience and one a century from now. Will your representation of today be a good one or a bad one? Answers will vary according to your own perspective of modern society. As the instructor, I want students to grasp the concept of the point behind discussion-based artwork and literature.
–Malarie Williams
