Final Project Guidelines

FINAL PROJECT GUIDELINES Fall Semester, 2001

RELIGION 394

Near Eastern and Mediterranean Archaeology:

Discovery, Interpretation and Impact

The research project is worth 40 % of the course grade.

The student term project should encompass as much intellectual energy and research and creativity as a long term paper. However, the project will not be presented as a term paper. Instead, it will take the form of a 3D modeled building in its immediate environment presented both as a FormZ model and as an Internet (html) based series of presentation pages, animations, fly-throughs and other components.

Students will model the building or complex of buildings based on a close reading of excavation reports, plans and other research resources. Students will also provide supplementary explanatory material and a self-critique of design decisions and alternatives.

The homework assignments help students acquire necessary skills for the successful completion of the project. This does not mean that a mere compilation of homework assignments will be a successful, complete project. Students should (1) address each of the requirements listed below and (2) be as creative as possible in the presentation of their material, (3) be resourceful in the acquisition of research materials and resources and (4) be aggressive about seeking help and requesting books, journals, etc. early in the semester and (5) dynamically assess and critique all assumptions and decisions of any other archaeologists or authors whose work students cite and read.

Requirements:

To succeed in this project students will need frequent access to form·Z including RenderZone. Form Z is available on campus in computer labs (WPH, KOH, GFS, THH, Clipper Lab in Watt). If you cannot access the on-campus labs frequently or conveniently I require that you purchase an at-home license copy of formZ for one semester -- $95. See Enrique Barajas (740-3602; ebarajas@usc.edu) in Watt Hall to order your copy.

See this address for the USC computer lab hours: http://www.usc.edu/isd/locations/pcc_hours.html

Students are expected to purchase or download reference materials (manuals), purchase at least three 100MB PC compatible Zip disks, and output materials (color printouts and slides or plots). Students will also purchase the course reader which contains supplementary readings.

Students should contact the technical support person dedicated to this class to resolve questions about web page use or design, Photoshop and FormZ. Email Jeff Bull to make appointments gobulls123@mindspring.com His office hours are Mondays 6:15-10pm in the Clipper Lab.

In accord with fair use guidelines, web content of significant value may be included in your project as long as you very clearly cite the origin of the material, including the actual URL from where the material was taken. Should you display the project publicly in the future, you alone are responsible for acquiring permissions for public display of any and all materials on your website. Students must adhere to the university’s intellectual honesty guidelines and students must always cite their sources clearly in order to avoid plagiarism.

Minimal components of a successful semester project:

1 - a fully rendered model of an ancient reconstructed building at Amarna made in FormZ and submitted as files and selected printouts. Views of this model will be created as necessary for the HTML (Internet-browsable) pages where students will display their project contents.

2 - an HTML (Internet-browsable) site which displays the models, interpretive materials, images, research and analysis. Before starting the project, students will create a “site map” (hand-drawn or on computer) that (a) lists the names of the files that will be part of the website and (b) graphically shows what files connect to what other files (c) identifies the filename of the major image or object on each page (an object may be an animation or a roll-over or Quicktime movie, etc.)

3 - a design notebook which documents all design decisions and critical analysis and sources which inform the creation of the 3D building model. The most convenient way to do this is either as a Word document or as an HTML (Internet) file.

4 - a map of your building located within the site of Tell el-Amarna and a summary description of and introduction to the building, its importance, its functions and your impressions about the logic of the placement of your building in the city or city section or neighborhood. Also note here the communication issues relevant to your building. How far was it from the river, from a road, from houses, from markets, from sacred or royal or administrative centers? Is there any significance to this? Advantages, disadvantages? Is this “normal” for other Egyptian cities? Are there aspects of religious practice integrated into what might normally not be considered a “sacred” building?

5 - explanatory material about the excavation history of your building (who? What institution? when? multiple campaigns on the building? Where are the artifacts located now? Other details relevant to understanding or which create problems for understanding your building?)

6 - Models should have at least one major area in which students have created a semblance of “realism” by attending to the artifacts found in the space or to the wall/column/other architectural elaboration. This may include scanning wall paintings or reliefs onto walls or it may imply the insertion of recreated artifacts into a space. The goal is that students will interpret one space or portion of their building adequately enough that a visitor can get a “feel” of the original space when it was in new condition.

7 - Create lighting conditions inside and outside the building so that the effect of night and day, and the passage of the sun through the building can be seen.

8 - Create static views of the building (with and without roofs if necessary) to show all the major functional areas. Identify all areas with annotations or roll-overs as necessary.

9 - Use static views as illustrations of the major research issues and design concerns encountered during the project research. Where there is contest between two or more opinions (two archaeologists, or the student and one of the excavators, or student and professor, etc.) present all opinions and their pros and cons (where feasible) and then make a judgment call based on the evidence.

10 - Include at least one image map which links the overall building plan to views of the modeled building. Include interpretive descriptions with these views.

11 - Include at least one view of the building in ruins or during excavation and create a mouse-activated roll-over series from the exact same point of views so that visitors can see a THEN versus NOW effect (i.e. real condition versus reconstructed condition).

12 - Include at least one GIF animation series which helps a visitor to better understand your building or its construction. This may take the form of a dissolve series from ruin to reconstruction or other kinds of interpretive animation (such as restricted versus unrestricted temple or domestic spaces, etc. or a series showing your building through out the day, lit and unlit, or through the year as the vegetation changes, or with and without its decorative scheme)

13 - Include panoramic and object QTVR “movies” which give visitors the opportunity to stand in various parts of your building and “look around” (panoramic QTVR) and which give visitors the opportunity to pivot your building or some parts of your model to see it from all sides (object QTVR)

14 - Include at least two fly-throughs of the building. One of these must demonstrate the real circulation patterns through and around the building.

15 - Include a bibliography and acknowledgments page where all your sources are clearly compiled (in addition to citing material within the pages where the citations occur). At a minimum, be sure to acknowledge Professor Karen Kensek, the TA Jeff Bull, the excavators of your building and of the site presently (Barry Kemp), and the students who have worked on a similar project before you (if you saw their project - even if you disregarded everything they did).

16 - Include a summary encapsulating in a coherent fashion all the major issues confronted during this research endeavor. Especially pay attention to alternative views which may have been discarded. Clarify to what extent the building is wholly a product of archaeological recovery, of interpretation in modern times, or of comparisons with contemporary Egyptian buildings.

17 - Include a section wherein you speculate that you are creating a National Geographic or Discovery Channel documentary or special program on your building or the lives lived in that building. What would you include? How would you make this place and time interesting? Where would you turn for additional materials to fill out the multimedia aspects of such a television special (Be as specific as possible - do not simply say “I would hire actors” instead think about how you would formulate their appearance and their activities, etc.) Would you focus the program on a general topic? Or on a person’s experience? How would you create a real basis in archaeological evidence for this dramatic presentation? How would you communicate the authority of your presentation so that it was both believable and compelling?

ALL STUDENTS AGREE, BY SIGNING UP FOR THIS COURSE, THAT THEIR PAPER OR INFORMATION FROM THEIR PROJECT OR WEBSITE MAY BE PUBLISHED ON THE USC ARC LAB OR THE WSRP WEBSITE.