May 2018; worth 20% of your grade)
Goals:
Your mission is to create an imaginary virtual periodical (such as an online newspaper or magazine) from a time between 1400 and 1800.
Choose a specific year (or even day) and location for your newspaper that you believe reflects an important moment in time. You can include events from around 50 years on either side of the date but the closer the better.
Create a coherent picture of the time
Include different aspects of the era (such as important social, political, cultural and/or religious developments
Mix fact and fantasy creating stories that are plausible even if fictional
750 to 1000 words in length with at least four to five stories
One lead story should be at least 200 words in length
Give your stories some depth (explain people's perspectives and motivations)
Include at least one image and create a story about it (find the image on one the following websites (Metropolitan Museum of Art, Louvre Museum, British Museum or British Library, or of course Bobst Library (NYU) & think of a story
The text by Beat Kumin should provide enough background to create stories
Also, write a brief discussion of how and why you chose the stories in your imaginary periodical (self-reflective piece)
Recommendations: Have fun and be creative while keeping your stories plausible. Think of giving your periodical different sections on a variety of topics, such as politics, culture (books, music, art), sports, the economy, biographies, fashion, interviews, etc. Then create stories about people, trends and events of the era, that are likely to have happened. Write it like a magazine-not an encyclopedia or textbook-with details about events that reflect larger trends.
Create stories! Please give your stories some depth, such as by providing the context explaining why something happened and who or what it affected. This is a work of the imagination which should mix both ‘fact' and fantasy.
Please avoid writing about major historical figures covered in class (such as Luther or Columbus). Instead create a second in command or someone affected by their actions for example.
You could include the perspective of an Aztec warrior on the conquest, or a couple going through marital problems (a la Hans Sachs). Try to create stories that reflect larger themes. This assignment allows you to offer your own distinct perspective on the past.