PPT Assignment
PowerPoint Presentation topics:
Look over the topics below and choose something that interests you. You will use whichever software that you are familiar with (PowerPoint, Prezi, FlowVella, Powtoon, to name a few- just make sure I can open it. Last semester I couldn't open the Google software) to create a complete report on your topic, I expect you to create about 20 Slides including pictures, graphs (if applicable) and texts. Also include your sources at the end of your presentation; books, magazines, and websites.
PowerPoint Outline & Thesis
I will offer a number to topics to choose from, as well as ideas for recommended field trips. You obviously need to have a working understanding of Power Point. Your presentation will cover the topic with texts, pictures, charts (if applicable), and a clear understanding of the topic, person or event.
You need to formulate a clear thesis (theme/focus) and list some major ideas you want to cover as an outline (1/2 page consisting of 1-2 sentences of your thesis and 6-10 content bullet points is usually sufficient). I can't stress the importance of visuals. Do no just write information on one slide after another. I would recommend that you take a look at the Power Points I sent you to get an idea of how to approach a topic with written materials and visuals.
It is your responsibility to keep track of the due date.
General Focus Questions: Who is the person, event, or topic that you are presenting? What is their contribution to politics, culture, and Current Events? What is the larger context in which they live and work? How are they perceived in their community or world or time? Pro and Cons about them. Why should we know about them? What do you think of them?
Powerpoint Bibliography
You need to identify at least one (preferably more) book- or e-book, or journal-sources that deal with your presentation topic or with an aspect of the event you chose.
Presentation Outline
This should give you an idea of how you should best prepare for your Power Point presentation. Even though I will be the only one to see your presentation you need to approach this project as if I am unfamiliar with the topic you have chosen. I want to 'learn' something I didn't know by the end of your presentation.
Content:
You will be graded on the factual information you are presenting. Is it correct? Is it comprehensive? Did you fully cover the topic so that a person not familiar with the topic will understand and learn?
Remember, the problem these days is not the lack of information, but selecting the most important, most interesting, and most relevant facts from the vast amount internet and libraries offer you.
Organization and Timing:
Be aware of standard expectations for a presentation. Clearly start out with an introduction that provides an overview of the issues you will cover. Organize your project along clearly established lines, e.g. chronological sequence, or a sequence you establish. You are in charge of the organization, but it has to be clearly communicated for full credit. Don't forget to finish with a conclusion, summarizing the main points of your talk.
Visuals:
An important aspect of your talk is the use of visuals. Your PowerPoint presentation should make maximum use of images over words. Use printed materials and slides with text sparingly. Unfortunately, due to distance learning you will not present your topic to a 'real class'. Even though you will not be presenting the material orally, make sure you use carefully chosen visuals, such as maps, charts, historic photographs, images of personalities you discuss, and art. Some images can be downloaded from the Internet. Try: google and click on images. Pay attention to the layout of your slides. Crop and size carefully and chose high quality resolution images.
Comprehension of the Material:
Try to incorporate some of your thought process. E.g. Relate your material to things we commonly know (e.g. compare news events to something we studied). Demonstrate that you have thought about your subject and that you are not just copying a text you downloaded from the web.
Some helpful hints:
1) Don't start your presentation only days before it's due.
2) Use the PowerPoint Tips on YouTube if you are not familiar with that Program
3) Use GOOGLE and your own pictures as your main source for images and material
4) Look up terms that are unfamiliar to you before using them
Bibliography:
If at all possible, use at least one book alongside Internet sources. You must list your sources. Wikipedia is a starting point only. More reliable sources are needed for full credit!
Topics to Choose From:
1) What about the comics- any Muslim superheroes? Lots (I met the writer Saladin Ahmed creator of ‘Amulet') How are they addressing their life experiences in America or in their own countries?.
2) Nowruz is the spring celebration that was once Zoroastrian. How is it celebrated today? What does one do on this day, what are the ritual foods that are served and what is their symbolic meaning? Why did the conservative religious leaders in Iran ban such celebrations? Were they successful?
3) History of the Afterlife in Western religion. Where did the idea of an afterlife come from? Did Abraham think there was an afterlife? How did he think he would continue to live after his death? What are the Zoroastrianism beliefs about an afterlife? What did later Jews, Christians, and still later Muslims incorporate from Zoroastrian ideas of the afterlife into their worldview? Was the afterlife a way of finding justice, revenge, or peace because it wasn't available in the present?
4) Ali ibn Nafi - Known as Ziryab - ‘The Blackbird; - 9th century "Fashionista and Influencer of etiquette, fashion, food and toiletries" (He would definitely have been on Twitter and Tic Toc - if it had existed in the 9th century)
5) Muslim comedians and actors. How are Muslims portrayed in films and television shows today? Introduce us to specific actors and comedians in your presentation.
6) We are somewhat familiar with the Sunni and the Shi'a, but what about the many small sects that exist in Islam? (Sufis, Druze, Alevis, Alawis Isali, Kurds, Yazidis, to name a few you might choose to cover)
7) Why is Iran angry at the USA and the rest of the Western countries? Begin your search with the ‘era of international control' with the discovery of oil in 1909, through the coup in 1953, the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynasty, and the return of Ruhollah Khomeini.
8) 1492- A pivotal year, and not just for Christopher Columbus.
9) Who are the Uyghurs and the Rohingya?
10) Lawrence of Arabia and Gertrude Bell. Who were they and what were their contributions (good or bad) to the Middle East conflicts?
11) What are the major pilgrimage sites in Buddhism and Hinduism?
12) Take us on a tour of the major Hindu celebrations.
13) How does white supremacy and Christianity work together in Evangelism?
14) Restrictive women's clothing found in religious traditions.
15) Where did the idea of ‘Satan' or ‘Lucifer' evolve from?
16) From the Jewish tradition who are the Ashkenazi and Sephardic Jews? And from the Ashkenazi come the ‘Hasidic' Jews the ‘Haredi' and ‘Lubavich'. Who are they and how do they live today?
17) Gandhi, Satyagraha, Christianity, Martin Luther King, Bishop Tutu and non-violence. What is ‘Satyagraha' and how did Gandhi connect it with Christian texts? And what connection can you find between Gandhi and MLK?
18) What do the 'Branch Davidians" the 'Jonestown Massacre' and 'Aum Shinrikyo' have in common. What drove these doomsday cults to act as they did?
Format your assignment according to the following formatting requirements:
(1) The answer should be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides.
(2) The response also includes a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student's name, the course title, and the date. The cover page is not included in the required page length.
(3) Also include a reference page. The Citations and references should follow APA format. The reference page is not included in the required page length.